I just spent some time at the Vet Hospital with Dr. Hady in the physical therapy department. I am always amazed at the things that these doctors do with animals and the similarities between human PT and animal PT. There are multiple similarities, some of which include ball balance, balance board, and electrical stimulation. Mostly used in dogs with leg problems, the electrical stimulation are simply two pads attached to wires that, when emitting electrical currents, will stimulate the muscle to extend and contract. This works the muscle in the inner thigh and can also help with stimulation of the lateral and medial quads and knee extensors.

The balance ball and balance board are used for core strengthening as well as overall balance. This is important because, when dogs lose most of the movement in the back legs, they have to make up for the missing parts and support with their core. Placing the animal on top of a large therapy ball, they can rock the dog side to side or back and forth to help the body adjust to the changes in balance. Having the dog stand on the balance board does something similar, but works mostly on the legs and their ability to adjust to stay erect.

Underwater treadmills and land treadmills work very similarly to the way people use them in the sense of strengthening of legs. However, the doctors must know how to match the gait of the dog because, unlike people, dogs have four legs and at different speeds, the legs mirror each other in different forms. When walking, the dog moves in a lateral motion, with the front and back legs of the same side moving in sync. But when the dog moves into a trot, it moves to vertical motion where the front leg and back leg on opposite sides move together.

The tunnel is another tool the PTs use to work on extension and contraction, as well as strengthening of both the back and front legs. As the dog moves to go through the tunnel, it must crouch down and use the thighs, the gluteus, and chest to support the body as it crawls through to the other side. The tunnels used are simply child play tunnels, but must be mesh so the animal does not feel threatened in the enclosed space.

In dogs with severe hind leg injuries, a doggy wheelchair, called a dog cart, is used to support the back end. As shown in the picture at top left, it consists of a metal frame and one large supporting wheel on each side. Straps run from the front side the the other to support the neck, while more straps run across the middle and back to support the chest and groin area. Although very useful for long walks, dogs cannot tolerate these carts for extended periods of time and it is recommend of only place them in the carts for 10-20 minutes intervals.

Through research and some non-fiction reading, I came across the interesting reason for dog's eating grass. There are three major reasons for this urge to consume.

Upset stomach:

Domestic dogs' ancestors used grass to induce vomiting to get rid of substance that made them uncomfortable. This is some cases would save their lives if they had, by chance, eaten something that was toxic or dangerous to the animal. It is believed that dogs have very sensitive nerve endings in their stomachs and the grass will induce the vomiting when these nerves are stimulated. Domestic dogs have kept this trait.

Need for Fiber:

Just as people chose foods that will give them the natural nutrients they need, dogs will do the same. Grass as well as many other greens are a great source of fiber. If the animal is not being given enough fiber in their daily diet, it will seek out grass to supplement for depletion.

Ancestral Urge:

In the wild, many canines eat plants as a natural and common part of their diet, though mostly indirectly. Through the consumption of prey, especially herbivores, the dogs will eat the contents of the animals stomach which includes pre-digested plants. Because grass is the most accessible green, many dogs will search this out because of a natural craving for this kind of sustenance. However, because it has not been pre-digested by another animal, some dogs will have trouble "stomaching" it. If a dog is craving grass and is eating large amounts, you can instead boil some vegetables, therefore "pre-digesting" them, and feed them to the dog instead.

Animal PT

I spent today observing the physical therapy unit of the Veterinary Emergency and Specialty Center and Dr. Hady. During the sessions, the treadmill and underwater treadmill were utilized. An on land treadmill us used to work on leg extension working mostly on the muscles and/or scar tissue. The underwater treadmill is used to support animals that cannot put as much weight on one or more legs. The water holds the dog up while also providing a constant resistance that helps with the therapy. The certain dog that I saw which used the underwater treadmill had lost feeling in his back right leg due to a ruptured spinal disk. This causes an inflammation which presses on the spinal cord and reduces feeling in the back legs. There are different stages and if not cared for, the legs will completely lose their use. Through the use of the treadmill, Dr. Hady worked on strengthening this weak leg so that it would be of more use to the dog.

