LRVSS’s Blog

Signs of pain are not always obvious in cats. Part of the reason has to do with their evolution. In the wild, sick animals often get eaten. So we believe that cats have learned to hide pain and sickness in order to survive. Sadly that doesn’t always make our diagnosis...

We remove countless cancerous tumors, from all body parts, at LRVSS. And we also remove masses that were thought to be cancer until the biopsy shows that they were actually benign. Here are 3 actual patients we recently treated.  1. Booboo and the toe mass Booboo, a...

We know that putting a pet through surgery can be a very stressful experience. After all, we are all pet owners, and we’ve also had pets going through surgery. Today, we pull the curtain and take you behind the scenes at LRVSS. This is what happens to a theorical 8...

This is part 2 of our answer to this fair and difficult question: “Why should I treat cancer in my pet?” You can read part 1 here: Why should I treat cancer in my pet? (part 1) Here are 3 more reasons to treat your pet. 4. Treating cancer can improve quantity of life...

We treat a huge number of cats and dogs with cancer. A fair but difficult question to ask is: “Why should I treat my pet if (s)he has cancer and is going to die from it anyway?” Can you imagine being the vet having to answer that question? Well, that’s what we’re...

Duke, a gorgeous 8-year-old Lab, was initially diagnosed with an ACL tear. Yet when I saw him, several things didn’t make sense. We repeated X-rays, which confirmed my suspicion. Imagine the difficult conversation that followed: “Ms. Smith, Duke does not have a torn...

Odin, a 9-year-old, intact (i.e. not neutered) pit bull, was extremely sick when he arrived at LRVSS. He was weak, unable to urinate and straining to defecate. A catheter had to be used repeatedly to drain his bladder. This is a temporary solution since it can cause a...

At LRVSS, one of the most common questions we hear from dog owners is: “Is (s)he in pain?” Most times, the answer is obviously “yes”, but sometimes it is more difficult to tell. Dogs are very good at hiding their pain - an instinct from the Wild, where the sick and...

We perform a surprisingly large number of leg amputations in cats and dogs at LRVSS. When we recommend sacrificing a leg, it’s never for fun. It’s always to help a pet feel better, once the source of the pain is removed. The biggest obstacle is most often in the pet...

Molly, a 4 year old Bulldog, was struggling to breathe by day and snoring loudly at night. Her owner writes: “Molly has essentially snored since we got her at 3 months. Before she was spayed, she was evaluated “somewhere else” and we were told things didn’t look so...