Dog of the Month: November 2016
How our Dog of the Month program works: Each staff member provides a nomination for the distinguished honor, and then we vote. The highest vote wins! Any pup who visits us during the prior month is eligible. Our November 2016 winner is a tiny little pooch with a big personality and a lot of fight.
Lola
In August of this year, Amanda Franklin and her family decided it was time to bring two more dogs into their lives. And so they adopted little Lola and her brother Leo, two Japanese Chin and Maltese crossbreeds who were born in May 2016. But almost right away, Lola had some problems. She had contracted coccidia, an intestinal parasite that causes severe diarrhea, dehydration, and vomiting in puppies. Despite treatments, Lola was not getting better, and it led to even worse problems.
“Lola had an intussusception, where one section of intestine telescopes into an adjacent segment. I think this picture is worth a thousand words for explaining it,” says Dr. Colleen Cassidy, who treated Lola. “The intussusception occurred at the sphincter between the small and large intestine. This sphincter regulates the movement of digested food from the small to the large intestine. Without it, you would likely have lifelong diarrhea—no fun!”
So in mid-September, Dr. Cassidy and Dr. Debra Nicholson performed an operation on Lola to correct the issue. “Lola needed to have a small section of her intestine removed because it was too compromised from the intussusception,” Dr. Cassidy explains. “Fortunately, it was a segment just before the sphincter, so she will likely be able to live a normal, happy life once she has completely healed.”
And healed she has! She prances, begs to play, and is a very enthusiastic puppy. “She also cuddles like a champion,” Amanda says. “But being rescued from the jaws of death surely helps.”
Amanda says that despite being the smallest of the Franklin family’s four dogs, she is not afraid to assert her territory or her needs. “Her brother Leo is much larger, but she yells at him and bosses him around,” she says. “She’s under six pounds, but she growls like a much larger wolf.” Even still, Lola and Leo are both reluctant to learn to pee in the rain.
In the earlier days of Lola joining the Franklin house (and due to her coccidia), her nickname was Squirty Butt. However, that’s all passed, and now Lola is happy to answer to Tidbit.
The great news is that Lola’s tests have come back parasite-free, so she is out of the woods and free to play with Leo, Lucy, and Napoleon. Amanda says that Lola and Leo are “Mini Mes” of the two older dogs, all of whom are patients at Rainier Veterinary Hospital, where the Franklins have been bringing their pets since 1988. “A friend recommended Dr. Kadaner, and I came to respect him deeply,” Amanda says. “He communed with an animal’s spirit in a way I don’t understand but could really witness.”
We’re glad you’ve stay a part of the Rainier Vet family for almost 30 years, Amanda, and we’re even happier that we could help little Lola, setting her on a healthy journey and long life ahead.
