08/08/2026
On this episode of "Vets- they're just like us!"
Two weeks ago late on Friday night, Dr. Kassekert's dog Leo was outside when a firework unexpectedly went off in their neighborhood. He was so scared that he ran away. He was gone all night. The whole family was worried sick about him. When a neighbor found him the next morning he was hiding in the tall grass of a ditch- and he was seriously injured.
Poor Leo suffered from a condition called proptosis- a medical emergency. His eyeball was bulging out of its socket, likely from trauma. Dr. K suspects he was in a fight with whatever animal he chased, like a racoon or fox. He had scratches along the side of his face and other places. She rushed him in to the clinic for treatment. She performed an enucleation procedure. This is a fancy way of saying she surgically removed his eyeball.
Leo likes to bark when he's at the clinic and we have jokingly called him "security." But now he does actually look the part😆 OK not funny, back to the story.
We also took x-rays of his hindlimbs which showed fissure fractures of his p***c bone. They are not displaced and are also not weight bearing so the only thing to do for that is wait for it to heal. He's been on pain meds and resting.
Dr. K also invested in a GPS collar for him.
It just goes to show that things like this can happen to anyone- even your friendly neighborhood veterinarian. When we see you and your pets in difficult times- just know that we really do understand and empathize with the stress and all the emotions that can come with having a pet. Sick pets, missing pets, pets that made poor choices, owners that made a mistake or forgot one things or left something out, pets that showed up unexpectedly and now they own your heart, purebreds, rescues, pets you found out back behind a dumpster- we've seen 'em all. And they all have a story.
Every family has a story and so does every pet. This is part of their story now and we wanted to share it with you. We also think it's a bit ironic that we just had our Check the Chip Day microchip scanning event and then our very own doctor lost her dog the same week. You just can't make this stuff up.
Thank goodness Leo was found and didn't have extensive injuries we couldn't treat. He might be a one-eyed dog now but he does look cooler. 😜
He has been recovering well. Leo the One-Eyed Wonder Dog!
