Vibes from a Veterinary Nurse

08/09/2024

26/08/2024

All these!

26/08/2024

Accurate. NGL. 🤣

08/08/2024

31/07/2024

Every time. 🙃

26/07/2024

I normally don’t post about my own pets, but this is a desperate situation and also one I hope to be a learning case for my fellow colleages.

PLEASE, PLEASE READ:

My name is Jen Whitaker. I’m a Licensed Veterinary Technician, my husband is a Veterinarian. I am also the Director of Freddie’s Felines, a cat rescue located just outside Chattanooga in Rock Spring, GA.

3 weeks ago my rescue took in 2 Siamese/Oriental Shorthair cats from a severe hoarding and neglect situation. For years they had been kept in a hoarding home piled to the ceiling with junk, infested with thousands of fleas, filled with tapeworms, never provided a litterbox and just allowed to defecate all over the home, and starved nearly to death — they survived by scavenging food from the dog that was left scattered on the floor and scraps of food leftover from the owner, whom themselves eventually died in the home. Upon intake, the male, Freddie, weighed 5.1 # and the female, Mercury, weighed 2.9 #. Both were skin over skeleton and nothing more, the female being the worse of the two.

Over the past 3 weeks, Freddie has gained almost a full pound and had been doing very well. He was eating well, using the litterbox, had formed normal stool, and his fur even began getting soft and developing the glittery sheen his breed is known for along his paws. He was becoming beautiful, and his outgoing, affectionate, snuggly personality was a joy to interact and cuddle with. Mercury needed more work as she was worse off and not at all socialized, but has been slowly making progress.

It was quickly becoming apparent to me that this was likely going to be a foster fail, that Freddie was going to become my heart cat — long awaited after losing my Reggie over a year ago. Freddie sleeps on my chest/shoulder every night, spends every work shift on my lap snuggled in his blankie (I work a remote position with Banfield), sits on the edge of the tub while I’m in the bath, and follows me literally EVERYWHERE in the house. He gets along famously with my 3 girl cats and loves my 7-year-old daughter to pieces, doing a “somersault” into her lap every time she rubs his belly and then hugging her arm with his paws while she rubs his tummy and he purrs like a freight train. He is everything my heart and soul has so desperately missed after suddenly losing my Reggie to HCM over a year ago.

Unfortunately, Freddie started becoming ill a couple days ago. It began with soft stool, then diarrhea. Then suddenly he began severely vomiting foam everywhere, 3-5 times per hour, entirely stopped eating — even refusing his beloved Temptations, and began being antisocial. So we took him into work, ran bloodwork which looked OK, and took some x-rays which both my husband and one of our associate doctors evaluated and both determined there was no indication of a foreign body obstruction nor any other obvious cause for the illness other than some ileus and gas retention, likely due to enteritis. So he was brought home on several medications and SQ fluids.

24 hours later, Freddie showed signs of worsening condition. Weakness, severe nausea resulting in drooling everywhere despite being on injectable Cerenia and Ondansetron, and the inability to swallow any liquid medications or syringe feeding. It became quite critical, so I rushed him to Veterinary Care and Specialty Group in downtown Chattanooga. VCSG repeated the radiographs and bloodwork, and determined that while there was no obvious foreign body, there is a slight chance of one they cannot see or a possible intussusception in a very unusual place, causing severe ileus (a total stop of all large intestine movement) and enteritis (intestinal inflammation) resulting in severe gas distention of the colon. We have no idea why this is happening nor any definitive cause, so we have to hospitalize him tonight on a variety of IV fluids, medications, and pain meds, until their board-certified criticalist arrives in the morning and can do an abdominal ultrasound to hopefully get an answer on what is going on and what needs to be done.

Here is where the issue is:

My husband is currently in Cleveland, OH for his other job, and thus not here to do surgery if Freddie needs it. I cannot afford $10,000 for VCSG to do the surgery. Unfortunately the extreme inflation crisis in VetMed does not magically skip or excuse its own people, and as a Vet Tech, I do not make much. I have already spent $3700 that I really did not have — I borrowed $1000 that my 18-year-old son has worked hard to save up for his car, got approved for $1700 on CareCredit, and spent the last $1,000 to my name — just for the rads, bloodwork, ultrasound, and hospitalization for tonight only. So I desperately need help covering his upcoming hospitalization/stabilization so that if he needs surgery, he can be kept alive and stable until my husband lands in 36 hours and can do the surgery at our own hospital. The minute his plane touches down, he will meet me there and get it done. But we have to keep Freddie alive and going until then. That is his only chance, otherwise he survived 5 years in hoarding and starvation hell, just to get sick after all they put him through and be euthanized 3 weeks after rescue, and my heart will be absolutely destroyed.

