It’s about a month since I told you about Cassandra’s brush with death. She continues to surprise us and is doing really well. Her illness and issues are a mystery. Even after repeated testing I fear we may never know what the initial problem was. I guess this is a good problem to have: that she appears to be fine now. We took her in last week to for repeat ultrasound and radiographs (x-rays). Everything looked good. Below are someRead more
Posts tagged: #veterinary care
An easy way to lose weight fast!
I know it sounds like an infomercial that you would see on TV late at night when you can’t sleep, but it’s not. Unlike those television gimmicks, this method actually has guaranteed results, and doesn’t require any bulky machines that have to get shipped to your house. The unfortunate part about this sure-fire weight loss plan is… It’s only for sheep. You may have guessed what I’m talking about by looking at our freshly sheared wooly friends in the picture below. Yes, that’sRead more
Big Word of the Month: Euthanasia
The big word of the month is a hard one to talk about. Euthanasia comes from Greek and means “good death”. I doubt any two people can agree on what exactly a good death is, yet it is a discussion we have to have in the Animal Department from time to time. When an animal is ill and our veterinarians have run out of treatment strategies we have to consider quality of life issues. Deciding when an animal is sufferingRead more
Big Word of the Month: Acarology
Acarology is the study of ticks and mites. During the summer, all the animal keepers become acarologists. Given the amount of time we spend outdoors we inevitably run into some of these critters. Ticks and mites are not insects but rather arachnids, the same group of animals that contains spiders. All ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of their hosts by inserting a feeding tube through a small incision in the skin. Mites have more diverse lifestyles butRead more
Creature Feature: Red Wolf Surgery Part 3
This video is the third and final part of a three part series. Watch the first and second part or see all three in the same video. Well, a lot has happened with red wolf #1227 in the last week or so. Yesterday’s video showed you the procedure of the mass being removed, and today’s video will allow you to see what happened to #1227 after the surgery and how she is doing now. #1227 arrived at the museum inRead more
Creature Feature: Red Wolf Surgery Part 2
This video is the second part of a three part series. Watch the first video here. WARNING: This video contains graphic images of surgical procedures that may not be appropriate for all viewers. In yesterday’s post, I said that I would tell you more about red wolf #1227 for the second part of the video. However, we received the pathology report yesterday afternoon, and I didn’t want to wait until tomorrow to share the results with you. So I willRead more