I was rounded when I arrived and there wasn’t much going on since we only had a few patients. So I started by cleaning the sink tubs.

Then I obtained a heart rate on Maggie Mae, a 7 month old bichon who came in for being lethargic and not doing right. Her heart rate was 140.

Then Raine, a 7 year old neutered male briard, came in with bloody diarrhea. We admitted him and his owners sent him back with his own muzzle on already, although he seemed okay, just a little nervous. We decided to give him some sedation to place a catheter however, since we were going to be placing a sampling catheter and also taking some radiographs. Rebekah one of the CVT’s administered hydromorphone and Midazolam IV and that didn’t seem to make a difference. After a few tries we ended up giving him 1.5 mg of acepromizine. This also did not touch him; it took 4 people to hold him down enough to even look at his leg to place a catheter. Then he defecated all over the table and we put him on the floor where he continued to defecate. Then we got the okay from Dr. Magestro to use Propofol to knock him down. However, we first had to get a catheter in to administer the Propofol. Rebekah had to sit on him to hold him down, while I held his front legs, and someone else held his back legs. We finally got a catheter I his cephalic vein and could use Propofol to sedate him further. Then Bridget and Rebekah took him to take his radiographs while Amy C and I cleaned up. When they returned, Bridget placed a peal away catheter that can be used for sampling blood over the weekend so we do not have to keep on sticking him with needles. Then we cleaned his back end up before he woke up and placed him in a run with a fluid bolus of 800 ml of LRS. We also took his blood pressure before he worked himself up which were 110.

Then Oliver came in. Oliver is a Russian blue DSH and had a PU surgery last week. His owners say he has not been urinating at home for the past few days. His bladder felt fine and small, so nothing to worry about, probably urinating somewhere they could not see.

I then swept and mopped the treatment area and cleaned up as well.

Then I gave 20 mg or 2 ml of Famotidine to Raine through his IV line slowly.

Seamus is a bouvier that had his left hind leg amputated by Vetscision a few days ago. He is now staying with VESCONE because he started bleeding and they had to open him up again but found nothing wrong. We are supporting him until he is well enough to go home. I tried to get him to eat, I offered him some a/d, some chicken and rice dog food and also some tuna, all warmed in the microwave but Seamus was not interested what-so-ever. Then I iced his incision for about 10 minutes, he seemed to like this.

Raine pulled out his IV line from his catheter and got blood all over himself and his run. I gave him a new IV line and cleaned out his run (see procedures) and then set him back up.
I helped Rebekah take Seamus out to see if he would urinate on his own. He did not, so we passed a urinary catheter. We got about500ml of dark bloody urine out, which was apparently what they had seen this morning when he urinated outside.

Raine pulled out his line from the T-set this time and it needed to be completely rewrapped. I restrained for this, and Robin taped every junction of the line and catheter so he could not pull it out again. Then I walked him and he had a small amount of diarrhea outside.

I then helped Robin change the scrub containers by taking premade scrub and alcohol gauze squares and putting them in new containers that get changed every few weeks.

The last thing I helped with was Zora. Zora is an 8 year old spayed female Great Dane. She had been having cluster seizures all day and wanted to come here for overnight observation and for safety. I restrained her for Amy C so she could place a catheter. Then, while we were rounding the overnight technicians, Zora had another seizure and we gave her 12 cc of Valium which stopped it.

First, we rounded. Then we started our 8 am treatments.

I walked Mr. Puccini, a bichon who was a post cystotomy. Then I performed a TPR- temp = 100.2, heart rate = 120, he was panting and his gum color was pink and his capillary refill time was less than 2. Then I took his blood pressure which was 152. His total volume infused (TVI) was 66 ml. I gave him ½ tablet of Tramadol, 125mg tablet of Clavamox, 18 lb dose of Metacam in his food and then weighed him at 8.2 kgs.

Next was Chloe, another bichon who was attacked by a wolf or coyote we suspected. I took her blood pressure at 130.

Then I did some laundry and then entered my treatments into the computer.

I then walked Mr. Puccini again at about 10 o’clock am. His TVI was 66ml again.

Then I walked Dylan, a pomeranian with chronic vomiting and diarrhea. He urinated 2++.

Next, Maestro, a 4 year old spayed female DSH came in lame on her back left leg. Dr. Kridel suspected an abscess. We knocked her down using Propofol after the ketamine and valium did not work. Once she was under with the Propofol she was shaved and prepped and then Heather made an opening where she thought the pocket was. Once she was in the abscess, she found that it was a multiple pocket abscess. While this was going on, I gave a 200 ml SQ bolus of LRS. Heather flushed out all of the pockets with LRS and then placed a drain to keep it open and draining. Then we were ready to let her wake up. After the hour long procedure, we gave 6 ml of Propofol in all. Now that the Propofol was out of her system and she had calmed down the drugs we had given her before had finally taken affect. We tried to keep her warm by using warm blankets and harm water bottles, and also kept an oxygen mask on her face to help her wake up. It took her about an hour to wake up enough to go back to her cage.

