Meet fire victim Kitch

Our patient of the month is Kitch, the 13 year old Terrier cross. Unfortunately, Kitch and his owner have had a very difficult month as they lived in Kinglake when fire devastated the town on Saturday February 7th. Kitch's owner lost her home and some of her pets. Kitch was lucky enough though to escape without sustaining any injuries.

Kitch was brought to the clinic to be castrated as he was now living with another dog that was not desexed. Kitch was admitted to the hospital by Dr Suzanne Leibel. Dr Suzanne performed a thorough physical exam to ensure that Kitch was healthy enough to undergo an anaesthetic for the procedure. Kitch passed his physical exam with flying colours but, as he is an older patient, Dr Suzanne collected a blood sample prior to the procedure. The tests run on the blood sample were to check that his internal organs, such as his liver and kidneys, were functioning properly and that the anaesthetic would not have any untoward effects on his system. The results were all within the normal range so Kitch was prepared for surgery.

Kitch was placed on an intravenous fluid drip prior to his surgery. The intravenous fluid drip is beneficial to patients undergoing an anaesthetic as it maintains normal blood pressure while the patient is anaesthetised and helps to flush the anaesthetic drugs from his system.

Nurse Lauren monitored Kitch's vital signs throughout the surgery, which included checking his blood pressure like they do in human hospitals. Dr Suzanne performed Kitch's surgery. Kitch recovered well from his surgery and was bouncing around his hospital cage thirty minutes after it was completed. Kitch remained on his intravenous fluid drip until he was discharged, and once Nurse Sommer had removed his drip he was more than happy to snuggle in for cuddles from her.

Our thoughts are with Kitch and his family as well as all the people who have been affected by these devastating fires. The team at Reservoir Veterinary Clinic have been assisting veterinary clinics closer to the affected areas in all ways that we can.