Please, PLEASE help any way you can.

Venmo:

GoFundMe:

https://gofund.me/7b558b5f

Donate directly to VCSG over the phone:

Veterinary Care and Specialty Group: 423-591-0270

UPDATE: I just spoke with Dr. Bailey quick to get the new bloodwork results. They ran a CBC and Chem 18, literally everything was normal. No concerns anywhere, no signs of amyloidosis, kidney issues, pancreatitis, etc. FIV/FeLV negative (which the shelter did but I asked for a repeat to be certain). She also said she did a quick abdominal ultrasound herself just out of curiosity to look for any free fluid or signs of FIP, and there is nothing. Still confused.

UPDATE 2: Rad report came back, they don’t see any signs of a FB and don’t feel it’s an intussusception but would need the u/s to fully rule it out. Shift change doctor just called me, she said they can still do the u/s but they feel the better course would be to place the NG tube and see if we can start getting oral meds and nutrients in. If motility doesn’t return or he vomits in spite of it, then we know we have to open him up. But if he does well with it, then we can take over and keep him going on that. That’s the plan for now simply due to funding restraints.

5pm UPDATE #3: Dr. Stokes called and said the tube placement went well, and he has tolerated the first few small feeds very well with no vomiting and seems a bit perkier. She added a pro-kinetic (GI motility drug) to his regimen to see if we can get things moving. While he was sedated, she did a more thorough oral and throat exam with a laryngoscope and found no reason for any of his symptoms like ulcers, masses, dental issues, strings, etc. just to make sure we’ve covered every single possibility. She also took him on a walk around their offices since he’s so outgoing and since the kitties don’t get to leave their cages like dogs do to go outside, and she wanted to let him stretch those limbs a bit and meet people and hopefully encourage some GI motility. She said he did super well and introduced himself to everyone he met. Gotta love Siamese/OSH. This gives me much hope that we are on the right track. He is remaining hospitalized tonight in the ICU to keep watching for any signs of decompensation or return of nausea/vomiting but otherwise if he continues to do well, he can potentially be transferred to our hospital tomorrow for continued care.

My name is Jen Whitaker. I’m a Licensed Veterinary Technician, my hus… Jen Whitaker needs your support for Save Freddie: Urgent Veterinary Medical Help Needed

18/06/2024

FYI!

Those impacted by the cancellations will be notified in writing in advance according to state law.

15/06/2024

What an incredible innovation. My Fern could be alive today had this been available 4 years ago. I’m crying yet thrilled.

The compounded treatment became available by veterinary prescription of individual patients in permitted states on June 1, 2024

16/05/2024

Incredible future for FIP kitties!

Trupanion (Nasdaq: TRUP), the leading provider of medical insurance for cats and dogs, is poised to increase access for Trupanion members to lifesavin

25/04/2024

How fascinating and cool! I hope this is researched well and bred responsibly.

13/04/2024

This.

30/03/2024

History of art in street art cats 😻🎨

17/03/2024

If you have a spare 2 minutes, please click this link and cast a FREE vote for Star. Star is a beloved kitty who is battling FIP, and her doting parents cannot afford to continue the 90-day GS treatment that is expensive but has long been proven to be a cure for FIP in cats. This contest awards a cover shoot for Modern Cat magazine and $10,000 to the winning submission. Star needs to win in order to finish the 90 days and save her life! She is currently in second place and so close to her goal!

If you can afford to donate to PAWS.org and cast more votes, please consider doing so as they are offering DOUBLE votes through Sunday. So your $25 donation that would normally cast 50 votes would cast ONE HUNDRED votes, and would mean all the world to Star!

Please share this post as well to spread her story, as every free vote matters!

