:: Helping Hands Introduction ::

This is a stone being removed from the urinary bladder. It is rare for them to get this large, but is a common problem we address. Stones can be a variety of sizes, shapes, and compositions. It is important to have the stones sent to the lab for analysis so your veterinarian can guide you in preventative measures. The most common cause is low- grade, chronic urinary tract infections.

It is common for smaller breed dogs to have difficulty giving birth due to their small pelvic openings. If a dog or cat has active labor for more than 45 minutes and has not passed a puppy, they are in danger of needing a C- section. These puppies are just one hour old. So cute!

This is one of the reasons, in a long list, why spaying your dog is so important. These are uterine cysts. A common problem in humans as well. Not only do they cause infertility, but can be quite painful, especially if they burst. The exact cause is unknown, but likely multifactorial. Please, if you are not going to responsibly breed your pet, have it spayed or neutered.

Your mouth is a window to your overall health. Not only is your mouth a great source of infection into your bloodstream, but teeth like these make it very painful to eat. Not only do they look and smell better after a cleaning, but you know this dog feels so much better too! Imagine if that was your mouth. Yuck!

It is common for pets to chew on things they shouldn’t and often will swallow them unintentionally. This is a toy giraffe being removed from a dog’s intestine. Cats seem to prefer string. This surgery always ends with great show and tell.

This little guy obviously has a large growth on the side of his face and neck. The owner could not afford removal until they heard about Helping
Hands. By then it was quite large. Turns out it was just a fluid filled cyst and this little guy went on to do very well. No more pain in the neck. Ha Ha!

This is an example of a mammary mass after being removed from this girl’s belly. Otherwise known as breast cancer. You hear about it all the time in women, but animals have more breasts than humans so it is even more common in our pets. Early spaying is a great way to practically eliminate the chance of breast cancer in dogs and cats, as this form of cancer is known to be induced by hormones from the ovaries.

This tumor weighed twelve pounds after being removed. His parents were told he was too old and it could not be done. After surgery, this dog climbed the stairs for the first time in two years and went on to live another year and a half. He was 12 at the time of surgery. Surgery is performed on the elderly every day, both humans and pets. It is not their age that makes it more risky, only their health status, which is often quite good and even if it is not, safe adjustments are made in the sedation protocol based on their health status. In today’s world, no one should have to suffer just because they are old.

Part of having your pet’s teeth cleaned is an oral exam. Because we perform a high volume of dental care, we often find unexpected lumps and bumps in pet’s mouths that the owners never knew were there. It is a common mistake to believe that as long as your pet is eating there are no problems lurking. Pet’s must eat to survive and their survival instincts will not allow them to stop eating until they just simply cannot stand the pain any longer. By then it will be too late. This just underscores the importance of regular dental care.

Do you know what a spleen looks like? Now you do, but only part of it is normal. The spleen acts as a filter to remove damaged cells and things from your bloodstream that do not belong there. This spleen has a large friable growth, thus the reason it had to be removed. Good news! You and your pet can live easily without a spleen because other organs will take up the slack.