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From Horses to Hamsters
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Horse with harsh bit
All in a Day's Work at the Fondouk
 There is a saying somewhere that what you want is not always what you get. As a doctor I always hope for the best outcomes, however I realize that the path to recovery is not always taken by an ill animal.
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The grey kitten from yesterday's
surgery lets out one of his
tremendous meows at his brother
during his mother's operation.
Unfortunately, he succumbed to
neonatal difficulties and passed
away a few hours later. | We learned this morning that the mother who delivered two kittens by Caesarean-section yesterday is making an amazing recovery and actually showing some strong maternal instincts. In my work we see sick animals survive tremendous odds and I believe she is one of those individuals. But the news is bittersweet as we find that one of her kittens, the grey one and smaller of the two, has died. We had discovered that this kitten had not only a tremendous meow but also a very large cleft palate upon our initial examination. We will attribute the cause of death to neonatal difficulties and look hard to find the silver lining in this sadness.
It was not long, however, before the mother began bathing the orange kitten, the stronger of the two, as they prepared to go home. The mother-kitten bond is developing strength and perhaps one could argue that the death of the weaker sibling may ensure that the one surviving kitten has the best chances to grow up healthy and receive the needed care from its weakened mother who is recovering from major surgery. Only time will tell; and in a place this busy, the memory of the mom and her kittens may fade just a bit as they leave for home and more animals come in for care.
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Drs. Biros and Frappier examine
a horse with mild ocular pain. | Dr. Frappier, the American Fondouk’s head veterinarian, examined a lame jumping horse for most of the morning. He works with Amber, our veterinarian student from Purdue, to localize the area of pain; which from an ophthalmologist's standpoint is perceived as quite an elaborate process. There are nerve blocks, flexing of the legs and running the horse up and down the street as well as up and down inclines. It makes an eye examination look absolutely boring by comparison and I am tired just watching it happen.
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A horse with a harsh
bit, known to cause
tongue paralysis and
trauma. | Working animals require strong legs and backs since they can carry loads up to several hundred pounds for their owners every day. Many of the streets in Fez are too narrow for cars and many Fassi (people of Fes) simply do not own a pick up truck or a station wagon to carry their goods from one place to another. As a result, they rely on these animals, and when they become injured, it is imperative that the animals receive adequate care or else their owners could not earn the money they and their families need to survive.
A sheep owner brought in a lamb and a ewe today because they were not eating well. The animals are given de-worming medication and are asked to come back in 10 days for a second dose. Hopefully they will return since they live nearby. This sheep owner and his animals are not found in a sprawling pasture as one may imagine. Instead, they often live in the medina (marketplace) of the city, moving up and down the narrow meandering streets during the course of the day with some time to graze outside of the city walls. Sheep and lambs are used here for both wool and food; and their good health is a critical part of the Fez economy.
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A dog receives IV fluids
while his owner keeps
him company. | My attention mid-morning turned to a young Moroccan woman holding a small cage in her hands when she entered the Fondouk. Inside the cage was a small hamster, her pet, with a terrible eye infection in one eye. She stated that the hamster has not been hungry for the past few days and she thinks that her pet might be sick. On further evaluation we saw that the ocular surface of the left eye is extremely dry with no vision and no ability to blink. The cornea is severely damaged and there is a large amount of ocular discharge. Our recommendation involved removing the blind and painful eye; which we did successfully later that afternoon. We also trimmed some of the hamster’s very long teeth; which may also have contributed to his lack of appetite. Many rodents require that their teeth be trimmed as a part of good routine veterinary care. We have shared that important bit of information to the happy client.
It is not clear to me precisely how much knowledge Moroccan pet owners have about taking good care of their pets. The human animal bond is universal, but there are distinct cultural differences regarding how appropriate pet care should be administered. Issues of animal cruelty abound everywhere and it was for this reason that the American Fondouk was founded more than 80 years ago. I am convinced that the Fondouk’s staff members continuously help the local population understand what it takes to provide adequate care for an animal at every opportunity. This is not an easy task. They work by example. It is very reassuring to see this each day I am here.
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A kitten recovers after
having his infected eye
removed at the Fondouk. | Our day ended after dark when we removed a blind eye from a kitten with a viral infection. Amber, under my supervision, was the surgeon and when all was done, the kitten was resting comfortably to stay for the night, heading home in the morning.
Learning the difference between what we want and what we get is so integral to accepting the outcomes of the many patients we treat each day. In a perfect world we would never have to amputate an eye in an innocent animal, but when pain and suffering are involved, a healthy one-eyed patient is always happier once the damage is removed. The silver lining in these cases, almost without exception, becomes revealed as time passes.
From paradise,
Dr. Biros
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