Apollo
Apollo is a 3 year old male castrated Brittany who was rushed into the AEC last Tuesday for snake bite and he has been there ever since. In fact, he is the most constant person I've been in contact with so far. God, I hope he gets better, he is the sweetest of dogs! Apollo was walking with he gay ( as in sexual preference and not as in happy) Mum and Dad in the park when a 'Brown snake' slithered between them. The people were unharmed and thought little of the event. Next thing they know, Apollo had collapsed and was frothing in the mouth. They were far from the car and had to carry him quite a way back to it before he was rushed to the local vet. Talk about nightmare! When he arrived at the AEC, he had a clotting time of 230 secs (normal 120). He didn't look like a dog bitten though. He was bright, alert and responsive even to commands. All his vitals were also within normal limits. He was treated with anti-venom and monitored. The next time I saw him, he was salivating profusely but it wasn't taken too seriously. His appetite was non-existent and he wasn't drinking but the latter wasn't as important as he was on intravenous fluids. It all went down hill from there however. Apollo had been moved to the back wards, as the people thought he was vocalising too much. It was a good move in that nervous Apollo can rest better without the constant noises and movement. Medically, it was disastrous. Out of sight and out of mind, Apollo was pretty much forgotten with the other emergencies that came in and out. Hence, on top of a naso-gastric tube for liquid food, he also got a haemorrhagic gastro-enteritis. He was a sad state then, with barely enough energy to get up before he collapsed. The 2nd day the tube was in, he developed a bilateral nasal discharge which I informed the vet about but was ignored/dismissed. I felt that he was going steadily downhill but could do nothing to stop it! Absolutely hate that feeling. Nothing like feeling helpless and dismissed. Anyway, Apollo's angel came in the form of Dr. Kate, a senior vet which reminded me of my nanny in her younger years. She was unhappy with Apollo's progress as he had developed a fever under her watch by monday. She decided to do an endoscopy. The naso-gastric tube had actually flipped and was delivering liquid into the pharynx instead of straight into the stomach. So, the poor animal got an esophagitis along with all the -itis's he already has. The tube was replaced with a simple Gastro-tube but his fever continues to climb and it seems as if secondary complication of aspiration pneumonia is inevitable! He also has astronomical CK levels which indicates extensive muscle damage. He has since been moved out from the back, to the front, thank goodness. The first thing I'm doing today when I enter AEC is check his progress. I seriously hope that if Apollo was not there, it's because he has gone home, but I'll settle for him simply sitting up in his cage. Anything, as long as he is better. Think my heart would seriously break if they informed me that he had been put down. I hope Apollo catches a break soon cause I can see his spirit getting drained, slowly but surely. The thing about AEC is that with so many different people working each day of the week, no patient can be effectively monitored long term. Hence, the AEC staff try to send as much of the animals back to their home or regular vet as soon as they're eating, drinking, ambulatory (moving) and slightly happy.
