19 Ryde Road, Pymble, NSW 2073
Joey’s Pet of the Week – Bear’s Ouchy Tongue
By Scott Lackenby | Dated July 27, 2016
Hey Gang! How are you all? Did you see that we are participating in Cupcake Day for the RSPCA again this year?!? It’s easily the best day of the year. Apart from my birthday of course. There is lots of planning happening about who is making what delicious goodies. I have volunteered myself to be the official taste tester. I mean, I would hate for you to purchase sub-standard treats. But apparently my services won’t be needed. At least not in an official capacity. I have managed to sample at least one cup cake every year. And not always with permission…. Cupcake Day is Monday August 15th, so be sure to come and see me and buy a cupcake.
Nurse William, Vet Student/Vet Nurse Portia and Dr John are all busy training for the City to Surf. There is a friendly little bet between Nurse William and Dr John about who can run the better time. Ever noble, Nurse William is running for charity purposes. Dr John, on the other hand, is running to win! I will do a separate little story about them soon.
My star this week is the cheeky Mr Bear, a 7month old Australian Shepherd from Turramurra.
Bear was brought in as an emergency case when he began frothing at the mouth. Bear frequently chews on things, but there was no access to baits at his house. There was a heap of saliva coming from Bear’s mouth and he was pawing at it, which indicated to Dr John Morgan that Bear was definitely bothered by his mouth. Bear was too uncomfortable in the mouth to allow a proper examination of his mouth, but there were no obvious foreign bodies that Dr John could see. Dr John admitted Bear for an anaesthetic so we could have a good look at Bear’s mouth.
Once Bear was anaesthetised,
Dr John confirmed there was no foreign body, but Bear had a nasty looking fluidy filled section on his tongue.
On this section of Bear’s tongue, some of the mucosal lining was starting to peel off.
Even with the anaesthetic, Bear was still sore. Dr John took a sample of the fluid which showed it was nothing nasty. Given the sudden onset of it all, the most likely explanation was that Bear had been bitten by some sort of insect. Bear was given an injection of cortisone to help with the swelling, an injection of an anti-histamine to help with the reaction and sent home with some oral cortisone tablets. Bear would need to be fed soft food for a week and come back to see Dr John in 4days for a recheck, or sooner if he wasn’t improving.
Well, better go. It’s almost time for afternoon tea. Enjoy the rest of your week and I’ll catch you all again soon. Meows for now, love Joey xoxo
Written by Scott Lackenby
Scott joined the team at Gordon Vets in 1999, where he was immediately impressed with the high standard of customer service. Scott is very popular amongst clients for his kind hearted approach to pet care and his great sense of humour. His particular areas of interest are endocrinology and dermatology.