Then I did some laundry and dishes and then it was time to go.

Amy C rounded me when I arrived, we mostly had cats today. Then I gave 0.2 CC of Ampicillin to Gracie, one of the cats, IV.

It was slow today, so I did a lot of Laundry, Dishes and I cleaned the wet tubs. (See protocols)

Then we did the 2 o’clock treatments:

There was Jack a 1 year old domestic shorthair, whose owners put dog Biospot on him. I took his temperature which was 99.9 degrees Fahrenheit.

Then there was Murri a domestic shorthair. Murri was a possible hit by car with a very badly damaged eye. I took his heart rate, which was 220. Murri is scheduled to have surgery tonight to remove the eye.

Next was Gracie, a domestic shorthair with renal failure. Her heart rate was 260. Then we rinsed her mouth and fed her.

Then Sarah, one of the doctors, brought her cat, Oreo a DSH, in who vomited at home. She wanted a full workup done on him. We drew blood for a CBC and chemistry and then I clipped her nails and gave her water and a liter box.

Our 4 o’clock treatments were;

Murri, I gave 0.36ml of Ampicillin IV. Then I applied Genteal Eye, which is an ointment. Then I changed his IV line.

We pulled Jack’s catheter, because he is scheduled to go home tonight.

Gracie needed Oral Buprenex, a new bag of LRS with 16 mEq of KCL which was 8 mL’s.

Then I made flushes for a while (see protocols).

Animal control brought a stray cat that was dead on arrival. We scanned it for a microchip and then wrote down a description of her on her tag to go on her bag. After that, Jenn Hart and I brought her to the freezer and logged her in the book.

Jack went home.

Next I held Murri for an eye exam by Christy, one of the Vets.

Oliver had a PU surgery today because he kept blocking. His catheter needed to be rewrapped, so I held him for this.

Monty, a 12 week old male bulldog, came in for a possible eye abrasion. His day care had called his owner and said he got hit by another dog while they were playing. I helped restrain him for his exam. Nothing noticeable was seen, it was probably just a puppy reaction to being hit. However we did tell the owner to keep an eye on it to make sure nothing happened within the next 24 hours.

Mitzy, a DSH spayed female who had been vomiting and could not hold her food down for 2 days. Her temperature was 103.5, heart rate was 200, respiratory rate was 52 and she was 7 kgs. It was time for me to go before anything was decided about whether or not Mitzy was going to stay or not.

After they rounded me, I cleaned up a bit. Then I spent a few hours making packets for VESCONE’s first aid class.

Then I did the 2 o’clock treatments. Sammy, an 8 year old cockapoo ate chocolate and was in to be monitored for chocolate toxicity. I walked him and performed a TPR; temperature was 102.3, pulse was 155 and respiration was a pant.
Next was Latte, a DSH orange cat. He just needed a pulse and respiration check; which was pulse 180 and respirations were 40.

Shaw, a black and white Newfoundland came in to get his chest tapped. I helped bring him to ultrasound since he couldn’t walk well. He is 65 kgs and he had many structural deformities. Once we got his hind end up however, he was able to walk. After Dr. Fornari checked his lungs on the ultrasound, we brought him back. I watched and helped hold Shaw as Amy C and Dr. Fornari performed the chest tap. They used a 20 gauge needle and two extension sets with a 35 cc syringe. We got 2100 ml of fluid off of the left side and 900 ml off of the right.

Then I started the 4 o’clock treatments. I took Sammy for a walk and performed a TPR; temperature was 102.0, pulse was 140 and he was panting. I cleaned his back end which was covered in the charcoal he had defecated out. He was also due for another dose of Toxiban, but we had no more left, so he did not get it.

Then I entered this along with the other treatments into the computer.

Dude, a DSH tabby, came in for a drain removal, I helped to restrain.

There was some down time so I cleaned up a bit, did some laundry and dishes.

Then I rounded with the overnight techs and we started 8 o’clock treatments. I walked Gracie, did a TPR and gave her metronidazole, Clavamox and Tramadol PO and then gave her some food and water. After entering her treatment into the computer, I left.

After we rounded, we started the 8am treatments.

Gracie, a female golden doodle was a possible foreign body; I walked her and then performed a TPR.
Next was L.C. one of the Doctors dogs who had a TPLO from vetscision who was a pitbull. I walked her and performed a TPR and gave her 100mg of Tramadol for the pain.
Sennan was a Burmese mountain dog who was hit by a car and one of her hips was out of place. I obtained a blood pressure of 100.
Hannah, a rottweiler, was spayed a week ago and has been vomiting since. I walked her and performed a TPR, set up fluids and fed her.
Three of one of the doctors cats were boarding so I cleaned their cages and fed and gave them water. Friday needed 3.5 units of insulin SQ as well, which I gave.

