Allen Heights Veterinary Hospital

 Our Needy Pet Fund  
  Since Dr. Tullett and her husband, Brian, bought Allen Heights, numerous animals have come and gone.  We as a hospital have seen some incredible sights including surgery, miracles and great clients and patients.  We have also recently taken in two different surrendered animals and one of them has attempted to become our new hospital greeter.  Dr. Tullett and her husband have returned Allen Heights to the pleasant environment which it once was.  
     As many of our clients know,  Allen Heights has a collection jar and account that is used to help needy pets.  In the past, funds were used and there was never a story to explain what exactly the fund was for.  The staff at our hospital comes to agreement and decides how much money and which clients are in need of financial help.  Since the hospital was sold, we have already used $200 towards two animals who were in need of financial assistance in order to receive the treatment they needed.  There is nothing harder than having a loving friend that becomes ill and owners having difficulty affording proper treatment.  Veterinary medicine is unlike human medicine because insurance isn't the first form of payment in most circumstances.  We are only able to help so much and the needy pet fund is a collection of funds from clients that is used to help those in need.  We would like to present  two stories for which the fund has been used in the past year:
    
    "Midnight" -  a wonderful 2 year old female spayed cat was presented to us with lethargy, fever, vomiting and had stopped eating.  Young cats often cause concern because they tend to ingest things that get caught in the intestinal tract and require surgery to be removed.  Her owner was very concerned about her bill because these things can get expensive very quickly.  "Midnight" was hospitalized and given intravenous fluids after we performed bloodwork and x -rays to check for the most obvious issues.  Antibiotics and anti-nausea medications were also given and thankfully over one night's care, she was feeling better.  Her main concern, her temperature, was back to normal and she began eating, we decided to send her home.  "Midnight" is currently doing well.  

    "Bob"-  a handsome 8 year old male neutered cat was presented to us with abdominal pain and vomiting.  We performed bloodwork to check for anything out of place in his blood levels, and x-rays were performed to try to see what was causing so much pain.  "Bob" had to be hospitalized on intravenous fluids, he was given pain medications and antibiotics and we took another x -ray in the morning to check for gas changes in his stomach.  Money also became a concern for his owner.  The next morning's x ray's showed a problem in "Bob's" spleen, which was very red and twisted and had to be removed because that's what was causing him so much pain.  He seemed better after surgery and went home.  He ended up coming back to us because along with the splenic problem, he also had bleeding in his stomach.  He was hospitalized again and was in critical condition.  Over four days time, he gradually got better with constant monitoring and medications and was finally able to go home.  Congratulations "BOB"!!!

"Casey"-an amazing 10 year old female Labrador Retriever came in for an appointment because she was unable to stand or walk.  We took a blood sample and determined that "Casey" had Lyme disease.  As soon as we started her on treatment, she was feeling much better in a matter of hours.  Unfortunately, the rest of her bloodwork showed she was in kidney failure and had a disease called Lyme Nephritis caused from Lyme disease that was left untreated.  This disease has a poor prognosis especially in retrievers.  We donated $150 from the Needy Pet Fund to help with the cost of hospitalization and doing IV fluids to keep her kidneys going as long as possible.  She continued on medications and a special diet and remained stable for 11 more months before her kidneys gave up.
     

"Ping"-a 2 year old male cat came in and was unable to urinate.  This is a life threatening emergency.  A urinary catheter had to be placed because crystals had built up in his urethra which blocked the flow of urine.  Crystals can form in urine and should be treated as soon as possible especially in male cats because they have a long, but thin urethra and they become blocked easier than female cats.  "Ping" had to be sedated and hospitalized and given medications.  We donated $300 from the Needy Pet Fund to help with the cost of his treatment.  "Ping" did well and will be fine as long as he is maintained on the proper diet and has the proper veterinary check-ups.