by Abby Deuel
Mandy had the first rotation at the clinic. She drove back to Anna's to catch a nap. The couch seemed just as comfortable as walking all the way upstairs so she curled up with Lyle on the plush sofa. They snuggled up under a fleece throw blanket and were asleep before their heads hit the pillow. They woke up a few hours later and headed back to the clinic.
Two more of the dogs had removed their catheters. It was looking as though everyone was responding to treatment well. No one's condition had worsened and everyone had slightly improved. She checked the remaining IV lines to make sure they were running. Those that had been removed from their IV lines were offered food to keep their bodies flushing the toxins. Mandy also fed the bobcat and left a note for Gillian who would be coming by later in the evening. Mandy returned to Anna's house to sleep the rest of the night. With Gillian taking the next check, the following observation would be early in the morning. It wouldn't be worth going back to bed after that so Mandy figured she would just stay at the clinic to work on paperwork and generally get ready for the day. Hopefully, there would be no more surprises.
Mandy and Lyle had no trouble getting back to sleep. Waking up early, on the other hand, was a slight chore. It felt like Mandy had just dozed off when the alarm sounded. For the first time in three days, Mandy would actually get to enjoy a cup of coffee brewed with her new shipment of small-batch roasted coffee. She was drooling at the smell of the comforting aroma. She gave Lyle her breakfast and hugged her mug of java tightly. Whatever this day might bring, she could handle it with caffeine pumping through her veins. They jolted off the couch when they realized that time had gotten away from them while they were enjoying their morning normalcy. The morning check on the Warner dogs wouldn't happen on its own; they needed to get moving.
Chapter 8
Mandy and Lyle drove into the clinic to feed the bobcat and check the dogs. Gillian's note indicated that most of the dog's conditions were improving. Mandy agreed, deciding to augment the treatment of the one dog lagging behind with additional anti-toxicity drugs. It was riskier to do without a baseline with blood work but those results wouldn't be faxed back until later that day or even tomorrow and time was of the essence.
With all of her patients squared away, Mandy worked on the mountain of paperwork that had become the usual backdrop to her office. For someone who had only intended to stay until the clinic sold, Mandy had a thriving practice. The clinic serviced the town of Crestview and the surrounding smaller villages. As such, Gillian kept Mandy on her toes, even without two large-scale animal disasters in two days.
Gillian popped her head in, which meant that it was time to open the clinic, changing focus to preparing animals for surgery. They had been working with the town to get control of the cat populations in people's barns. It hadn't been commonplace to spay and neuter cats for the people of Crestview. With each pair of cats producing multiple litters per year, the number of cats had increased significantly. The small town didn't have the municipality offerings of larger cities like animal control, so it was up to the community to solve the problem. Farming villages are always perfect places for cat colonies because of the reliable source of food: mice love grain bins. The solution that Mandy had proposed was a trap, neuter, release system proven in other towns. Today, they would be doing as many cat spay and neuters as they could, depending on how many had been caught in traps overnight.
There was a network of people setting traps in preparation for community surgery days. Finn and Dana, a husband and wife team, were leading the efforts. They ran the rock quarry outside of town, which was a common dumping place for cats. They came to Mandy one day, proposing that there must be a better solution to the problem other than ignoring it. Although they ran a lucrative and busy business, they had committed themselves to making the stray animal population more manageable. Over the years, Dana had teamed up with a shelter in a neighboring county, trying to re-home as many animals as possible. She had been running her own little animal shelter of sorts in Crestview. The animal population was overextending her own abilities so it had been time to team up with a vet to solve the issue on a larger scale.
Mandy predicted that the partnership with Dana and Finn to tackle the unwanted animals might result in a friendship. She always found it easier to bond with people who had common goals such as animal welfare. Mandy had also taken a shining to their son, Briar, who was a budding naturalist. Any time Dana or Finn dropped by the clinic to discuss possibilities with Mandy, Briar was in tow. More and more, Mandy found herself saving slides from exciting cases to share with Briar. It was refreshing to be able to share her passion for science with someone so young and curious.
