Oscar’s Throwback Moment

Oscar, a healthy 8-year-old Pit Bull Terrier Mix, came to Vetco Total Care due to a weeklong bout of vomiting and inappetence. Hospital Veterinarian, Dr. Maggi, performed a physical exam, which was unremarkable, and no pain was indicated upon abdominal palpation.

Oscar wiggled and wagged his tail, greeted the team happily, and gave no indication that something serious might be brewing internally. Oscar’s mom agreed to bloodwork and a canine pancreatic lipase (CPL) but declined radiographs, believing there had been no dietary indiscretion.

Oscar’s bloodwork was unremarkable, showing only mild lymphopenia and monocytosis, and his CPL was within normal limits at <30 (range 0-200). The Vetco Total Care team administered a Cerenia injection and subcutaneous fluids in the hospital and advised Oscar's mom to take him to the emergency vet or bring him back to VTC for abdominal radiographs if the vomiting returned overnight.

Oscar returned to VTC three days later with worsening symptoms and increasing lethargy. Bloodwork was rerun and showed a substantial neutrophilia in addition to an increase in the monocyte counts and lymphocyte counts from Friday. The white blood cell count had increased dramatically from normal to 23.57.

Abdominal radiographs revealed a mechanical small intestinal obstruction—likely due to foreign material. A STAT consult confirmed suspicions, and the team prepped Oscar for immediate abdominal exploratory surgery.

Surgery revealed (drumroll, please) a torn sock lodged in his stomach and duodenum. There was also a perforation noted in the mesenteric side of the duodenum. Dr. Maggi performed a gastrotomy and enterotomy, and seamlessly sealed the perforation. Turns out, Oscar used to steal socks when he was a puppy and his mom thought that he’d outgrown the habit (once a sock thief, always a sock thief!).

Post-operatively, Oscar spent the night at a nearby emergency hospital for observation and post-operative care and has since made a great recovery!

At Vetco Total Care, we’re practicing high-quality medicine driven by our passion for pets. Our teams are empowered by state-of-the art equipment and industry leading benefits. Interested in helping pets like Oscar? Explore opportunities with our team today!

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