Brittney
Well-known member
Yesterday, after many arguments with my work, I was able to help out and do the job I went to school for. After our team meeting that morning, we had an emergency case come in. A senior dog came in with what appeared to be just a simple nose bleed. The owner said she was playing with the goat and then came inside acting off and bleeding from the nose. She brought her straight in. I was shadowing a fellow tech for the day just to get used to the whole emergency cases that may come in. We couldn't tell what was wrong, but we knew she had mammary tumors and could have possibly been knocked in the head. We took her back for x-rays, but for some reason we did chest x-rays instead of head x-rays and they came back negative for any signs. I sat with her on the x-ray table for 2 hours because she was just gushing blood and she was painful to move and we didn’t have treatment options yet. While I was sitting with her, she began having tremors that looked like she was being smacked in the face (The squinting and jerking back to avoid a smack) then went into a full and stiff full body stretch-like seizure. I alerted the doctor and we took blood samples. While we were taking blood, she fell over and just didn't want to get back up. We had her blood in a tube to clot so we could test the serum, but 4 hours later, the blood was still not clotted. We could not get her nose to stop bleeding and it had been bleeding since 8 AM. She basically just stopped trying to fight and had no more interest in moving anymore. We called her family and told them it was time to come say their goodbyes. The whole family came and we laid her on some fleece blankets and let the family have some time with her. She was so happy to see them and licked them all over (reminder, she was bleeding from the mouth and nose.) It was finally time and we were allowed to stay in the room and comfort her and the family since we worked so hard to save her. I was at her head as to keep her eyes closed so the family wouldn't be alarmed if they stayed open, and the other tech was holding off and the family was around her. We explained what would happen and then we gave her the injection. She went very peacefully, but everyone in that room was bawling, even me, and I'm not one to cry. It's just sad seeing a family care so much about a pet they have had for a long time and to have the pet pass without giving them closure on what caused her death.
We gave the family little sentimental things (Clay pawprint, her collar, the blankets she passed on, and private cremation) After the family left, the tech and I were left to lock up and get her ready for cremation. We decided to snap a few x-rays of her head to see what was going on. We are saving them for the doctor, but what we can tell so far is that there is a possible growth on the brain that is eating away at the sinus passage of the dog causing the bleeding.
I know this is all part of the job, but man, it is seriously difficult not to get emotional. Especially when you were doing everything in your power to keep them alive and failed. :cry3: I really hope it gets easier with time
We gave the family little sentimental things (Clay pawprint, her collar, the blankets she passed on, and private cremation) After the family left, the tech and I were left to lock up and get her ready for cremation. We decided to snap a few x-rays of her head to see what was going on. We are saving them for the doctor, but what we can tell so far is that there is a possible growth on the brain that is eating away at the sinus passage of the dog causing the bleeding.
I know this is all part of the job, but man, it is seriously difficult not to get emotional. Especially when you were doing everything in your power to keep them alive and failed. :cry3: I really hope it gets easier with time