Spleen Tumor

The second surgery I observed was a tumor that had grown on the spleen. In the x-ray, a large mass about the size of a silver dollar could be made out around the area of the spleen. By running a hand along the abdomen of the dog, a large lump could be felt below the skin and ribcage. A spleen tumor is the best kind of tumor an animal can get because the spleen can be completely removed without causing much damage to the animal. This part of the body assists in storing blood, disintegrating old blood cells, and filtering bacteria and other foreign substances from the body. However, it is not vital and an animal or human could survive without it because over time other organs like the liver will take over its functions. The only side affect is a decrease in immunity and ability to fight disease.

As seen in the picture to the right, the spleen in located between the stomach and the small intestine as well as the liver. Therefore, if the tumor spreads, it will start to adhere to any of these other internal organs, causes problems for both the dog and the veterinarian who is trying to surgically remove it. This was the case in the surgery I observed. After the entire spleen was removed from the inside of the dog, the tumor was almost half the size of the organ itself, but the amount of blood clotting caused it to look even more enlarged. Blood clotting is common in animals with fast-growing tumors because of the fact that, as the tumor grows, it will crack occasionally and release blood into the body which then clots and forms obstruction in the abdomen.

The problem with this dog was the fact that the tumor had spread from the spleen and had been starting to adhere to the stomach and liver, making it very difficult to remove it without damaging those organs. In order to do the removal, surgical clamps had to be put on all of the blood vessels and arteries that were attached to the spleen (and there are many because it is a very vascular organ) and had to be tied off.

The top images show the size of the actual tumor/mass after the surrounding blood clots were removed.

Growth Removal 9/17

The larger of the 5 surgeries for today were one growth and one tumor. The pictures shown above show the removal of the growth from the cat. It was located on the middle of the neck on the dermis of the skin. By running a hand over the cat's back, the hard lump of the growth could be felt prominently protruding from the skin. Once the skin was sliced open, the tissue which was connected to the growth was separated and the growth removed. The picture at the very top is the growth, which was about the size of a grape. The type of growth it was was unknown because it had to be sent to the lab for analysis.

Friday 9/10

Today I observed two spays on a pair of siblings from the same litter. They were miniature poodles about the size of my arm. To get them ready for surgery, the vet put them in a plastic tub attached to the anesthesia gas with one tube and had another tube that pumped the gas out of the tub and out of the clinic. Once asleep, a breathing tube as well as the anesthesia gas was inserted into the throat of the dog and it was moved to the surgery room. The dog was then attached to heart rate monitors and breath monitors to regulate the breathing. The vet then took something that looks like a scalpel and sliced down the medial line of the animal so as not to cut across many blood vessels to minimize bleeding. Using a tool like a hook, the vet proceeded to do what he called "fishing" as he probed for the ovaries and horn attached to it. Commonly, the spay consists of removing the ovaries and the horns from the animal, but in this case, the dog did not have a second horn and it was difficult to locate the second ovary. This case is called the uterus unicornous which in Latin means one horn.

The sibling to the other, however, did possess both, but also had a slight birth defect. The umbilical cord had not been completely healed over and bits of fat tissue had formed a bubble underneath the skin. To remove this, the vet put a thin slit through the bubble and used medical tweezers to pull out the fatty tissue and snip off the excess. After the surgery, there are three layers that need to be sewn together. There is the epidermis layer, then the dermis, then the muscle layer. The muscle layer is the most vital to be properly sewn because this holds in the inner organs. The dermis is also important to close completely for this keeps the shallower parts from coming out. The epidermis is sewn of course for the safety of both the animal and the otherwise exposed underneath layers.

When the dog wakes up, it usually is cold from the lack heat production during anesthesia, especially in smaller animals. It is therefore usually wrapped in a blanket and placed in the kennel to recover. However, if the animal decided it would like to move around, it has to be removed from the cage because in the waking stages it lacks the coordination to keep itself upright.

Test post

Sandy was bit by a rattlesnake in July and has been healing well. She has needed a lot of wound management and dressings in order for the healing process to be affective. I have been caring for her for the past couple of months and have learned a lot from doing this. This is one event that really pushed me to look at veterinary medicine and practice to study for the year.