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Suffield Veterinary Hospital May 2006 Patient of the Month |
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Meet Lady, an 11-year old spayed female border collie mix, owned by Mary McKenna and family of Suffield. Seven years ago, Lady was dropped off at the Humane Society along with her five 4 month old puppies. She was extremely thin and had almost no fur on her tail. Even at 4 months, her puppies were still subsisting by nursing, a terrible drain on Lady’s health. According to the Humane Society, she had been living only on table scraps. Yet when the McKenna’s saw her it was love at first sight. It took only two weeks of feeding good quality dog food for her great plume of a tail to grow back. Though she came with an array of medical problems, including heartworms and digestive issues, medical treatment and TLC from a loving family allowed a full recovery. However, her inauspicious beginning isn’t what landed her our Patient of the Month showcase. As you can see in the adorable portrait above, taken by the photographers at Motophoto in Enfield, Lady recently developed an eye disorder. Last year on Lady’s regular visit to Suffield Veterinary Hospital, Mrs. McKenna and Dr. Sabellico discussed the odd appearance of Lady’s left eye. It appeared that there were holes in the iris. Dr. Sabellico suggested consultation with a veterinary ophthalmologist, and the McKenna’s took her to Dr. Alan Bachrach, Jr., in Petersham, MA. He diagnosed iris atrophy, a benign condition, usually seen in smaller dogs, in which the iris (the colored part of the eye that is usually brown or blue in dogs) develops gaps and open spaces. The cause is unknown. Since one of the main roles of the iris is to protect the retina from overexposure to light, iris atrophy leaves dogs painfully unable to tolerate bright lights. A solution to this dilemma is seen above: “Doggles”! Lady has both Doggles and a fetching sun visor, and has to wear one or the other whenever going out for walks on sunny days. She finds the visor a little more comfortable, and you may have seen her out for walks in the center of town wearing it. Don’t be confused and think that the Doggles and the visor are fashion statements – she really needs to wear one or the other. Like almost all dogs rescued as adults, Lady has fit extremely well into the McKenna family’s home. She gets along well with the family cats, plays joyously in the snow, and nudges family with a nose to the elbow when she wants her favorite Scooby Snacks. But frankly, it was simply knowing how utterly delightful she looks in her Doggles that made us proud to select Lady as our April 2006 Patient of the Month. |
Suffield Veterinary HospitalDr. Ann Huntington - Dr. Anita Sabellico - Dr. Dawn Burke Dr. Jean Herrman – Dr. Tracy Powell 577 East Street South (Route 159), Suffield, CT 06078 (860) 668-4041 |
