Panda Ernst
A boat ride on a beautiful day on the lake nearly turned into tragedy for Panda Ernst. In an unimaginable freak accident, Panda slipped off the front of the boat and got caught in the propeller. Panda’s mom, Heather, recounts a series of “miracles” that helped saved Panda’s life. Miracle One – a friend quickly came to their rescue and was able to get Panda onto his boat, and help Panda and Heather get to Foothills Veterinary Clinic where Dr. Capeheart and staff began to stabilize him and treat his injuries, preparing him for the next step – a transfer to Dr. Sonnenfield and the Emergency Team at GVS. Panda’s injuries were so advanced that surgery was necessary. Panda’s mother also made a decision to have his mangled leg amputated to help improve his quality of life.”Dr. MacDougall, the surgeon at GVS, is my second miracle because she saved my dog’s life and she repaired my heart,” says Heather. “GVS is an incredible clinic filled with people who love animals with their entire being! I have never been treated nicer and with so much care, and concern.”
Uber Pina
Poisonous snakes are common in Georgia, as this handsome 18-month-old Pharoah Hound found out. In an instant, a large copperhead struck him several times while Uber (which means “Super” in German) was out in his backyard. His quick-thinking mom Bekki drew on her steady nerves as a trauma nurse to seek out emergency care. When he needed additional treatment that the emergency facility was unable to perform, the staff recommended a transfer to GVS. “It was so scary. The first night in the ICU, I was prepared to get the words that he wasn’t going to make it. He was so swollen and sick. He barely could lift his head. But no one gave up, not the staff, not me and certainly not Uber,” she said. After several days in the ICU, which included a blood transfusion, Uber was strong enough to go home. “This boy was determined to live up to his name. He recovered, with minimal scarring, in record time and will return to the show ring --no copperhead was going to get in his way!”
Rori Baird
Someone might need to remind Rori Baird that she’s a dog, not a fish. As an 8-month-old puppy, she simply couldn’t resist swallowing 6 fish hooks, designed to catch salmon, not German Shepherds. And these were special hooks, hand-tied and meant as a gift from a friend to Rori’s owner. Fortunately, GVS internal medicine specialist Derek Duval, VMD, ACVIM, was able to remove the hooks through a non-surgical procedure called endoscopy. As in all situations where the pets swallow something, the items are presented back to the owner. To her owner’s surprise (and bewilderment) Rori managed to do the near impossible – she swallowed the same hooks again. Back to GVS she went. This time the hooks had moved much further along, but safely “passed” naturally while being carefully monitored. Now that’s a fish story!
Sasha Perry
Our canine friends, like Sasha here, can suffer knee injuries just like us. When Sasha’s owner Monica noticed Sasha was limping, she sought the advice from her family vet, who then referred her to Dr. Alan Cross, a board-certified surgeon at GVS who specializes in orthopedic injuries. Dr. Cross recommended a procedure called a “TPLO” (Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy). “When we picked Sasha up the day after his surgery, we were amazed to see our huge goof dragging Nurse Shannon down the hall towards us, and amazed that he was not only walking on his recently surgically repaired leg, but pulling on his leash trying to run to us,” Monica says. Sasha's back to normal now – being his happy yappy self.