Pointer Club Cadaver (Mandy Bell DVM Series Book 3)

by Abby Deuel

  When Imogene and Felicity had left the building, Gillian put the kettle on for a cup of tea.

  “Those two are a rare sight, aren’t they?” asked Gillian.

  “Indeed they are. I felt so at ease in their presence. That woman has more about life figured out than most people will ever know,” said Mandy. “Speaking of which, I feel like I haven’t seen Lyle and Anna in a while. What are they doing?”

  “You should see for yourself,” said Gillian. They went around the corner to Mandy’s office where Lyle and Anna were burrowed under a coat that they had pulled off the rack. Only their tails were visible. There was no mistaking the outlines of their bodies under the coat.

  “What are you two doing?” asked Mandy, as she pulled off the coat to reveal two dogs sharing a jar of peanut butter. “Are you kidding? You never do things like that, Lyle. Is Anna a bad influence on you?”

  Lyle and Anna both licked their lips, which were clearly framed with streaks of peanut butter. They wagged their tails and put on their most endearing puppy faces.

  “They’re a pretty clever team. A Border collie and a Pyrenees with nothing to do in the clinic are bound to get into trouble,” said Gillian.

  “You’ve got a point. I wouldn’t want to leave them at home all day by themselves either. I’ll think about this,” said Mandy.

  “You should call on the of the other sheep farmers and see if they can give you more pointers for training them to work the stock,” said Gillian. “I’ll see if any of my relatives in New Zealand have some advice or resources for you.”

  “Thanks. For now, I think the peanut butter girls are due for a run around outside,” said Mandy.

  Chapter 19

  “Dr. Bell. You’d better come back inside,” said Gillian. “It sounds like one of the Pointers out at O’Mally’s is minutes away from arriving. There was a terrible accident.”

  “You’re kidding. What happened?” asked Mandy.

  “Someone didn’t put the parking brake on correctly and a truck rolled over a dog. They think there are some internal injuries so they are headed here for radiographs,” said Gillian.

  “That’s terrible. I better get Lyle and Anna settled in my office so they don’t interfere,” said Mandy.

  “I’ll go get the x-ray unit ready,” said Gillian.

  “Better set up the surgery, too. If there are internal injuries, we will need to attend to them quickly,” said Mandy. “I’ll be there to help in a few minutes.”

  Mandy considered giving the dogs a treat until she remembered the peanut butter incident. Instead, she gave them a trusty old rope toy with which they initiated a game of tug.

  “That ought to tide you over for what could be a long afternoon. There’s the emergency arriving through the front door now. I promise you some quality time when this rush is over,” she said to two dogs who were too preoccupied with their game to notice Mandy depart.

  The hurt GSP arrived on a stretcher fashioned from a thick wool shirt and a folding chair as the frame. It was quite impressive. The dog was laying on its side, looking pitiful.

  “I’ve already given him some pain medication. I didn’t want him trying to get up on the way over here,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “What can we do to help?” asked Mandy.

  “I’d love to take some survey radiographs and then go from there,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “Gillian has already set it up. Bring him on in,” said Mandy, leading the way to the x-ray room. “We will have to take him off the gurney. Do you suspect an injury in any one place so we don’t jar that while we move him?”

  “I think he may have some broken ribs. The tire went right over the mid-abdomen. Luckily, he was on a grassy area so he was able to sink into the ground under the pressure of the tire. We didn’t even see the vehicle start to roll. It wasn’t until this dog, Boris, started wailing, that we knew something was wrong. Someone jumped aboard the vehicle to stop it before it hurt anyone else. It all happened too fast. We were able to trace the tire tracks to give us a better idea of where the injuries might be,” said Dr. Neptune.

  The phone had been ringing to the clinic but everyone ignored it to focus on Boris. When the ringing stopped, Dr. Neptune’s cell phone started ringing. Mandy and Dr. Neptune exchanged a glance.

  “Take it. We can get the radiographs for you,” said Dr. Bell.