Next, one of the techs from NEVOG was bringing Missy, a pomeranian, to ultrasound when she crashed. They intubated her and started CPR and got her back for a few minutes before she crashed and turned blue again. We continued CPR and I drew up epinephrine for them whenever they needed it and I also got the fluids ready. Then I cleaned up the area so nothing was in the way since I wasn’t doing anything else. She ended up dying and they had the owner come back and see her and he decided to bring her home to bury.

Then I cleaned and organized the endotracheal drawer, making sure each tube had gauze at the end to be tied. Then I cleaned out both of the tub sinks and the sink by the tubs.

Then Maxine a yellow lab who was here for an ultrasound and liver biopsy I helped bring her back from the ultrasound room and put her in her run.

Then I walked Hannah again and gave her 1.2 ml of Pepcid and 1.2 ml of Baytril, I gave both of these IV.

Then I took Sennan out with Amy B for pain assessment.

After lunch I did the laundry and some dishes.

Gracie went to surgery to see if she did have a foreign body, which she did. When she came back, she needed a central line put in. We kept her under anesthesia and Amy C placed the central line. I watched and placed the Fentanyl patch.

Then I wrapped a pack to be autoclaved.

I then obtained a blood pressure from Gracie, which was 50. We gave her a bolus of fluids from the incubator.
I then cleaned and stocked some more. After that I took Maxine for a walk and Maura performed a TPR. Then I drew blood for a PCV and total solids and I ran them. The PCV was 46% and the total solids were 7.6.

After I was rounded, I helped with the 12 o’clock treatments. First, I walked Nikki, a spayed female husky. She needed a sling to walk because she couldn’t use her back legs. She had a known abdominal mass and came in because she was down. After I walked her, I set her fluids back up.

Then, Remy was transferred to us from NEVOG. Remy is a 2 year old neutered male golden mix. He has cancer, and they realized he was also hyperkalemic so they brought Remy to us to treat before they did more for the cancer. We took his blood pressure, which was 150, placed an IV catheter and set up fluids at 120 ml/hr. Then I figured out how much Pepcid, or famotidine to give; which was 1.6ml (10mg/ml and he was to get 16mg).

Fuzzy, a 3 year old DLH spayed female was already in hospital and she was blocked. We ran a big three on her; blood pressure was 158, PCV 36% and total solids were 5.8. To place an IV catheter in her we had to muzzle her and wrap her in a towel. Then we helped Christy, one of the doctors, to unblock her.

We knocked her down with Propofol and hooked her up to some fluids. Then, we shaved from the bottom of her tail to the top of her legs about 3 inches wide and scrubbed the area with chlorihex and alcohol. Then, Christy gloved sterilely and used a urinary catheter to attempt to unblock Fuzzy. She had me use a 60 cc syringe filled with saline attached to the end of the catheter to help unblock her. Once she hit a spot that was stuck, she had me push through until she could move. Once she thought she was in the bladder, she had me pull back to see if we were in, which we were. Once she was in the bladder, she made two stay stitches and tacked the catheter in and radiographs were taken to check the placement of the catheter. It was wrapped around itself a few times, so Christy had to move it back a bit and the second time it was fine. Then it was taped to the tail and attached to a urine collection bag and we took her off the anesthesia and she went back in her cage and we checked on her every few minutes.

I then held Nikki for a saphenous blood draw.

Jake, a DLH had his chest tapped at 2pm with Internal Medicine. He came back because his lungs had filled up again and he was open mouth breathing. We tapped him again since internal medicine had left. We took 100 cc of air off the right and 70 cc of air off the left which was the same as this afternoon. We put him in an incubator to keep him warm since his temperature was down. One of the doctors that was on talked to the owners about euthanasia and they decided to put him down and they took the body home.

Then I entered Fuzzy’s blood work into the computer.

Then we rounded with the surgery patients and the overnight techs. Then I started on the 8 o’clock treatments.
First was Sunny, a 10 year old spayed female yellow lab mix who had a right front leg amputation. I walked her and performed a TPR which was temp = 100.2, pulse=100 and respirations=40.

Next I took out Beezly, a 3 year old male neutered bichon who had a left hind suture. I took him out for a walk and then performed a TPR which was temp=99.5; pulse= 130 and respirations= 80. Then I offered food and water and iced his incision.

First, the overnight technicians rounded us on all of the patients. Then we started the 8 am treatments.

First, was Licorice, a 12 year old neutered male black lab. I walked him, performed a TPR, checked his fluid rate and how much fluid he had since his last treatment, took his blood pressure; which was 105; gave him his dose of Buprenex, and also 1000mg of Ampicillin IV which I made up and gave.