Star is not only the light of my life, but also my FIP Warrior beating a once fatal infection and all while being sweet and loving. 💖🌟💖

14/03/2024

PLEASE. STOP. This is me. This is my rescue. I go through this every year and it’s mentally and physically exhausting, not to mention horribly traumatic for the ducklings.

𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣. 𝗕𝗨𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚. 𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥. 𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦.

Or ducklings in general, without properly researching first and preparing.

𝙄’𝙢 𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧, 𝙮 ’𝙖𝙡𝙡...

This 3-week-old Pekin baby was purchased at Tractor Supply as a tiny duckling along with her sister because she was “just so cute” and they “planned to release them later”. Except the family that bought them had no idea what they were doing. Then when they got really big, loud, and stinky, they panicked and contacted me to take them in, like dozens of people do every year.

Had they done their research prior to buying these babies, they would have known the following:

❶ Ducklings require supplemental heating for the first 2 weeks as they cannot maintain their own body temperature. It starts at 90°F then tapers during the second week. Normally their mother would keep them warm.

❷ A poultry feed with 20% protein is appropriate for most duckling breeds, EXCEPT Pekins (𝙥𝙚𝙩-𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚𝙙). Pekins were originally developed in China beginning 3000 years ago, and imported into the U.S. in the 1800’s. The breed was specially bred and designed for meat production, and subsequently have a much faster growth rate than other breeds. As pets, they should be raised on 16% protein layer feed to prevent them from growing too much, too quickly. Too high protein during development causes deformities of the legs and wings. She was also fed “Quacker Snacks”, a horribly unhealthy commercial snack sold for ducks. Any duck snacks should be things like grapes, certain fruits and veggies like peas, native plants like clover, and mealworms. And for the love of Duck: NEVER. EVER. FEED. BREAD.

❸ All ducks require niacin to be added to their diet, or they become deficient. It’s easy to do, just order a supplement niacin powder specifically made for ducks online, or in a pinch you can temporarily
add a bit of brewer’s yeast to their food. Without this, it causes severe deformities of their legs, especially in Pekins. They also require grit to be added if fed a diet high in vegetation as ducklings, rather than commercial duck food.

❹ Ducklings grow VERY fast. Those adorable teeny tiny babies will be 3-5 lb. teenagers within 2-3 weeks. Pekins can weigh as much as 9 lb. by 3 months. And like teenagers, they will become LOUD and constantly demanding food, water, exercise, etc. by cheeping and quacking loudly and incessantly until they get what they want. Our house is 3600 square feet, and I can hear our ducklings in our bedroom (and they are kept alllllll the way downstairs in the shop).

❺ Ducks do not have a sphincter muscle like mammals do. You heard me right. They don’t have a bu****le. They have a cloaca, which is one opening for everything — both reproduction and waste elimination. Because they have no muscle control, their waste does not accumulate before giving the urge to eliminate. The uric acid (similar to urine) and f***s they produce just comes out whenever it gets to the end of their digestive tract. Thus ducks p**p constantly. No, seriously, it’s CONSTANT. They eject waste about every 2-5 minutes. This waste is very odorous, and quickly builds up in a small area.

❻ In addition to the above, ducks also take in a lot of water while they eat. Water helps them get dry food particles down into their crop, and helps digest it. As a result, they expel a lot of moisture in their waste. As the waste builds up and they continually walk all over it, they end up trampling it into a nasty soupy p**py mess. If that isn’t bad enough, they constantly shake their heads whenever they are eating and grab too much food or water in their bills. This flings a watery food mess all over the walls of their pen and all over their dishes, nest boxes, lamps, etc.

❼ Ducks have no sense of their surroundings, and walk all over every single thing in their environment. They don’t care. They plow through their food and water bowls, drag bedding and food and p**p into swimming areas and water dishes, etc. They turn a clean pen into a nasty disaster within 2 hours max.

❽ Ducks sold at farm stores are domestic breeds. After being raised in captivity, they CANNOT just be released into the wild or dumped at some random pond or lake.