The success of the trapping had been hit or miss, with some trap days yielding only a few cats and some over thirty. Mandy was hoping for a light day since she was already exhausted. Mandy's wish was not granted. There had been an overwhelming number of cats trapped overnight. Luckily, they had been removing the tip of the ear of any cats that had already been spayed or neutered, to help reduce the need to anesthetize them again just to find that they had already been fixed. This practice, called ear tipping, is the international symbol that an animal is part of a trap, neuter, release program. Since it is done under anesthesia at the time of spaying or neutering when pain medication is already on board, the animal does not feel it or have any negative after effects from it.
Gillian and Mandy had the protocol down to a science. They could effortlessly handle large quantities of cat surgeries with their system. Mandy started drawing up the anesthesia for each cat and placing it on top of the trap of the corresponding cat. This would allow Gillian to inject and prep cats while Mandy was doing back to back surgeries. Occasionally, they would run across a truly feral cat that required extra precautions in handling to avoid injury. They had a special pair of welding gloves as well as a squeeze cage to restrain a disagreeable feline. Handling some of the cats proved to be the most challenging part since Mandy had spayed and neutered so many cats that she could literally do it without thinking.
"How are you holding up? Did you get your cup of coffee this morning?" asked Gillian.
"Yes, it was divine. How about you?" asked Mandy.
"Two cups of tea. I am riding a wave of caffeine. We will need to top up sometime this morning. For now, let's get cracking on these cats," said Gillian.
"Sounds good. I've drawn up all of the drugs. You know the drill," said Mandy.
"On it," said Gillian.
They worked with ease getting through the spays and neuters. As Mandy operated, Gillian injected the cats and then prepped them for surgery. For two people, they were able to do twenty-five cats by lunchtime. They took a break for tea half-way through, taking the opportunity to check the dogs recovering from pour-on toxicity and feed the bobcat.
"I'm knackered," said Gillian.
"What on earth does that mean?" asked Mandy.
"It's a New Zealand way of saying tired. My mom used to say it all the time so it has become part of my vocabulary," said Gillian.
"In that case, I'm knackered, too," said Mandy.
"Let's take a lunch break before the onslaught of afternoon appointments," said Gillian. "I have to go home and check on the horses. I didn't quite finish my chores this morning," said Gillian.
"I'm going to grab some lunch in the RV. I'll see you at our first appointment," said Mandy.
"Deal," said Gillian.
Mandy gave the Warner boys and Mrs. Bouvier an update on the dogs. Even the worst one was finally turning a corner. They would all be able to be discharged that afternoon. The Warner boys were so thankful to hear about the progress of their dogs. Mrs. Bouvier was thrilled to have good news to give to the network of people waiting for updates. Mrs. Bouvier was also able to update Mandy on the cows in the sale yards. They were all healing well and the Crowleys were ensuring that they continued to eat and receive their treatments.
Feeling like she had accomplished something, Mandy decided to arrange her activity for
her day off. She gave Derek a call to see if she could come out with Lyle and Rhonda to his farm. She had been working Lyle with his sheep, learning how to direct Lyle to isolate one sheep or bring them into a manageable flock. Mandy had been to Derek's a few times now so she knew the layout of his farm, comfortable to practice with Lyle without Derek's help. He gave her the instructions as to which paddock the sheep would be in that she could use to work Lyle. He would be farther at the back of the farm and so she would be able to let herself in and out through the gates he described to her.
Mandy fed the bobcat who ate with vigor. He had already grown 200 grams since coming to her. This was good progress. She recorded it in the notebook she had started for him. Whenever she had a new creature in her care, she kept notes daily about their weight, eating habits, and behaviors. These observations would help her if she ever had the opportunity to work with another of its kind. Sometimes, wildlife rehabilitation wasn't successful. An objective record would help troubleshoot any problems before they became deleterious or fatal in future patients.