  Mandy and Gillian carefully unwrapped Boris from his stretcher. His body had turned limp like a giant jellyfish under the influence of the pain medication. They set the factors on the machine and shot the images that would capture each section of his body, starting with his abdomen. Mandy couldn’t resist checking him over while he was on the table. She didn’t press too hard but did agree there might be several broken ribs. He was still able to take deep breaths, meaning that a pneumothorax was unlikely.

  “Any luck?” asked Dr. Neptune, stepping back from his phone call.

  “The first ones are just developing,” said Gillian.

  “Hopefully, he won’t need surgery. Otherwise there might be a cue,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “What do you mean?” asked Mandy.

  “That phone call was because another dog is on his way here. He’s just a young pup who was at the meet to get a little experience. With all of the commotion from the rolling vehicle accident, the owner left him in the back of his truck with a leash. When he came back to check on him, the dog was there but no leash. Looks like we will be removing one 6-foot leather leash from a six month old German short-haired pointed before the night is up,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “I see. Well, that just leaves one more emergency to come in. We find they tend to come in threes around here,” said Mandy. Gillian was putting the x-rays up on the viewer which took everyone’s focus away from the conversation.

  “There they are,” said Dr. Neptune. “Two fractured ribs. What a lucky dog. That could easily have caused a ruptured spleen or even a punctured lung. Do you see anything else? I love a second set of eyes.”

  “The rest of him looks clear to me,” said Mandy.

  “I think observation overnight is the best plan for him just to be sure. If something starts to bleed, I can be right there to whisk him back here for surgery. He can stay in my room with me,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “You may as well stay here at the clinic. With the next patient on its way, you will need to do checks all through the night on both of them. We can divide it up if you’d like,” said Mandy.

  “I couldn’t ask that of you. It is more than generous that you are letting me use your clinic and letting me stay in it overnight,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “I’ll go set up a cage for this guy to rest,” said Gillian.

  “I’ll set up a place for you to sleep,” said Mandy.

  “Looks like I’ll greet the next patient who is just arriving,” said Dr. Neptune. Everyone set off to complete their respective tasks. Dr. Neptune found a strikingly handsome pointer and his owner coming through the front door. “Is this the one who ate the leash?”

  “Um, no. This is the one who cut his leg,” said the owner.

  “Ah, OK. I wasn’t aware there was a cut leg on its way, too. Well, the more the merrier,” said Dr. Neptune. Gillian came around the corner and directed them to the exam room. She pulled out a suture kit and all of the supplies Dr. Neptune might need to help treat the laceration. “You are most helpful,” he said to Gillian. “That certainly was record timing; he only just came through the door.”

  “It’s no trouble, Dr. Neptune,” said Gillian. “Is there anything else you might need?”

  “I think this will do it. You’ve been most helpful. Thanks,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “It looks like your next patient is here. I will have the surgery ready for him,” said Gillian.

  Mandy poked her head in the exam room on the opposite side from where Gillian was. “Where are we at?” she asked.

  “This is a laceration. I should be done in a few minutes,” said Dr. Neptune, talking while he was sutur
ing. “I want to be sure not to leave this dog with a nasty scar since he is one of the most handsome I have ever seen. What’s his name, anyway?”

  “Barbed-wire Lewis. He stands to be one of the leading field dogs this year. I couldn’t be more pleased with him. I hope this wound doesn’t set him back. We had one more run to do tomorrow to meet all of his points this session,” said the owner who was a tall, bony man with saucer-sized hands.

  “He’s a looker. I haven’t seen that many of the breed but I can tell that he is the top of the food chain,” said Mandy, petting his masculine brown head.

  Gillian handed Dr. Neptune a bandage as he finished his last few sutures. The entire time, Lewis had not so much as flinched. Dr. Neptune had only given him a numbing agent on the wound itself. Since it was a fresh injury, there was no need to debride or freshen the edges. It was a simple suture job. Most dogs, however, would not have sat still for that without general anesthesia or mild sedation. This dog was a special one. Everyone took a moment to give him the credit that he deserved.

