Atlas and Somebody named Chester

I too often feel compelled to shoulder the burden of someone else's problem. To carry the weight of the worlds problems on my shoulder as if I am Atlas standing on the sea, desperate to hold the world above my breaking back and planted feet. It is the obligation of an emotionally driven anthropomorphic veterinarian living in the world of a plethora of disposable pets. 

There are pets who come to you in desperate, dying need. Pets that so often have been overlooked a thousand times before. I cannot ever explain, or even pardon, how, or why, people are so preoccupied with their lives, the daily grind of meeting others expectations, and not taking a second to shelter another less fortunate life.

Templeton. Rescued from the Harford County Humane Society in June 2017

For me it is the single greatest joy in being a vet. The tales of triumph in a life lost, alone, and mistaken as negligible. For me, it is the answer to the "why" of every single question.

Medicine, like every other discipline, at some point becomes repetitious. The cases blend into a muddy mass of numbers. The cold heartless statistics that begin to dictate decisions that used to be analyzed by diagnosis meets treatment plan. The medicine resides in the cure of disease, not replacement of a healthier substitute.

Volunteering at the shelter with Terri, shelter technician, discussing a tail trauma case.

"Are you saying that you want to try to treat her?" Long pause... hallowed silence.

"Yes, of course. She has a treatable disease. Let's try to treat her." I replied to the head shelter technician.

"I am never sure if you are serious? None of the other vets want to treat. She's so sick." Continued silence in the room of four other technicians.

"I am always serious. There is always a chance. If you are ok with me taking her back to the clinic, I'll take care of her."

Smiles erupt from the crowd.

Her name is Chester. She was very sick at arrival to the shelter. She was very thin, frantic to not be held, and blowing thick yellow snot from her nose everywhere.

Chester

To the analytical minds before me she is a disease vector with a long road ahead. She is unvaccinated, unspayed, and an unknown with too many questionable variables. To me she is Chester. To my training as a veterinarian she is more than somebody else's problem in a sea of problems, she is Chester. I do not see the forest for the trees, she is somebody. More importantly, she is somebody I can help. She is a cat with a severe respiratory problem who needs immediate intervention and medical care. She is what I do every single day. A list of clinical signs and treatment options that I can quickly list, exclude, narrow, refine and treat. I can also do it affordably and without justification to a client questioning motives, prognosis, and value versus expense.

Dory, rescued with paralyzed back legs from a spinal fracture.

On the many days it feels like I am a tiny boat adrift in a violent storm I am too small and insignificant to survive I look at the faces of the pets at my home, in my clinic, and even at the overwhelmed, over abundantly in need shelter pets and I remember to change my perception and focus my perspective and see each individual as a somebody. Her name is Chester. She is getting stronger, and happier, and healthier. She needs me, she needs to be seen, and I can help her. It is the reason to all of the "why's" and the answer to all of the weight of the world on my shoulders. I don't need to be Atlas, and she doesn't have to be perfect, we just have to see each other as somebody with value.

Pickles, one of the many bottle babies we have every Summer.

Here is what Chester had done;
We placed her in quarantine with food, water, bed, litter box and a hiding box if she wants to retreat from the clamorous, aromatic bouquet that a vet hospital presents. It can be a scary place for a cat who has spent her whole life hiding in bushes.
1. Feline leukemia and feline immunodeficiency virus test. Both negative. Cost $40
2. Fluid therapy. Depending on overall hydration status and severity of her condition, intravenous at $80 a day, or subcutaneous at $25 a day.
3. Antibiotics. Critical to improvement, costs range from $10 to $60 for a two week course.
4. Eating! She has to be eating. We force fed her on the days she wouldn't eat. Prescription high calorie canned food that can be liquefied and syringe fed at about $5 a can, or a feeding tube if severe at a cost of $100-300, or find a food she likes after offering a lot of options. Turns of Chester is a dry kitten food fan.
5. Get her breathing, fast! We use a nebulizer and steroid drops in each nostril to open them up. Labor intensive but cheap. We use a nebulizer made for humans and steroid drops typically used for the eyes. Pediatric sterile saline drops in the nostril (1-2 drops per nostril) can also help open them up.
6. Keep her warm, weigh her daily, monitor for progression of disease, be prepared to alter her treatment plan and don't forget there is a cat under the snot. She needs vaccines, deworming, preventatives, and affection. She is a whole package. My job is to get her to be well enough and trusting enough to get a home.