The first reason is that they do not reach young adulthood and independence until they are around 3-4 months old. Before that age, they would be staying with their mother and learning how to find food, where to roost at night, etc. Ducklings raised in captivity are used to being fed. They may nibble on different things outside on their own, but they have no idea how to survive and find enough food. When night comes, they do not know how to find safe places to roost and become very easy pickings for bobcats, coyotes, owls, hawks, etc. I’ve even lost young adults to our local bobcat that I thought were fully mature at 4 months but were not ready yet. They need to be penned up and protected at night for at least 6 months, preferably lifetime. Pens need to have gaps/holes/mesh no bigger than 1”. I’ve literally watched a bobcat pull a fully adult duck through a 3” gap. It was absolutely brutal and a horrific way to die. Also: Predators are everywhere. We live in a nice upper middle class family subdivision, and I see owls, hawks, foxes, coyotes, and bobcats on our security camera footage constantly.

Second, indiscriminate releasing of captive domestic ducks risks intermating with wild species and contaminating/diluting populations of native species of ducks. They can and WILL breed with other species of duck.

Third, it’s literally illegal.

❾ Ducklings at farm stores are generally sold uns*xed, meaning you have no idea what you are getting. Their s*x becomes evident at around 6-8 weeks, when they develop their adult voices and begin getting secondary s*x characteristics (tail feathers, bill structure, overall feather coloration, etc). If you plan to keep your ducklings, you now face the prospect of ending up with all drakes (males). When s*xually mature, drakes will constantly fight with each other if there are females present — even if they’re just wild female ducks. They will attempt to drown each other, rip each other’s feathers out, etc. If you end up with one female and multiple males, they will not only fight over her, but they may drown/kill her by constantly mounting her at the same time.

On the flipside, hens (females) have INCREDIBLY loud voices, and are *extremely* demanding. My 2 personal hens come up to the house at exactly 6:30am every day, and call, call, call, call, call endlessly until I go down and feed them. The same happens at 5-6pm every evening. If I’m late, they nibble and nip my hands and feet while scolding me as I put their food out. They’ve now taught my 2 teenage hens to do the same thing. I can hear their loud calls inside the house no matter what room I’m in, even through 3 closed doors, and there is no ignoring it or waiting it out. Ducks are insanely stubborn animals and will never stop pestering you and yelling until they get what they want.

❶⓿ Ducks can live up to 20 years, and are very loving, social, intelligent, funny, affectionate animals who feel genuine emotions and bond with their human caretakers. They make wonderful outdoor pets for someone who is well-prepared and has developed the proper research and education to be able to provide for them. Unfortunately even for unprepared individuals, ducklings will bond to you and view you as their parent figure. To be abandoned by their “parent” at a random unknown pond or lake somewhere, while still a baby at just a few weeks old and nowhere near ready to be independent, is completely terrifying. Most of these babies find a place to lie down and/or hide and just sit there, waiting for their “Mom” to come back, as this is what instinct tells them to do. Almost all of these ducklings will starve to death, die from hypo- or hyperthermia, or be picked off by predators, or killed by established adult ducks/geese with no parent to protect them. Buying baby ducklings then releasing them before they have reached young adulthood at 6 months is absolute cruelty. So is dumping domestic adults.

𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗣𝗥𝗘𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗧𝗢 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗩𝗜𝗗𝗘 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗗𝗘𝗔𝗟 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗩𝗘 𝗔𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗦, 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗡 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗟𝗗 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗕𝗘 𝗕𝗨𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚.

𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗢𝗗.

So back to the two Pekin ducklings I took in. They were purchased from Tractor Supply by someone’s older teenage kids, then after 2 weeks they realised how big, loud, messy, gross, and stinky they are and needed to get rid of them. Their mother works with a neighbor of mine, so she told the family about me and asked me if I could take them. First ones of the season...but there will be more. There always is.

They kept these babies in a high-sided kitty litter pan. Maybe 18” by 24” max. No room to hardly move let alone stretch their wings, legs, necks, and properly groom. They fed them a 20% protein poultry crumble and did not provide niacin. I have no idea if they provided external heating. As a result, one got lucky and seems healthy for all intents and purposes. But this sweet girl is a disaster. Her legs are badly deformed, bent, and twisted inward. She cannot walk or stand, just somewhat hobbles a bit whenever her big webbed feet don’t pin each other down. 𝗩𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. Her wings are torn up with broken bloodfeathers and scabs all over the tips, because she repeatedly and constantly falls over and has to catch herself on them. Her feet are covered in scabs and wounds from dragging and pressing against the ground in abnormal ways. She struggles to get to any food or water, and cannot groom herself. 3 times per day I bring food and water to her where she lays in the nest box, and carry her to a warm water pool where she can bathe with my assistance, since she cannot swim or brace herself.