Next was Tucker. Tucker was a neutered male cairn terrier. I walked him, and then gave him 7.4 ml of Ampicillin, famodatine and 0.42ml of Baytril. I figured out the amounts of these drugs, and then gave them. Then I performed a TPR and blood pressure.

Then I watched Amy B take a blood pressure on a cat who threw a clot in his back leg. We wanted to check and see if we could find a blood pressure in the bad leg, and compare it to the good leg. The good leg was 140, and we couldn’t find it in the bad leg.

Then I was shown how to do laundry and the dishes.

Greta, a DSH came back in to see if she could have some more pain medication. She is a 17 year old 1.8 kg cat, and is in every few weeks because she gets constipated and has cancer. This time her owners thought she was vomiting and had diarrhea, but upon talking to her, she had strained so much to defecate that she vomited. We checked her weight, blood pressure and did a TPR. Then, I shaved some of the mats around her back end and cleaned her up a bit.

Licorice was scheduled for an ultrasound today and I went with him. They found a 7 cm mass in the spleen area.

12 o’clock treatments were next; I walked everyone and checked their fluids.

After I ate lunch, I cleaned and stocked some of the drawers with vetwrap, tape, gauze and other blood and catheter supplies.

For the 2 o’clock treatments, I fed Vegas and flushed her catheter.

Then Simon, a DSH was in the hospital for vomiting, diarrhea and anorexia. He was scheduled for an ultrasound as well, and we found that it was most likely pancreatitis.

Tucker’s owners decided to give him a blood transfusion since he was anemic. Amy C set up the blood and we figured how much we were giving him and what rate we were giving it. Then we checked him at 15 min, 30 min, and then every 30 minutes after that. We checked his temperature, heart rate; respiratory rate and this temperament and we recorded it on a sheet next to his cage so anyone could see if something was going wrong if we were not right there.

Next, Ivy came in and had been vomiting and having diarrhea for about a week. We suspected Parvo virus, and did a parvo snap test, which came up negative. Maura placed an IV catheter, Amy B did the parvo test, and I drew 3 cc of blood from the jugular for a CBC chemistry and PCV / total solids. We also did a blood pressure, which was 100.

Before I left, I drew blood from the saphenous vein of Vegas for a PCV/total solids to see if she could go home. The PCV was 17 and the TS were 6. She was allowed to go home.

When I arrived at Vescone for my first shift, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. However, it went well, and everyone was helpful. The first thing I did was help Amy Cambell, one of the CVT’s, to anesthetize her cat so we could rewrap his femoral catheter. Leo, a DSH tuxedo, is very fractious and is in kidney failure. We had to rewrap his catheter because it had become very wet because he could not move very well and had urinated on himself. Then we decided that his bladder was still very full and we should empty it while he was under so he did not urinate on himself again. Amy used a butterfly catheter with a 35 cc syringe attached. After she hit the bladder, I pulled out about 50 cc’s of urine. Later that night, Amy decided to euthanize him since he was doing worse and clearly not getting better.

Amy then took me on a tour of the hospital and pointed out specific items they use frequently and also pointers about how they do certain tasks.

Vegas, a pitbull cross 3 year old spayed female, came in for hematuria. On triage, we noticed that she was also very yellow and had a fever. We placed a catheter and then drew blood.

Lincoln, a DSH black cat, is an Internal Medicine long term case. He came in about 5 or 6 years ago with a really high PCV, around 65 or 70 and was diagnosed with absolute polycythemia. Now, every 5 to 6 weeks, Lincoln comes in, they check his PCV and if it’s above 63 percent, they take about 100ml’s of his blood. Then they support him on fluids for a few hours, recheck his PCV and if it has dropped then they send him home. This seems to be just fine for him and his owners. Today, his PCV was 67, so we had to “bleed him” we sedated him with Propofol and then used a butterfly catheter in his jugular. I used a 20 cc syringe and pulled out 100 cc’s of blood.

While all of this was happening with Lincoln, another tech got a urine sample from Vegas, it was completely red. Also, the blood that we spun down did not separate very well. Because of this, we did an agglutination test. We took 1 cc of fresh blood from her and put 1 drop on three slides. Then we put 1 drop of saline on each drop of blood and moved the slide around to see what the blood did. All of Vegas’ blood clustered together, telling us that she was aggluting. We then took a VD and lateral view radiograph of her chest and abdomen which I helped with and I was then shown how to develop using their dark room. The doctor who was on had us give 10 mg of Dexamethasone SP, I calculated this out to be 2.5 ml and we gave it IV in her fluid line. I found out on a later day that she was diagnosed with IMHA; or Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia.

The shifts changed and we rounded with the new techs on for the night so the other techs could go home.

Buckey, a Scottie, came in for having vomiting and diarrhea for a few days. I helped take a lateral and VD view of the whole body.