Now that everyone was taken care of, Mandy and Lyle retreated to the RV to nourish themselves. Lyle received a snack of kibbles while Mandy microwaved some leftover lasagna. She needed a good source of energy to keep her going through the afternoon appointments. Lyle got to lick the remainder of her plate since it contained cheese.
Mandy had a half an hour before the first appointment. She decided to nod off for some well-deserved rest.
Chapter 9
Mandy woke up to Gillian's voice. "Hello? Dr. Bell? Are you OK?" asked Gillian.
Mandy shot up out of bed. She must have taken a little more than a few restful winks. She had that dry feeling in her mouth that one gets when they fall into a deep sleep. She tried to speak and all she could get out was a hoarse, "Coming."
Even Lyle was sluggish getting up. Mandy grabbed a drink of cold lemonade to jolt her back into reality.
"Your first appointment is here," said Gillian.
Now that her mouth was functional again, Mandy answered, "I'll be right there, Gillian. I must have nodded off."
"No problem. It's not an emergency, for a change. We'll see you when you are ready," said Gillian.
Mandy emerged from the RV and was ready to face humanity. Lyle, on the other hand, was ready to play. She brought a stick and dropped it at Mandy's feet, backing up in an effort to engage Mandy's attention.
"I know, girl. You have been ignored the last few days. I have it set up so we can have a nice peaceful day at the farm tomorrow. No dramas. Just you, me, Rhonda, and some sheep. We can play until you have to hop into the trough to cool yourself down," said Mandy. In response, Lyle offered her a bigger stick. She didn't quite get the message Mandy was giving her about the next day. She was more interested in the here and now.
Mandy and Lyle went into the clinic to find a cockatoo and its owner waiting for her. The cockatoo was laughing as if it had just told a joke.
"Dr. Bell, this is Trudy and her cockatoo, Zelda. You have got to watch her sense of humor," said Gillian.
"Pardon?" asked Mandy.
"Zelda tells jokes. You just missed a good one," said Gillian.
"How do you catch a squirrel?" asked Zelda, looking at Mandy.
"I don't know," said Mandy.
"Climb up in a tree and act like a nut. Hahahahaha," said Zelda.
"Well, now I've heard it all," said Mandy. "Other than a healthy sense of humor, what can you tell me about Zelda?" asked Mandy to Trudy.
"He needs his beak trimmed. I have tried over the years to get him to use natural ways to keep it trimmed. He just wants nothing to do with it. I inherited him from my aunt and he had many stubborn ways already settled in. I can't win so I just get his beak trimmed regularly," said Trudy.
"I see. And his name is Zelda?"
"He was named Zelda before anyone knew he was a male," said Trudy.
"I can't talk. My dog is named Lyle and she's a girl," said Mandy.
"So I've heard," said Trudy.
"Why did the chicken cross the road?" asked Zelda. Everyone turned to look at the cockatoo.
"I don't know. Why?" asked Gillian.
"To cockadoodle doooo something," said Zelda, and then started laughing again.
"I suppose we better trim that beak. This cockatoo has a book of jokes memorized in his head and we might be here all day," said Trudy.
"I'll get a towel," said Gillian.
They brought Zelda into the exam room. Mandy hooked up the dremel and Gillian captured Zelda to restrain him. He put up a bit of a fight. Gillian had restrained him before and knew the trick of covering his eyes. With his beak under control, Mandy moved in with the dremel. She carefully reshaped the beak to allow for him to eat properly again. A bird's beak that is not worn naturally overgrows and can inhibit their ability to manipulate food and therefore not be able to eat. Normally, birds will wear them down on branches, toys, rocks, anything that can be used like sandpaper. Some captive birds develop strange habits where they won't do this beak wearing. It only took a few minutes to trim the beak down to size. Zelda stuck his tongue out to inspect their work and seemed to approve of their efforts.
"While we have him, do you want his nails trimmed or wings clipped?" asked Mandy.
"Anna never did that. But, yes, that would be helpful. Go for it," said Trudy.
