Kaia is a 5 yr old French Bull Dog who was seen by our Neurologist Dr Will Kay, Jr. for not being able to use her hind legs. On exam there was concern of IVDD (Intervertebral Disc Disease). She had pre anesthetic work up before having an CT (Computed tomography - Cat Scan). A spinal CT was performed on Kaia of her thoracolumbar spine. The CT revealed material causing moderate to severe spinal cord compression on the left from T13-cranial body of L3 consistent with intervertebral disc extrusion and hemorrhage. A left T13-partial L3 hemilaminectomy was performed. Kaia was maintained on pain management after surgery which included laser therapy by our rehabilitation department. She responded so well. On her three week post surgical recheck she couldn't control her wiggly rear end! What a sweetie. Kaia's parent also followed up with a rehabilitation consult to help Kaia recover safely. Share some well wishes in our comments below for her parents to read. 🐾🩺
Back in the Spring we featured a puppy with swimmers syndrome. This little puppy had rehab and responded well. Star is now 6 months old and just look at him now! Way to go Star! We are so proud of this not so little anymore pup! Thank you for the update! We are so happy to share. 🐾🩺 #vetmedrehab #petrehabilitation
https://bit.ly/3kJNS9K (hickoryvet.com/services/rehabilitation)
Milo is a Boxer mix foster puppy who was seen as an emergency due to a suspected dislocated or fractured jaw. Radiographs were taken and a fracture of the lower left mandible was diagnosed. Once we got Milo's pain under controlled he was ready to do what puppies do best - EAT, SLEEP, POO/PEE and REPEAT. A plan was made to have his fracture repaired. He did great with anesthesia and was on his way home within a few days. On his two week post fracture repair recheck he not only gained weight and size but he was ready to eat and lick everything! What a cutie, he is on his way to finding a forever home. Send some well wishes for his foster to share with his new future owner. 🐾🩺🐶❤️
CATURDAY SATURDAY - Check out this helpful video for medicating your cat.
Cindy Lou is a 2 year old American Staffordshire mix that was adopted by Dr J O'pella from Main Line Animal Rescue. On her most recent exam it was noted she had a possible tooth fracture and required a dental cleaning. Here is a video of her dental visit. ENJOY!
We are Hiring!! Overnight Veterinary TechnicianPlymouth Meeting, PAHickory Veterinary and Specialty Hospital is looking for OVERNIGHT LVTs/CVTs or experienced veterinary technicians to join our busy specialty and emergency practice located in the suburbs of Philadelphia in Plymouth Meeting, PA. Hickory is a family owned, third generation AAHA accredited hybrid general practice, specialty and emergency hospital hospital with 24/7 emergency doctors on staff. We are looking for a team oriented member who prefers the night shifts!Duties would include:This position to be filled is a full-time overnight veterinary technician. Technicians are responsible overnight for patient care as well as outpatient visits and emergency surgical procedures and keeping the hospital clean and stocked. The scheduled hours worked would be in shifts that fall between the hours of 7:00 pm – 7:00 am, working a minimum of 32 hours per week for full time status. Weekends are required.Benefits:100% health benefits to 40 hour/week employeesCompetitive PTO CE StipendDiscounted pet services and productsPaid holidays - compensated 1.5x if working holidays401K benefits and 3% company matchUniform stipendQuarterly incentive bonusOvernight and Weekend differential in hourly payHickory Veterinary Hospital is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.
Tyson, a 12 year old Dachshund, was referred to us for an injury that occur while jumping onto a couch. He had cried out and then had loss of both hind limbs. His regular veterinarian had given him a pain medication via injection prior to sending him over to see our neurologist Dr. Will Kay, Jr. Tyson was examined and a CT was performed of the his spine. The CT revealed a hyperdense extradural compression centered above the L2 vertebral body that is left sided. This finding is consistent with intervertebral disc protrusion. A hemilaminectomy was performed. Tyson recovered well. He won the hearts of our techs with his very expressive eyes. Here is a short video of Tyson while he was here and on his recheck day. Share you well wishes on our comments below for his owners to read. Slow down Tyson, lets keep you on the road to recovery!