But this is not a life for this duck. She cannot do what her sister and the other ducks do, she will never forage for insects when the lawn is rainy, never swim in the lake out back and dunk her head, never take a nap on the shore in the afternoon sun. The other ducks will never stay and socialize with her so she will always be lonely. Her quality of life is incredibly poor.

At first Shane and I pondered whether we could surgically repair her legs, break them and then splint them in a correct placement, or perhaps amputate them and raise her as a house duck. (𝗜’𝗺 𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗩𝗧/𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆 & 𝗮𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗻, 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗗𝗩𝗠/𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗻.)

But after doing a lot of research and repeatedly examining her issues and her overall health, that quickly became a non-viable solution. It became very apparent that the kindest and most loving thing we could do for this girl was to let her be free from her pain and misery.

So today I held her close while we gave her the familiar blue injection into her wing vein. I kissed her snuggly, fuzzy head, my tears running down the length of her smooth, soft orange bill, as I felt her body go limp in my arms, and her strong heartbeat under my fingertips get slower and slower until it finally stopped. It felt like an hour but was barely a few seconds. A feeling I have felt more times than I ever care to count.

She was not the first, and she will never be the last until people STOP buying these innocent animals on impulse, or so that their kids can enjoy them like a toy for a fleeting holiday, then dump them somewhere and absolve themselves of responsibility while sentencing these animals to death.

𝗢𝗥 𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗟 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗘𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘 Tractor Supply Co., Rural King Supply, Blain's Farm & Fleet, 𝗘𝗧𝗖. 𝗧𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗕𝗜𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗖𝗛𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗬 𝗝𝗢𝗘 𝗕𝗟𝗢𝗪 𝗪𝗛𝗢 𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗗𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠 $𝟭𝟬.

Unless you are prepared to give a duckling a forever family with an appropriately researched and prepared home, diet, enclosure, etc. then just admire them in the store and walk away. They are not toys or temporary holiday presents or something you buy on a whim. They are not something you get to snuggle and enjoy for 2 weeks then get rid of.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙧. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣.

If you would like your kids to enjoy some ducks, chicks, or bunnies for Easter, take them to a petting zoo or ask a local duck or bunny keeper if you can borrow one for that morning. There are also a wide variety of stuffed ducks out there! Alternatives abound.

𝗦𝗔𝗬 🅝🅞 𝗧𝗢 𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗞𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗢𝗥 𝗗𝗢 𝗜𝗧 𝗖𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗘𝗖𝗧𝗟𝗬.

(4/27) ♥️𝗪𝗛𝗢𝗔.♥️ 𝗜 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝟭𝟬,𝟬𝟬𝟬+ 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲𝘀, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗦𝗢 𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗹𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.

𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝟲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘀/𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲/𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱, 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬 (𝟰/𝟮𝟳/𝟮𝟬) 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟯 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝟯 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗻-𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗲𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲𝘀. 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝟯 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝘂𝗽. 𝗦𝗼 𝗜 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁.

𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁, 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴!

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗱 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀, 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕕𝕕𝕚𝕖’𝕤 𝔽𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕖𝕤, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝟱𝟬𝟭(𝗰)𝟯 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲-𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗴𝗮 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮. 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘆/𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝘀 & 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲-𝗯𝗮𝗯𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲’𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 -- 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀/𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸𝘀, 𝗻𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗱/𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗱/𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗲𝘀. 𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗰𝘂𝗲𝗱/𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗮:
𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽://𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗽𝗮𝗹.𝗺𝗲/𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗲𝘀𝗙𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝘅-𝗱𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱! 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗽𝗼𝗻 𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻, 𝗯𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗸𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗲𝘁! ❤️🐾🦆

14/03/2024

Ethical breeding > Greeding. If it ain't doodled, it's been merled

09/03/2024

We need this now more than ever. So many times our profession and the public focuses on the DVM, but we get forgotten.

Five years ago…

Five years ago I was lost. I was healing from foot surgeries and it was the start of my chronic back pain. I struggled to figure out my purpose in life when I couldn’t do the job I always wanted to do.