Mandy and Gillian got to work. They filed his nails back with the dremel. Zelda didn't like that very much. He kept fidgeting, making the job cumbersome. The wings were much easier to clip. They left enough feathers so he could glide down if he was high up and needed to get down. They clipped only the feathers that would enable him to actually take flight. With all of the primping done, Gillian released Zelda. He fluffed up and shook it off. He gave Mandy a suspicious look.
"What do you call the white part of bird crap?" Zelda said.
"I don't know," said Gillian.
"Bird crap," chuckled Zelda.
"Actually it's the uric acid portion," said Mandy.
"You just had to ruin the joke for the poor bird," Gillian said, giggling. Zelda didn't seem too disturbed.
"Thanks again. Sorry about my ornery bird. At least we don't come very often," said Trudy.
"You are welcome any time. It's not common for my patients to speak to me. It makes it very interesting," said Mandy.
Trudy and Zelda departed. Gillian cleaned the room of feathers and beak dust. She put away the dremel. She must have missed a feather. Emma skulked out the door with one in her mouth, as if she had just caught a mouse.
"Go for it, Emma," said Gillian. "It's not often we have a bird in here."
The next few patients were not nearly as exciting. They were a few routine vaccines. The only interesting appointment was for the Warner boys to come and pick up their dogs. Gillian had reserved some time before they came for Mandy to get their discharge medications and instructions together. The fax had come through on the blood work of the worst dog. As Mandy suspected, the toxin had affected the liver and kidneys, though not severely. It would have been nice to do more blood work to see how the dog was a day later, but she would just have to rely on her clinical experience.
Mandy removed all of the catheters, except the one in the the worst dog. She counted out medications for each dog. She would be sending them home with a drug to help support the liver and one to support the kidneys. As long as the dogs continued to eat, they would do well at home. The most affected dog, Blue, was going to stay at the clinic to be on IV fluids a tad longer. His tremoring had stopped but he was unable to focus on eating. His fine motor skills had not yet returned to normal function.
As Mandy was counting out the last of the pills, the Warner boys arrived. They had crates all ready in the back of their truck. Mandy took time to explain the medications and what to expect at home. She explained that if they stopped eating or showed any signs of twitching, that they should bring the dog right back.
"You'll have your hands full, watching all
of them. Don't work them for at least a week to allow their bodies to completely heal. Do you have any questions?"
"Just one. Do you eat fresh duck?"
"Pardon?" asked Mandy.
"To thank you for your kind doctoring, we have some fresh duck. We were out yesterday hunting so they are very fresh. It sure is hard to hunt without a dog, though," said the older of the Warner boys.
"I haven't had much duck. I'm always willing to try anything," said Mandy.
"We packed it in a cooler so we can transfer it to your fridge."
"Yum. That's Hamish's favorite. We can have a feast at my house," said Gillian.
"Perfect. I'm in," said Mandy. "Let's get your dogs loaded up."
They put the ducks in the fridge and started the process of moving the dogs out to the truck. They got everyone settled in and were chatting, leaning on the fence behind the clinic. Out of the corner of Mandy's eye, she saw one of the dogs run past them.
"We have an escapee," Many shouted, pointing in the direction that the dog had gone. The latch for the kennel that dog had been in was open. Everybody leapt into action, chasing after the dog. Luckily, Lyle was also outside with them. She headed past the dog and pushed the dog back toward Mandy. The Warner boys were able to capture him and put him back in his kennel.
"And that about sums up this week," said Gillian.
"Time for a day off, eh?" commented Mandy.
The Warner boys said their thanks again and headed off. They decided to give Mrs. Bouvier an update themselves to take away one more job from Mandy and Gillian. They went back inside to check all of the recovering feral cats. All of them were up and moving around their cage. They would be discharged shortly. Everyone who was part of the community spay/neuter days was instructed to have a barn or garage to keep the cats in overnight until they were fully recovered from the anesthesia.
"What are your plans for the day off?" asked Mandy.
