A 5 year old male dachsund presented with straining to urinate. He had blood in the urine. A decrease in appetite and was "hunching" his back.
The Owner ="O" brought him in for exam . A physical  indicated a painful abdomen.  The urinalysis revealed blood, white blood cells, increase protein and decreased specific gravity of 1.000.  Radiographs were recommended.

Radiographs revealed  3 stones in the bladder. The stones ranged from 2cm to 4 cm in diameter. Surgery was recommended due to the risk of obstruction.

The dachsund was hospitalized and had surgery the following morning. The 3 stones were sent out for lab analysis. The patient was sent home with anti-inflammatories and antibiotics. A special diet was prescribed to prevent reoccurrence of stones.

Case no.  2

A 6 year old female Golden retriever presented with repeated vomiting over the last 48 hour time period. On this day she was reluctant to move and refused all food and water.
The "O" brought her in for exam. The body temperature was 103.2 (N=101-102). Her abdomen was tense. She was "hunching" her back. With any palpation she tighted and started to reflux into her mouth.Radiographs were taken. She was sedated for this procedure due to her obvious pain and reluctance to lay straight.
Radiographs revealed 3 larger stones. One in the stomach, ileum and descending colon. Surgery was recommended. Blood work prior to the surgery revealed a severe pancreatitis. The "O"  reported he had just filled the backyard gardens with decorative stone. While the surgery was performed the "O" removed all the stones from the yard. Surgical exploratory of the abdomen showed no secondary intestinal damage or organ involvement. The stones in the stomach and small intestines were removed. The remaining one in the colon would pass.

The patient was hospitalized for 3 days and discharged with antibiotics, a bland diet (without stones) and recommendation of rest for 7 days.

Case no. 3

An 9 year old female Siamese had been vomiting for several months. Initially it appeared the vomitus contained hairballs. However the vomiting increased and now contained undigested food. The cat always seemed hungry and energetic. However, she was beginning to get thin and drinking lots of water.

The ower brought her in for an exam. The exam revealed thin body score (4/9), rapid heart rate of 240 (N= 140-200) and was overactive for the exam. The recommendation was made for bloodwork and urinalysis. This would rule out Diabetes, kidney  and hyperthyroidism diseases as well as severe infection.

The bloodwork revealed an elevated free T4. This is one of the measurements for the thyroid hormone. The thyroid gland most likely was developping a benign tumor which was producing more thryoid hormone. Since the thryoid controls the metabolism many secondary effects occur. These include: increased heart rate, hyperactivity, hypertension, hunger, thirst , weight loss and sometimes diarrhea.

The immediate treatment prescribed was an anti-thyroid medication to block the T4 production. This can be used to control the disease. However, in a young cat such as this Radiation Therapy is the treatment of choice. The owners elected this option and were referred to a Specialty Clinic.