Daily Vet Lola’s tennis ball incident is this vet’s cause for pride and sense of purposefulness

Yesterday I was fortunate enough to receive resounding confirmation of why I went into vet medicine to begin with. In my job that happens surprisingly often—a thing that makes me willing to continue to subject myself to the never-ending stream of euthanasias, vet-business issues and pet owner-related stress.

Mitigating all those things I dislike about my profession are the moments when I can effectively thwart impending doom and defeat death. This may sound overly-dramatic when I relate the following circumstances (but it’s perhaps the little things that make me happiest):

Lola swallowed something bad—a tennis ball. How it got there is a mystery perhaps only an American Bulldog’s owner can understand: she just gulped it down.

An X-ray confirmed the presence of a corrugated mass in the stomach. After some barium (administered to highlight its borders and benignity—and establish the presence of a patent, healthy intestine) I gave Lola some foul stuff. I placed a small tablet of apomorphine, a potent emetic, into her conjunctiva (the spot between her eye and its lids) to speed its absorption into her bloodstream and ensure a rapid cessation of symptoms once washed out.

Five minutes later, Lola vomited her stomach’s contents—the ball and a bunch of now-yellowish barium. You might say, “Yuck!” but we all jumped for joy and hugged one another like a bunch of girls after winning a soccer match (it was all I could do to keep myself from throwing off my scrub-top, Mia Hamm-style).

It’s these moments of drug-induced glee that fuel my love of this profession. After my recent posts on the sad reality of our vet business, it was about time I gave you all a welcome reminder of how much we love our job.

June 12th, 2007

Add Comment8 Comments

Got to be a soccer geek here: that's "Brandi Chastain style". Mia Hamm's waaaaaaaaaay too Mia Hamm to do that.

Thing One June 12th, 2007 08:36:00 PM

Way to go doc!

Meryl June 12th, 2007 10:25:00 PM

Oops on the Mia Hamm thing. Thanks for fact-checking me, Thing One.

Dr. Patty Khuly June 13th, 2007 07:53:00 AM

how on earth does a dog swallow a tennis ball? i'm glad that surgery wasn't needed, that would have been crummy! my friends border collie swallowed a whole corn cob, that was quite the disaster!!

very_vizsla June 13th, 2007 06:46:00 PM

This tennis ball squeaky toy was swallowed after being punctured and deflated.

Dr. Patty Khuly June 14th, 2007 09:34:00 AM

one may also ask how a lab could swallow a plastic spatula........but well, labs, they're special!

CathyA June 19th, 2007 08:37:00 AM

thank you sir
http://www.r4r8.com/

games September 7th, 2008 10:38:00 AM

How did the owner know the dog swallowed something? What were the symptoms?

Neen September 11th, 2008 06:15:00 PM

Add Commment

Virtual Vet Hospital

Got a sick pet? Visit our Virtual Vet Hospital and admit your own pets as patients in Dolittler's unique pet healthcare forum.

The Virtual Vet Hospital is temporarily unavailable as we transition to a new web site platform.

Careerists

Did you always want to be a vet or vet technician? Thinking about it? Working on it? Need some Help?

"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

- Mohandas Gandhi