  “I’m afraid we’d better keep moving, sir, but I have to say that this dog has an air about him. It’s almost like he’s an old soul. Take good care of him and I will look forward to seeing his name in the top finishers this year,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “I understand. I appreciate your time. I’ve had dogs all my life and this one does have a special something,” the owner said, giving his dog an adoring pat.

  Gillian showed the owner out with his newly repaired stud of a dog while the doctors escorted the young pup who swallowed the leash to the operating room.

  Chapter 20

  “There’s hardly any point taking any x-rays. We know what he ate and when he ate it. Let’s just get started,” said Dr. Neptune.

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll follow your lead, Dr. Neptune,” said Mandy.

  “I think we can be on a first name basis now. This is our third case together in less than two hours. Please call me Adam. Since we are in your domain, go ahead and anesthetize him the way you normally would. There is no sense shaking things up, Dr.Bell,” said Adam.

  “Call me Mandy. I’ll draw up the drugs. You check out the equipment we have laid out. See if there is anything else you would like to have out,” said Mandy. The two doctors worked together famously. Sometimes when equals are forced to work together, there can be a certain amount of strife. This spontaneous partnership was proving to break that mold.

  They had the dog under anesthesia and on the operating table in record time. As a young pup, this dog would bounce back from a surgery with ease. That was no reason to make the incision any larger than it needed to be. As a deep-chested breed, the Pointer’s stomach was a little trickier to gain access to than a tubular breed like a Dachshund, where everything would be fairly shallow. As such, they made their incision slightly longer to accommodate the depth required to pull the stomach through the incision.

  Adam worked quickly to find the stomach once they had entered the abdomen. He pulled it up and out to where Mandy could make a small incision through which they could remove the leash. He had to keep the organ elevated to avoid any of its contents leaking into the abdomen. As he held it up, she fished the leash out which was coiled up like a spaghetti noodle.

  “He must have swallowed it whole,” said Mandy.

  “That is truly amazing,” said Adam.

  With the leash out, the stomach could be sutured back together. Adam held the two sides of incision so there was no tension on it while Mandy carefully sutured the layers of the stomach back together. Before letting the organ go in the abdomen, they checked it for leaks. There was no evidence that there were any leaks.

  “Did the owner want a gastropexy while we are in here?” asked Mandy.

  “I don’t know. That’s good thinking. Let me find out,” said Adam.

  “I’ll ask. You guys stay in your gloves,” said Gillian, joining them after cleaning up the exam room from the last surgery. It wasn’t long before she returned with a negative answer. The owner was slightly old school and had never seen the ravishes of gastric dilatation volvulus or GDV. The point of a gastropexy is to permanently afix the stomach to the ribs to prevent the stomach from ever flipping. If a stomach flips, death often results due to the blockage and lack of blood circulation it creates.

  “Fair enough. We can’t make people do things. We can only give them options,” said Adam.

  “Do you not find that to be frustrating? If you are always moving around, you can’t start changing people’s minds by educating them over time. That would be hard,” said Mandy.

  “I heard you were a bit of a nomad yourself. This seems a bit like the pot calling the kettle black,” said Adam, smiling.

  “I was. I have seen the error in my ways. Joining a community like this gives me a sense of purpose in the long-term,” said Mandy.

  “You’re quite lucky. Not all towns are this welcoming,” said Adam.

  “I know. I did relief vetting for a long time and I know there were several places that couldn’t wait to see the back of me. This place is different - part of it is that the person who passed away and left me this clinic was a town staple. I don’t think she had an enemy. By virtue of the fact that she chose me to take over, many people who maybe wouldn’t otherwise have given me a chance, did. I still have a few people waiting in the sidelines for me to mess up, but I am up for the challenge,” said Mandy.

  They were talking so much, they finished suturing the abdomen without so much as a pause. The scar would be long enough to be a talking point, but not be obvious enough to mar his chances of being a show dog if the owner desired. Mandy turned the anesthesia off and within less than a minute, the pointer was coughing his endotracheal tube out and ready to wake up. They relocated him to a surgery cage for recovery. As a young dog, he would need minimal recovery time. They loaded him up with antibiotics and additional pain medication for the next few hours.

