Need a veterinarian

Need a vet close to PDO. Puppy has eye problems. Please leave explicit instructions. Thanks for your help.

Sunshine

Cathy... I'll head down there and you can follow me to the vet we use all the time... I'll be there shortly....

I know this is an old thread, but I am hoping someone knows of a reputable vet here in Rocky Point. Our dear German Shepherd has grown terribly ill since we arrived and can barely breathe. I know Semana Santa is probably a bad time to need help like this, but any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

There was a thread here recently about a good vet. I'll find it. For some reason I can't copy the info. In the Search Forums tab search for Dog Dental. You'll find two recommendations. The one that seems the most popular is Dr. ChoyChoy.

Talk to Mark or Nancy Phelan

Thank you! (And thank goodness she made it through the night!)

Is she vomiting food and/or water?

No vomiting or anything. She just can't breathe. It is like there is something restricting her airways. It is taking all her effort just to take a breath. Otherwise her body seems to be functioning normally.

That rules out Pancreatitis (SP?) Have you located a Vet yet?

I was just reading the Dog Dental thread. Sounds like others recommend Dr. Choy Choy...

If you need help contact Rosie at Proalliance Insurance

Hope you get her in to the vet soon. I hate hearing about stuff like this. We have been through it and know how difficult it is to see them struggle. Hope it's something simple like a restriction or swelling from an allergic reaction to something.

ABQ Adventurers said:

I was just reading the Dog Dental thread. Sounds like others recommend Dr. Choy Choy...

Let us know how she is doing. I also hate to see animals in distress. If they could only talk to us.

I can't stop thinking about this. I keep checking back to see how she is. ABQ - let me know if you need Rosie's cell phone number, translation help, whatever. I will send you an e-mail with my cell phone number in Phx.

Thank you sooooooo much for caring everyone! On the advice of some forum members I got in touch with Dr. Choy Choy's office and they agreed to see her before they closed for the holiday weekend. I was a bit scared to drive around looking by myself with 3 little kids and one sick dog. Thank goodness a friend of a friend volunteered to ride with me. When we got there it seemed Dr. Chou Choy was just about to close. He took our dog into a pretty rudimentary examination room. I was hesitant but desperate. Our dog (Tova) was barely able to breathe at that point. The stress of transport added to her panting, which made matters worse than they already were. The doctor asked me to lift her (all 75 lbs of her) onto a tiny metal table. No easy feat. But I managed and he hooked her up to a pulse oximeter (sp?) and found that she was hypoxic. He believes she has pneumonia. He gave her 3 shots (of I don't know what) and sent us on our way. He says he will call me later to have her come back for follow up. I felt so helpless to do anything, and worried that it was just smoke and mirrors, but once the stress of the situation was over and I got her home she calmed down and is now sleeping soundly. Her breathing is a bit labored, but nothing like before. If a dog could get color back into her face, she has (I know, silly to say through all the fur). I am so grateful that she isn't suffering terribly for the first time in days. Oh, and the visit & 3 shots were $38.

Fantastic!!!! Thanks so much for letting us know how she is. Keep us posted throughout the weekend. I'm sure one of the shots was a heavy dose of antibiotics. Within a few hours she will probably be doing much better.

ABQ Adventurers said:

Thank you sooooooo much for caring everyone! On the advice of some forum members I got in touch with Dr. Choy Choy's office and they agreed to see her before they closed for the holiday weekend. I was a bit scared to drive around looking by myself with 3 little kids and one sick dog. Thank goodness a friend of a friend volunteered to ride with me. When we got there it seemed Dr. Chou Choy was just about to close. He took our dog into a pretty rudimentary examination room. I was hesitant but desperate. Our dog (Tova) was barely able to breathe at that point. The stress of transport added to her panting, which made matters worse than they already were. The doctor asked me to lift her (all 75 lbs of her) onto a tiny metal table. No easy feat. But I managed and he hooked her up to a pulse oximeter (sp?) and found that she was hypoxic. He believes she has pneumonia. He gave her 3 shots (of I don't know what) and sent us on our way. He says he will call me later to have her come back for follow up. I felt so helpless to do anything, and worried that it was just smoke and mirrors, but once the stress of the situation was over and I got her home she calmed down and is now sleeping soundly. Her breathing is a bit labored, but nothing like before. If a dog could get color back into her face, she has (I know, silly to say through all the fur). I am so grateful that she isn't suffering terribly for the first time in days. Oh, and the visit & 3 shots were $38.

That is great news. I know what you mean about the color returning to her face. I've seen that with my dogs too!