Unveiling
Elmwood Park Zoo
CENTENNIAL PROWL
This custom-designed jaguar is one of over a dozen located throughout
Montgomery County that honor Elmwood Park Zoo's 100th anniversary in 2024
ARTIST: DAVID REIMER # 05
Spot more Jaguars on the prowl!
http://elmwoodparkzoo.org/support/centennial-prowl
Elmwood Park Zoo
CENTENNIAL PROWL
This custom-designed jaguar is one of over a dozen located throughout
Montgomery County that honor Elmwood Park Zoo's 100th anniversary in 2024
ARTIST: DAVID REIMER # 05
Spot more Jaguars on the prowl!
http://elmwoodparkzoo.org/support/centennial-prowl
HVSH Jaguar
Elmwood Park Zoo
CENTENNIAL PROWL
This custom-designed jaguar is one of over a dozen located throughout Montgomery County that honor Elmwood Park Zoo's 100th anniversary in 2024
ARTIST: DAVID REIMER # 05
Spot more Jaguars on the prowl!
http://elmwoodparkzoo.org/support/centennial-prowl
Meet Bear, this little unstoppable pup was seen by our Neurologist Dr. W. Kay, Jr. Bear has a history of IVDD (Intravertebral Disc Disease) and his signs of back pain, shaking and lameness came back early April. He was given medications and was doing better but then he regressed. There was always concerns that he may require surgery if he should have reoccurring issues with his back. He came in shaking, going down on hind legs despite being on medical management. Once at home he did not want to move. In the office during his exam he made all efforts to move around. It was decided to have a CT Scan of his back. CT was performed of the entire spine without contrast. CT revealed a hyper dense extradural lesion at L1-2 on the right causing severe spinal cord compression consistent with intervertebral disc extrusion and hemorrhage. He was prepped for surgery and did well! Here is a mini video of him with assisted walks after 24 hours of cage rest post surgery and him two weeks after recovery. This little guy is always ready to go! Good luck Bear, try to stay out of trouble.🐶🐾🩺❤️
Chance is a sweet 7 yr old Beagle mix who came in for a neurology appt with Dr. W. Kay, Jr. Chance was having neck pain that started 2 weeks prior to her visit. Medication seems to help control some of the pain, however she would yelp in pain when off medication. Her owners where concerned that with rest and medication her neck pain was not resolving. She would hold her head low. She had diagnostics (blood work and radiographs) at the referring vet. It was discussed that she should have an MRI to determine the location of the lesion causing the pain. A Cervical MRI was performed of the cervical spine using T2 and STIR weighted sequences in multiple planes. MRI revealed a T2 hypo intense extradural compression centered at the C3-4 intervertebral disc space that is right lateralized. This finding is consistent with intervertebral disc extrusion. Chance had surgery, a C3-4 ventral slot was performed. She was given appropriate pain medication and within 24 hours of surgery was already feeling so much better she slept deeply after recovery. It is common to see pets with pain rest well after receiving the necessary procedure or pain management. In this video you will see her walk well after 24 hours of cage rest, slowly raising her head and the last part of the video clip she had her 2 week post-surgical recheck and you can see how happy and active she is, greeting the staff on her way out. We are so happy for Chance and her parents. Good luck Chance and try to stay out of trouble. 🐾🐶🩺❤️
Henry is a 9 year old Labrador Retriever who had been having issues in the past for joint and back pain. He was seen by our emergency department for acute pain and did not want to walk. He had received an epidural to treat LS disc last July which responded well. He was admitted for pain management and set up for a neurology consultation with Dr. W. Kay, Jr. After 24-48 hours on pain management, he was more alert and active but with a crouched/sciatic dysfunction posture. Due to his response options were discussed and Henry's family decided to pursue outpatient therapy and recheck in 2 weeks. Henry's parent restricted his activity and continued is pain management. On his 2 week recheck he had improved some but had a gait that appeared suggestive of LS disease, but also concern for cranial cruciate ligament tear of his right knee. Henry required a surgical orthopedic consultation to evaluate his knee. Our surgeon confirmed a CCL tear. We reviewed cruciate disease in dogs, anatomy and associated pathology with a dog this age and size. After answering Henry's family's questions, it was decided given Henry's age, size, and activity level, a TPLO (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy) was the best option for Henry to return to normal function. Henry was set up for surgery. He did great with anesthesia and on his recheck he has been healing well. He will require another recheck in a few weeks with the neurologist to make sure his LS disease is resolving. Let's send this sweet guy well wishes. He's an awesome patient and received many hugs and treats from the technicians who have been caring for him during his hospitalizations.