The true measure of a practitioner is not in what your analytical mind tells you to be cautious of, it is fundamentally in your perception of life and the value it holds to one tree in a forest of others. It is how you view life and not how easy it is to replace it.

Our first trip to volunteer at the Harford County Humane Society.
We each came home with a pet.
Except me, I cam home with two pigs.

Wilbur,, adopted from the Harford County Humane Society

 If you would like to chat with me about your pets health, ailments, behavior, cost of care, or are a pet lover yourself and want to help other pets please join me on Pawbly.com. We are an open community dedicated to helping pets around the world by educating, empowering and inspiring each other. It is free to use and open to all animal friends.

Charlotte and Wilbur

I am also on Twitter, Facebook, and at the clinic at JarrettsvilleVet.com

Or on YouTube! Lots of videos on patients care with prices and options to discuss with your vet.

Shelter Medicine Meets Private Practitioner. Finding An Answer with An Agenda

Gertie, rescued by JVC from HCHS.
Someone left her with her daughter at the shelter.
She was adopted by us after 5 months of no one being interested in her.
She now has a family who adore her.. she is a wonderful soul who is loved.

There are a few things that just light me up.. you know, in the sense of infuriate me. I cannot help it. It might be genetic, or a middle aged crisis with my lifes' To-Do list getting longer instead of shorter? Call it what you want. I am a determined obsessed person. It  is what it is.

Such is the premise for a Facebook post I read the other day from my good friend who just happens to have become the new Executive Director of our local Humane Society, (Harford County Humane Society, HCHS).

She posted this...

"Just did the math...in order to save essentially every animal that comes through our doors, we'd have to adopt out (or send to rescue) two animals per hour, every hour that we're open, every day that we're open. That's assuming they're all adoptable, which they aren't, but you know. Hmmmm..."

The minute I read this I called her.. We needed to talk.

My first question was.. "Where are all of these animals coming from?"

Here are the numbers. About 4,000 animals enter the HCHS every year. About three-quarters of these are cats. Many are strays. The cats have it bad.. only about 3% of cats get reclaimed, versus about 50% of dogs. The world is not a kind place for them.

There is a lot of blame to spread around. It starts with spaying and neutering. Any way that we can reduce the overall number of unwanted pets is a big step in the right direction. This is compounded by the fact that in our very rural farm area many people consider a cat equivalent to a squirrel. No care is provided to most of them just based on the sheer volume (in no small part due to their incredible prolific reproductive abilities). Their numbers are staggering and, hence, their worth is reduced to pestilence in many a farmers eye. The shelter flood gate doors are further inundated by our disposable perception of pet care, an irresponsible society and the perception of pet care being "too costly" when problems arise.

Animals enter the Humane Society by one of two methods. As a stray pet, or an owner surrender. A stray/missing pet has only a few things going for them. Should they be found and caught they are provided a safe warm place to lodge, are fed, and provided the most basic of medical care when brought into the shelter. Our shelter is what we call "open admission." They are contracted to take the pets no one wants or provide a place for the public to come and claim them. But, due to the inherent nature of their designation they also have a space issue. They have to keep space open for the next found animal. The holding period is about  5 days and this allows the public a place to go to see if their missing pet has been found. The best way to insure that your pet is reunited with you is not to hope that you check the shelter on the 5 days they might possibly be there. The best way is to have your pet microchipped. It is a cause I am so steadfastly committed to that for 5 years I gave microchips away for free to all of our clients. It cost us about $3,000 a year to do.  We now provide them at cost at $10 a chip.

When a found pet shows up at our clinic the first thing we do is check for a microchip. I know that if that pet doesn't have one that it is very unlikely to be a JVC patient. Providing chips at cost and having every team member at the practice see first hand how beneficial they are has our patients at about 95% microchip compliance. Can you imagine if 95% of Harford Counties pets were microchipped? That stray reclaim number wouldn't be 3 % for cats and 50% for dogs any longer would it?

Found on the side of the road, Ruby was adopted by a friend of JVC.

I own a veterinary clinic in this county. I wondered, "are any of these surrenders mine?" I feel responsible to the pets of my community. Is that what makes me an aberrant practice owner? Why aren't other vet practices pissed off that the community shelter has to euthanize healthy animals due to lack of space?

I also run a company that provides free pet healthcare advice and much of our users are looking for low, or no cost, help. What if some of these people need help and can't find it affordably? Where do those pets go?

A local rescue kitty makes a new friend.