  “You guys hungry? Gerry brought some lunch or maybe we are getting closer to dinner,” said Gillian, her mouthful with a bite of the sandwich she was holding in her left hand.

  “Sure. That sounds good. All of these emergencies and I did forget to eat,” said Mandy.

  “Me too,” said Adam.

  They filed into the kitchenette area where Gerry was laying everything out. He must have had Myrna and Merv make them up a luncheon to-go. It filled the room with delightful smells. Appearing around the corner were none other than Emma and Jimbo, the clinic cats, and Anna and Lyle. They were cautiously waiting as if in an invisible line for crumbs that might fall down to their reach. They had all been trained with more decorum than to just help themselves to food off of the counter, although Anna and Lyle’s peanut butter fiasco earlier made that questionable.

  “This is very nice of you. I’m Dr. Neptune. You must be Gerry.”

  “I am indeed. Call me Adam. Sounds like you’ve had a busy afternoon,” said Gerry.

  “We have, haven’t we,” Adam said, turning to face Mandy. Her mouth was full as she indulged in some of the lovely spread that Gerry had brought. She nodded instead of attempting to talk with her mouth full.

  “Do you have any more headed in?” asked Gerry.

  “I sure hope not. These are enough to keep me busy for the evening,” said Adam.

  “I set everything up so you can make yourself at home here for the night. If you need anything or can’t find something, give Gillian or me a call. As soon as we are done eating, we will leave you to it. I didn’t realize how late it was getting. I need to get back to tuck the chickens in before dark,” said Mandy. “Getting darker early means chores have to be done sooner than normal.”

  “Tuck the chickens in?” asked Adam

  “We have a murderer among us. Someone has been able to brutally kill my feathered friends. I haven’t yet figured out what it is or how to stop it. Until I have, I lock the chickens up in a smaller, safer coop for the night. Whatever is eating them comes well after dark has set in,” s
aid Mandy.

  “I see. That is pretty awful,” said Adam.

  “I can loan you some game cameras so you can catch a glimpse of whatever it is,” said Gerry.

  “That would be handy,” said Mandy.

  “I can even help you set them up. I’ll get them all ready and you just name the time,” said Gerry.

  “Good luck and thanks for the hospitality, all of you. I better get to it,” said Adam.

  Everyone nodded in acknowledgment. All of a sudden, though, it was clear that exhaustion was setting in after the flurry of activity. Food had a way of bringing out the inner nap, especially in the colder temperatures of the early Winter. They left Adam to his patients and headed out.

  “Gerry, I got the package that you dropped off. I haven’t had a chance to look at it but that is my plan for this evening. Do you have anything to add from what you have found out today?” asked Mandy.

  “Not really. This is a tough case. It’s like he had no past, present, or future,” said Gerry.

  “I like a challenge,” said Mandy. A message came through on the radio attached to Gerry’s shoulder. He responded and then looked at Mandy.

  “I better head off. Looks like I have an emergency to attend to,” said Gerry.

  As he drove off, Mandy and Gillian watched Anna and Lyle do their outside business before they loaded into the car.

  “You have your work cut out for you there, my friend,” said Gillian.

  “It’s a tough case,” said Mandy.

  “I don’t mean the case. I mean those two men. They are ready to compete for you like some kind of animal courting ritual,” said Gillian.

  “That’s ridiculous. They are both just friends,” said Mandy.

  “If you say so,” said Gillian.

  Chapter 21

  Back at the farm, Mandy let the dogs in for their supper so she could do her outside chores without their help. The sheep were all content, chewing their cud after a long day of grazing. She put the chickens up in the more secure coop. There were eggs everywhere. Clearly they were slightly confused with the change in sleeping arrangements. If this continued, Mandy would have to rig up a better roost for the poor girls. Mandy gathered the eggs, bringing them with her inside so as not to attract the predator with more bait than the chickens already provided.