Meet Star! Star is a 6 week-old Rottweiler puppy who came in to see Dr. Dhara Patel for a rehabilitation consult. Star has a condition called Swimmers Syndrome that is an uncommon developmental deformity that causes puppies legs to be spayed out making it difficult for them to stand and even walk. Star also has an additional deformity of his tarsal (ankle) joint. Fortunately, Star’s dad noticed he looked like a starfish (all of his legs splayed out) and was developmentally delayed compared to his housemates and sought veterinary guidance quickly. Star spent a week boarding with us to do daily rehab sessions with Dr. Patel and our excellent technicians Aylise and Nancy. Watch this little guy’s incredible progress; we can’t wait to watch him grow!🏋️🐶🐾🩺❤️
National Thank You Day! We have a special board in our doctor's row for our staff to read all the wonderful thank you cards we've received over the years. We can't thank you enough for trusting us with your pet's care.
This is Cash, a Belgian Tervuren, who's been positively trained to put his own basket muzzle on. Cash is fearful of strangers but is a very smart boy! His owner is proactively training him to be 100% comfortable wearing his muzzle so vet visits can be less stressful for everyone. When dogs are comfortable wearing their own muzzle in stressful situations it's one less scary thing that needs to be done to them at the vet. Basket muzzles are fear free recommended and safe to wear because your dog can pant, drink water, and eat treats while wearing them. Interested in muzzle training your dog? Visit https://bit.ly/4bk9iPI (muzzleupproject.com) to learn more.
Ozzy the coolest English Bulldog we've met. This compact ball of energy found himself limping few weeks ago. He was seen for right hind leg limping and a luxated patella with a partial cruciate rupture was diagnosed. He required surgery. We take precautions when it comes to anesthesia with brachycephalic breeds. Brachycephalic breeds have shortened noses and skulls, and at times includes elongated and thickened soft palate, stenotic nares and everted laryngeal saccules/laryngeal collapse. He did great and he went home. On his follow up we could barely keep him from running around. He's such a sweet patient. Way to go Ozzy!🩺🐾🐶
Amazing Myah! Check this little girl do her thing! Myah had back surgery and required some help recovering. Rehabilitation is so helpful for all types of injuries. We offer rehab services for mobility issues such as osteoarthritis. Our water treadmill helps when trying to help overweight patients become stronger while losing weight. We have therapeutic massage, joint range of motion, targeted muscular stretching, therapeutic exercises, neuromuscular electrical stimulation, laser (cold therapeutic), land and underwater treadmill, cryotherapy and heat therapy. Check out our website for more information.
May is National Arthritis Awareness Month.
This is Tiggs, she is an almost 10 year old Tortie kitty that was brought in for a monthly Solensia injection. Her cat mom Liz, is a technician here at Hickory. Liz was learning about Solensia at one of our many continuing educational sessions and followed the questionaire to determine if her kitty had osteoarthritis pain. Solensia is a once-monthly, injectable monoclonal antibody therapy for the control of feline osteoarthritis (OA) pain. Nearly 40% of all cats have clinical signs of OA! Here is a mini video of Tiggs receiving her injection followed by a video by Zoetis showing the difference between a cat with normal activity vs a cat with signs of osteoarthritic pain. Please follow the link below for a check off list to determine if your kitty may be having joint pain and how Solensia can help.
https://bit.ly/3U4lzjT (catredflags.com)
