Non Surgical Internal Medicine

A limb amputation may seem like a drastic course of action for your pet, but the procedure is carried out with the purpose of improving your pet’s quality of life. It is also only recommended where our veterinary team believes that it is in the very best interests of your pet.

There are primarily three different scenarios in which our experienced and compassionate veterinarians may recommend an amputation.

Symptoms you can look for

• Drinking lots of water

• Excessive urination

• Frequent or reoccurring diarrhea

• Frequent vomiting

• Dramatic change in appetite (eating a lot or not eating at all)

• Lack of energy

• Weight gain or weight loss

• Stiffness when walking or jumping

What might be happening

• Endocrine (Hormones)

  • Hormonal changes in the body such as low thyroid or diabetes.

• Gastrointestinal (GI)

  • Your pet could be experiencing stomach or intestine problems caused by infection, food intolerance, or an autoimmune disease.

• Hematologic (spleen and blood)

  • Sometimes our pets bodies will either destroy or not produce enough red or white blood cells for everyday living.

• Liver

  • The liver has a large responsibility in the body, from filtering blood to producing blood clotting factors. Due to its high blood supply the liver is prone to many toxins and diseases that can have damaging effects.

• Respiratory

  • Lung problems affecting your pet include bronchitis, asthma, or pneumonia.

• Urinary

  • Just like people, our pets are prone to urinary tract infections, bladder/kidney stones and urinary incontinence.

• Neurological

  • Caused by injury, age, or breed related issues. Common neurologic issues include slip disc, back or neck nerve pain, or sciatica.

What we can do

• You know your pet best and we value owners input. Dr. Jay will diagnose the problem and work closely with owners to create an appropriate treatment plan for your pet. Diagnostic tools Dr. Jay uses to diagnose disorders include digital X-rays, veterinary ultrasound and IDEXX laboratories for blood, fecal and urine analysis.

• Dr. Jay may need to take tissue samples (biopsies) to have evaluated by a board certified pathologist to identify what is happening in the organs at the cell level.

• A feeding tube placement may be needed if your pet is unable to eat and needs nutritional support.

• Fine needle aspirates and cytology

• Dr. Jay will take small samples of tissue to examine under a microscope to assess what’s happening.