So today I pooled my clinic's resources; our Hospital Administrator, Diedra, who is always the girl with the big unshakable smile who epitomizes Pollyanna in situ, Dr. Hensler, our new vet who has time to meet new clients and a list of skills to start to set in motion, along with my friend at Vet Billing Solutions who offers third party payment options to those of us who don't have the next pet disaster paycheck snugly tucked away in our safety deposit box. Collectively we are determined to put a serious dent in that "2 adoptions per hour" statistic. I am DETERMINED!

So, here is what Jarrettsville Vet is going to do to help get our community shelter to a 100 percent adoption rate.

1. Continue to provide microchips at cost. That is $10 to our clients. We will be working on  a program to provide these at the same cost to anyone who needs them. Yes! they are that important!

2. Continue to participate in the Harford County Sterilization Program (HASP). This provides the spays and neuters at no cost to those who adopt from the HCHS.

3. Provide multiple tiers of assistance to those in need. If we cannot provide the care our patients need through the clients wallet, we take CareCredit, or Vet Billing Solutions. If these don't work we offer help through our Good Samaritan Fund. There has to be a way to provide care to people who want to keep their pet but need help when disaster strikes.

4. Pawbly. Pawbly provides help and resources. Along with a huge community of pet loving people who can provide support, guidance, advice, and help. Pawbly is something I created because I believe that there is a huge wealth of information available to people simply by connecting those who know with those who need help. It is free. If you want to help a pet join us. Share your experience, or just provide support to those in need.

5. Offer to help a HCHS pet in need. How can you do this? Volunteer your time. Pledge your support, help with fundraisers, walk dogs, groom and socialize cats, or take care of your own pet so that they don't become lost, or too sick for you to be able to financially manage. Get pet insurance (ask me anytime on Pawbly what my thoughts on this are). An ounce of prevention is worth a pound (or ton) of cure. See your vet yearly, use the preventatives we recommend, maintain a good diet and exercise plan, stay healthy, avoid us vets the rest of the year (we understand you have better  things to do together). Dunkin and Gertie (just to name two of the many came from here).

Gertie

6. Social media campaigns and shares. Help those in need with your online presence. We always have a Facebook post for a pet in need. Share it and help us get the word out.

7. Build a community that cares, by being a part of a caring community. Build, foster, and maintain healthy relationships within the pet loving community. We all need each other. Did you know that there are pet food kitchens in our area to donate food for those pets in need so they can stay with their families? Learn more about the Pet Pantry of Lancaster County, Pa. here.

8. Be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem. Don't turn your back on any pet in need. Every kitten, stray cat, and lost/found dog that comes through our doors is cared for and assisted. Everyone can do a little to help.

My crew..
Joe takes the pups for a drive,,
Charleston (HCHS rescue), Jekyll (JVC surrender) and Cora (rescue)

9. Don't buy a pet unless you are SURE it is from a reputable breeder. We encourage adoption from the shelter, and know that you will find every specialty breed, and every kind of size, shape, and all with unconditional immeasurable love to give. Every pet is capable and wants to be loved, it is not dependent on age, breed, or health status. Think about an older pet, cats especially are in need of a second chance. My pup Charleston came from there. My husband will tell you that he is the most devoted love-bug ever!

Jax, a HCHS rescue.
Adopted by Shelly one of our technicians

10. Participate in TNR. With the help of many rescues and veterinarians we can, and have, put a huge dent in the number of stray cats just by spaying/neutering and returning them to their colony. TNR saves lives. If you would like more information please visit Alley Cat Allies here.

We still have so much to do.

I know what Jarrettsville can continue to do. I also know that I have work to do with the shelter staff. We had a whole conversation about "cost saving measures" for pets in the shelter who need expensive care. Is it cheaper and easier to amputate a leg versus fix a fracture or deglove injury? Yes, sadly. But, I am not going to amputate a leg without trying to fix it first. I am not going to provide care that is NOT in the best interest of the pet because it is cheaper. I understand that the shelter has to manage tight resources, and yes, a three legged dog is better than a euthanized dog, BUT, I was also told that 3 legged dogs, one-eyed cats are "more adoptable" because people feel sorry for them. I cannot even begin to discuss this. I spent many years at sea stopping in pathetically poor ports of call where broken, disfigured children begged at the end of the gangway. It worked, but I was always left to feel as if I was a patron of an unknowing freak side show act.

If you don't want to believe in miracles you aren't going to see them.

SO, do I believe that every pet is adoptable.. yes. I do. Do I believe that Harford County can save every single one? yes, I have to. What is the alternative for that dog or cat who never had a human to love them?

