for companion animals and exotic pets.
“Kelsey”, a spayed female Labrador Retriever Cross was presented to the Animal Emergency Clinic almost 2 weeks after Christmas with a history of intermittent vomiting. Initially, the vomit was bile but had now progressed to vomit with blood. She had apparently been eating normally until this morning and had recently passed normal stool. Additional history revealed that Kelsey had eaten a Christmas decoration made of wire, Styrofoam berries and sticks a couple of days before Christmas. She had passed Styrofoam berries for several days afterwards.
Kelsey’s vital signs and physical exam were within normal limits with no obvious cause for her illness. Xrays of her abdomen were performed—she had swallowed a large amount of wire from the decoration, which had now formed a large “ball” in her stomach!
Kelsey had preanesthetic lab tests performed, was rehydrated with intravenous fluids containing electrolytes prior to being taken to surgery. The wire ball was removed from her stomach. She remained in the hospital afterwards and was discharged the next day. Kelsey has made a full recovery and is back to her normal rambunctious self!
Case #4
“Saphire” is a 2 year old intact female Border Collie who presented to AECFV after she vomited and then collapsed. On her initial physical exam we found that she was non-responsive, her gums where white, she had some fluid in her lungs, and there was an unusual tubular structure palpable in her abdomen. On x-rays, we found what was causing her to be so sick- she had a closed pyometra (an infection of the uterus). This condition can be fatal if it is not surgically corrected right away, however there were some concerns about taking her into surgery with the fluid in her lungs, as this could indicate a compromised heart. We performed some tests on the heart which confirmed that she did not have primary heart disease, and the decision was made to take her into surgery that night. The surgery was extremely touch and go, and she was critical for the entire night afterwards. Finally, in the morning, she started to breathe on her own and began to lift her head. Over the next few days the fluid in her lungs resolved, she appeared very bright and had a good appetite. She was sent home two days after surgery to a very happy family! 
“Boz” a 4 year old neutered male Chow Chow was presented to the Animal Emergency Clinic after having an encounter with a porcupine. Boz was in considerable distress when he arrived and had multiple quills embedded in his mouth, head, neck and forelimbs. “Boz” was given pain relief medication, anesthetized and had the quills removed. It took almost two hours to remove the quills as many of them were embedded under the skin and needed to be cut out of the tissues. The wounds were treated topically and “Boz” was discharged with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication. 
Case #3-"Commander"
When “Commander”, a six year old two kilogram Pomeranian arrived at the clinic, he was gasping for breath as a rawhide-type chew toy got stuck in his esophagus, and was large enough to partially block his airway. His tongue was purple (never a healthy color), and he was immediately put on oxygen while the veterinarian got permission from the owner to put “Commander” under anesthesia so we could remove the toy.
It was a true emergency and a rewarding case as the doctor was quickly able to dislodge the object and “Commander” could breath easier and much more effectively. His tongue color quickly returned to a happy, healthy pink and after recovery from his brief anesthesia, he was able to go home with no adverse consequences.
Interesting Phone Call:
*3 year old husky who ate a box of paint balls. Has vomited several up but otherwise is acting normal. Are paint balls toxic?
Most paint balls are gelatin based capsules containing laxatives, dyes and other nontoxic substances. According to the company, these particular paint balls are “edible but taste bad”.
It must be noted however that not all paint balls are totally non toxic. The number of paint balls ingested as well as the size of the animal may change the outcome. The actual toxic dose of paint balls is not known and there have been cases where the outcome unfortunately resulted in euthanasia.
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