In this last post in the series of “Virginia Bear Updates” we’ll talk about her treatment. Administering Virginia’s daily medicine takes a bit of time, but fortunately the team has figured out a routine that works well. Below is my bucket of grapes and dried fruit, along with syrup ( and my stool to sit on while giving meds). If you want to see Kate preparing and giving Virginia meds, click here. (This is a link to a 30 minuteRead more
Posts tagged: #Virginia
Virginia Bear Update- Post #5, CT Scan
Now that Virginia was sedated and all safety and monitoring equipment in place, it was time to take her to radiology. (Another big thanks to Mike Charbonneau, the Director of Communications and Marketing at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, for sending us the following pictures of this part of Virginia’s appointment). I think these images of Virginia in the CT machine are pretty darn cool! We already knew that Virginia had extensive arthritis, but we needed to get newRead more
Virginia Bear Update–Post #4, Sedation and Safety
We left off the last Virginia bear update with her being wheeled into the room to get ready for the work that was to come. The first part of getting Virginia “seen” by the team of specialists was getting her to sleep– or sedated. Our bear crate has a variety of doors and little “windows” we can use to help make this happen safely. The general plan was reviewed with the team, and then we began: I “called” Virginia toRead more
Virginia Bear Update, Post #1
I mentioned the end of November that we would have a series of posts about Virginia’s health condition, her recent challenges, and her trip offsite for diagnostics. I’ll set the stage today for what’s to come in the blog posts BACKGROUND: how did we get to today. TRANSPORT: how do you get a bear that won’t come down the cliff to the house, and then, how do you get her offsite for her medical appointment. PEOPLE: just how many peopleRead more
Virginia Bear Update: laser and more
Readers know Virginia has extensive osteoarthritis. She receives multiple medicines and laser treatments to help. Some photos (and video) below. We’ll be doing a series of posts in December about Virginia’s recent challenges, and her trip to the NCSU Vet School for a CT scan. Read more
Last Week in June
I was so happy this morning to welcome back former volunteer and former temporary Animal Keeper Nicole. Nicole’s arrival and help brought smiles and cheers from the rest of the team this morning! The other thing I was sooooooo happy about this morning is Virginia’s improvement. Last week she tore part of the skin off her foot. Given the issues she has already walking it was a hard few days for her. We’ve had her locked in the house soRead more