Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Treating Mounds

I have named this the Moss Garden Shawl knitted up. This is the first skein and I have already knitted the second one, but not photographed it yet. It is gorgeous and I am really happy with it.
This is the second necklace and I designed a freeform yarn around it that I will be listing in my eshop - as soon as it is photographed.

Mounds, my white Rambouillet, has developed toxemia. I was watching her every meal time and feeding grain by hand, so I knew when she decided to quit eating. I had decided that I would be calling the vet, if she did. Time to learn a different way to treat ketosis. This time the vet suggested using an IV to treat her. It is sure a lot easier than trying to force feed the glucose and grain, since I have been bit several times. The veterinarian set up a vein IV, but I ended up having to use it subcutaneously, because the vein no longer worked in the evening - even after using the a special shot to keep her vein clear. She was also given a shot to trigger delivery and to help the babies lungs develop. She would have delivered by now, if that shot had worked. Her body functions are still working and she is still getting up and down, so the IV seems to be working. I am supplementing the other glucose and a power punch drench for animals that refuse to eat. She actually ate some last night, so I am not despairing yet.
My question is - why should calling a veterinarian be so expensive? It was $135 for the visit, $50 for the exam and then more for the fluids. So far, I have spent $450 and I might not have anything to show for it besides gaining new knowledge and the satisfaction of knowing that I tried. Depressing, since it is now hot in Tucson and business has slowed.


1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yes, vets are expensive. But thank goodness you're not the type of person who would let an animal suffer if you could reasonably do something about it. I know people who have wondered whether it was worth taking a parakeet to the vet when it had a tumor, since they only paid a few dollars for it. My response is always "Your kids were free, but you'll pay to take them to the doctor." I know animals aren't people, but we are responsible for providing them reasonable care.