Thursday, April 30, 2020

Covid-19 A Veterinary Journal (4)


The rigors of working under the corona virus guidelines have made finding time to post a bit of a challenge over the past week.  We’ve been running short staffed and then the other team was forced to go into a one-week quarantine, putting the burden of keeping the practice open on my team.  We’ve made some logistical changes to try to maximize our ability to take care of our patients without jeopardizing the safety of pet owners or our staff. I’ve spoken with friends and colleagues throughout Long Island and they are facing the same difficulties as we are and the stress on the doctors and staff is quite apparent when we talk.  For now, we will remain open 6 days a week but the operating hours have been curtailed.  The staff and I are in from 8 AM to 4PM to see patients and perform required procedures.  Shelley came up with a great idea, and we shifted our procedures to first thing in the morning from mid-day to try to make things a little more controlled, time management wise.  I have been doing a weekly Facebook Live "Ask the Vet" and clients have responded well.  Details are usually posted over the weekend.

But through all off the challenges that we are all facing day in and day out, I wanted to share one of our cases with everyone.  This is the type of case that gives me great satisfaction, helping a dog and his owner.

Enzo is a really sweet Pittie that came to me as a second opinion in January, before the current pandemic changed the way that we are practicing medicine. Enzo had a skin problem.  Look at this poor pup’s photograph. 
The original veterinarian made the correct diagnosis, generalized demodectic mange.  He had the correct treatment started, but for some reason, he didn’t think that Enzo was responding and was recommending euthanasia.  After reviewing the records and examining Enzo, I counseled the owners about this disease in adult dogs, made some minor adjustments to his treatment plan and encouraged them to come back for regular rechecks.  This went well until the end of February when rechecks became more problematic.  We were able to manage the changes in Enzo’s skin via e mail photographs and medication adjustments.  The last set of photos, sent last week, show what can be accomplished with a conscientious owner and an appropriate treatment plan.   Needless to say, everyone is happy now.  We still need to do some work to find out why Enzo got so sick and set up a protocol to keep this from flaring up again, but this was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal week.
I told Mom that these pictures made my week.
 

Enzo responded with this dapper selfie.  All dressed up but socially isolated. 




The entire team here at Crawford Dog and Cat Hospital is happy that we are still able to help our patients, even during these difficult times.  Our goal is to continue doing so and we will adapt as the situation changes.

Stay safe. Be well.  Wash your hands and don’t touch your face.

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