The hardest cases are the first ones we should be helping. They are the ones that you will remember forever. They are the miracles that you let happen because you just tried.

I couldn't do what the shelter staff does day in and day out. I am not sure that I could remain hopeful in humanity. I couldn't make space and sacrifice a pet for another pet. And yet I don't want to live in a place like so much of the rest of the world where stray pets struggle for survival on the streets suffering from disease, putting other pets and people at risk of disease. So here I am trying to make this problem a miracle simply based on will and a little bit of skill. I am DETERMINED..

If you would like to help resolve this problem please share your thoughts.

If you would like to help us please stop by Jarrettsville Veterinary Center and ask us how this is going?

I can also be found on Twitter @FreePetAdvice and on Pawbly.com

Related blogs;

Dunkin. The Story Of The Littlest Life And All That Matters.

Limbs Are Accessories, Until It's Yours. Why we should try to fix before we decide it's cheaper to amputate.

Fiji's Failing Family, and Our First Christmas. Saving a dog from euthanasia seconds before he was killed.

Rabies, Your Pets And Your Life On the Line. How having a bit of faith and not taking the easy way out let a miracle happen.

TNR. Tired and No Relief.

Things are changing at our local Humane Society in no small part to a dedicated group of people who are also DETERMINED to improve the lives of our communities animals. My friend wanted me to add that the shelter also receives 'animals by abandonment (i.e. tied to our gate, left in a box at our door, etc), and via animal control seizure (hoarding, neglect, abuse, dog fighting, etc.). Those animals can be with us for months or even years while their cases go through the system. While they are with us we have to provide full veterinary care and we are rarely, if ever, reimbursed for that when/if the person is found guilty and ultimately the animals are turned over to us, and never if the person is found innocent. They also in the past were never sent into foster care (if they could be) so they took up space in the shelter, resulting in more killing. We are now sending these animals into foster to stop that."

Rabies. Why You Should Worry About It.

While I was at the TNR today I was over hearing one of the Animal Control Officers from Harford County talk about one of the most recent rabies outbreaks. There was a connection between the family who owned the farm where the rabies outbreak occurred and one of our Veterinarians. It seems one of my Vets knows and lives very close to the family where the outbreak occurred. (Talk about hitting close to home, it really did for her). Even if the family isn't a neighbor of mine, they live about 10 miles from our clinic, and about 7 miles from my house. So hit close to home for all of us.


The story goes like this;


One day during the early summer the father was outside working around the house when one of their "barn cats" (barn cats around here means you are not an inside "attended to" kitty, but rather, you are a "you are on your own to fend for yourself" kind of kitty). These kitties are usually allowed to sleep under the roof of a building that you own, but they are not named, petted, or given medical care. The Animal Control Officer told us that the father was attacked by one of his barn cats. The attack was reported as being unprovoked and the left injuries to his leg that were severe enough to require immediate medical care. She was called out to their farm because when you go to the emergency room or hospital and report that your wounds are the result of a bite, the local authorities are called in to investigate.

 When the Animal Control Officers arrived it was discovered that this particular cat had never been vaccinated for Rabies. Because the cat had "neurologic signs," hadn't been vaccinated, and it had bitten someone, it was decided the cat should be euthanized. The cat was then sent to the State Lab for its brain tissue to be examined for evidence of rabies infection. Three days later the lab called to report that the cat was in fact positive for rabies. This piece of news set two things in motion; First, the father went to the health department and his physician to start post-exposure rabies treatment. Second, the Animal Control Officers came back to his farm to investigate how many other animals were potentially exposed.


The Animal Control Officers learned that none of their pets were up to date and/or vaccinated for rabies. To insure the safety of the entire family the Harford County Animal Control Officers trapped and euthanized all of their pets. It final tally was over 40 cats. Some were even "indoor only" cats.


To this day the family can't bear the idea of getting another pet.


But thankfully everyone is doing fine.


I tell this story many times a day when I have an owner who wants to decline vaccinating for rabies. I always reply; "First, You, and I  are required by law to vaccinate your pet. It is not an elective procedure. Second, rabies will kill you, why would you want to risk that? And third, it is cheap! $5.00 at the fire hall, or $12.00 at JVC. To cheap to risk this story happening to you."




To read about other rabies cases in Harford county, MD. see the link http://forums.somd.com/archive/t-187247.html


You can also read more about my personal rabies scare at my earlier blog. Learning My Lesson The Hard Way.

And the annual rabies report from JAVMA in the Sept 15, 2011 edition.