Five years ago I put myself out there. I felt alone but knew I wasn’t. I created this account first on Instagram. The beginning was pretty slow. It wasn’t until I started being my true (brutally honest) self that I gained more support than I ever thought possible.

I never dreamed I would have people who “looked up to me” or wanted my thoughts or opinion. I never thought people would listen to what I this foul mouthed, confrontational retired vet tech had to say. AND love it!

There’s been ups and downs, good times and bad and laughs and tears shed throughout the past five years. I’ve wanted to quit multiple times. I’ve cried at horrible comments and messages sent to me. I’ve also cried tears of joy when people tell me how much of a difference I’m making. Or how I helped them stand up for themselves.

I wouldn’t change this life for anything. Even if I’m on the struggle bus right now. Each and every person who supports me and this organization makes it 100% worth it.

Thank you for having my back for the last 5 years. Here’s to another 5+ more to come ❤️

(Original logo that was created by .art)
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09/03/2024

Oh man. I wonder if that means our 3 client cats named Hi**er also get the same…

I’m going to apologize for the language in advance, but thats what mom named him 😂

I guess my vet sends out birthday emails.
Moms cat may be gone but his spirit lives on.
I’m not even mad 😂🤣😂🤦🏼‍♀️

09/03/2024

RVNspeaks hits the nail on the head.

So, a French Bulldog won best in group at Crufts.

And.....as the keeper/carer/servant/confidant to a much-loved little Frenchie, my heart sank.

But why? When I proclaim to love the breed so much. Why am I deeply saddened?

I have dedicated a 15-year (so far) career to animal welfare and medicine. I am a proud veterinary nurse.My code of conduct and beliefs keep me accountable, upholding animal welfare while serving and caring for, not only my patients but their families and my colleagues.

My heart sinks when I see a breed known to have so many welfare and medical concerns. Medical concerns whereby ethical consideration while breeding falls so far short I can't sum it up in a few words. The breed standard (as per Crufts own words) has been improved to reflect a healthier interpretation. Yet, as gorgeous a personality as the winning dog may have at home*, his face is flat. His nose and muzzle falling far short of healthier outcrosses emerging. But, let's not get hung up looking at a single dog. Let's instead, consider the impact.

The impact of a breed being spotlighted and celebrated in this way.

We know through research and numerous benchmarks that this breed exploded in popularity with very little in the way of healthy breeding. Backyard greeders and fancy colours far surpass those who diligently bred. Who have been spending weeks researching genetics, medical considerations and temperament of potential matches. Ensuring responsible, lifelong homes could be found before breeding, ensuring finances were in place should urgent medical care be required.

Those excellent examples of breeders are the minority. They absolutely do exist. With a promise of guardianship for life should circumstances for owners change.

But, the reality is. Those very breeders won't start churning out pups. They'll wait. They'll continue to methodically plan when is safe and responsible to breed.

Instead, greeders will ride the wave like all popularities and capitalise on the increase in demand. With little if any health testing. Temperament is barely considered. Risk not weighed up. Provisions for emergency medical care not even given thought. No money in place for the cesarean so many of the breed require.

The veterinary teams will see the smiles on families' faces as they present their bundles of joy for their first vaccinations; all too often replaced with tears when soon, their breathing is poor. Eyes ulcerated. Knees dislocating.

And who will pick up the pieces?

The families at breaking point to pay medical bills as the risk is so high that insurance is loaded. That's right. Insurance is calculated based on risk and with so many medical problems prevalent in the breed and growing......that's a lot of risk.

And at the end of the popularity buzz or when the parents are surplus to requirement, it'll be rescues. Rescues will drop everything, at all hours, supported by volunteers to decide who gets to live. Who can have urgent medical care? Who can be saved?

When we celebrate a breed like the frenchie winning, rescues will begin to prepare for the impending influx.

An influx while they are already on their knees.

I adore this breed. It's because I adore them that my heart sinks to see a Frenchie win.

Please check out two ethical, dedicated and responsible rescues that I foster for and support wherever I can.

Floof Frenchie rescue
Frenchie and friends
Both are linked in the comments.

They are going to need you.

Pictured: Authors own rescued French Bulldog looking directly at the camera. Dog is sitting and has moderately open nostrils. No side profile.