How sad.
Today we were presented a three-year-old dog belonging to a Do-It-Yourselfer.
Don’t get me wrong. I love doing things myself. I used to be an auto mechanic, and I still enjoy fixing things mechanical. I used to be a journeyman carpenter, and woodworking is still a passion of mine. I taught microwave communications equipment repair in the US Air Force, and electronics still fascinate me.
And, as regular readers know, I have a degree in veterinary medicine, along with thirty one years of experience. Preventing and healing illness in dogs and cats is something I spend sixty or so hours a week doing.
This well-meaning lady, however, had no foundation for the DIY she was performing. The sweet little dog had no heartworm preventive (“But he’s an inside dog!”) We diagnosed him with parvovirus, a serious and very preventible viral infection (“I didn’t know he needed more shots than just what he had when he was a puppy.”)
This little guy will probably pull through, simply because older pets usually don’t have the cardiac complications the youngest puppies get with parvovirus disease, and their intestinal signs usually aren’t as bad.
Still, when thinking of DIY, limit yourself to areas in which you are trained.
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