ABQ Adventurers said:

Thank you sooooooo much for caring everyone! On the advice of some forum members I got in touch with Dr. Choy Choy's office and they agreed to see her before they closed for the holiday weekend. I was a bit scared to drive around looking by myself with 3 little kids and one sick dog. Thank goodness a friend of a friend volunteered to ride with me. When we got there it seemed Dr. Chou Choy was just about to close. He took our dog into a pretty rudimentary examination room. I was hesitant but desperate. Our dog (Tova) was barely able to breathe at that point. The stress of transport added to her panting, which made matters worse than they already were. The doctor asked me to lift her (all 75 lbs of her) onto a tiny metal table. No easy feat. But I managed and he hooked her up to a pulse oximeter (sp?) and found that she was hypoxic. He believes she has pneumonia. He gave her 3 shots (of I don't know what) and sent us on our way. He says he will call me later to have her come back for follow up. I felt so helpless to do anything, and worried that it was just smoke and mirrors, but once the stress of the situation was over and I got her home she calmed down and is now sleeping soundly. Her breathing is a bit labored, but nothing like before. If a dog could get color back into her face, she has (I know, silly to say through all the fur). I am so grateful that she isn't suffering terribly for the first time in days. Oh, and the visit & 3 shots were $38.

Aren't the people of Rocky Point amazing? What a great place!

Yes and cudoos to the Rocky Point Talk Forum. For all the naysayers there are tons of good folks on here
who have vital and extremely useful information. That does include a number of them. also.

Keep us up to date on the dog's progress, we're thinking about you.

Choy choy is the best in town. Dee has used him for lots of very, very sick dogs that have survived.

Whatever Dr. Choy Choy gave her worked like magic. Look how lovely she looks!

ABQ Adventurers said:

Whatever Dr. Choy Choy gave her worked like magic. Look how lovely she looks!

Wish there were a triple-like button. So, so glad your beautiful girl is on the mend. A few weeks ago, the dog of a guest at our Las Conchas home had an injury that required surgery (avulsion of the skin and muscle tissue over the ribs from friendly beach play with another dog). The vet here and his staff took all afternoon putting her back together. They're just north of the tracks and just west of Josefa. Very close to Las Conchas.

Servicios Medicos Veterinarios
Sonora Blvd & Galeana, Rocky Point, 83550
Ph: (638) 383-3344
Alt Ph: (044) 638-380-5240 - cell
Office Hours: Daily 9:00 am - 1:00 pm & 4:00 pm - 8:00 pm

ABQ Adventurers said:

Whatever Dr. Choy Choy gave her worked like magic. Look how lovely she looks!

Good girl!

She's BEAUTIFUL! She looks really happy too! I have a soft spot for German Shepherds. I've had 2. Smarter and sweeter than most people!

I was lucky enough to have trained Shepherds up in the Pacific Northwest for what they like to do, work! They worked security (man dog team's) all over the Portland/Vancouver area and some even flew up and worked the pipeline in Alaska. I remember each and every one of those dogs and their names. Not so with my drinkin buddy's, or the handlers.:D Man you should have seen how excited they would get when you asked them if they were ready to go to work. Best dog out there in my opinion, hands down.

This is part of the reason that this forum is still around today, thanks to all

Such good news and great information.

How's Tova doing? What did your vet say?

Kenny said:

I was lucky enough to have trained Shepherds up in the Pacific Northwest for what they like to do, work! They worked security (man dog team's) all over the Portland/Vancouver area and some even flew up and worked the pipeline in Alaska. I remember each and every one of those dogs and their names. Not so with my drinkin buddy's, or the handlers.:D Man you should have seen how excited they would get when you asked them if they were ready to go to work. Best dog out there in my opinion, hands down.

I have to agree Kenny! I did not grow up with dogs so I really had no point of reference, but my husband always had Shepherds and insisted we get one when we decided to get a dog. I am so glad I did! She has been our constant companion for 9 years now.

I am alone with 3 little ones a lot and this dog is the reason I feel safe. From 75 acres in the mountains outside of Albuquerque where she protects us from wild beasts to living on a boat in the Bahamas and Florida for a year, to traveling in Canada, Mexico and across the USA (where she protects us from wild people), this Shepherd just knows what to do in every situation. She is gentle with the kids and fierce with anyone with ill-intentions.

We got a second dog a year ago to keep her company. She is a Shepherd-border collie mix. She is super sweet but she is just not a "Shepherd" and it really shows. We like to joke that if the new dog is barking it will likely be a killer squirrel, bird or chipmunk, but if the Shepherd is barking you know something is out there to worry about.

It will be a dark day when our old girl leaves this planet. Thanks for all the support when she was so sick last week.

To be clear, I should have said purebred dog.
A mutt can be a much better dog in many way's compared to a purebred, especially their health and longevity. My Irish Wolfhound Mix (Max) had everything my Shepherds had and then some, and lived to be 16!

ABQ Adventurers said:

Whatever Dr. Choy Choy gave her worked like magic. Look how lovely she looks!

She looks GREAT! Poor baby. Nice job everyone who jumped in with helpful intel! I cant wait to be down there full time!

Kenny said:

To be clear, I should have said purebred dog.
A mutt can be a much better dog in many way's compared to a purebred, especially their health and longevity. My Irish Wolfhound Mix (Max) had everything my Shepherds had and then some, and lived to be 16!

As you already are aware it all depends on the breeding history of the dog. Several breeds have been damaged over the years as they became very popular and the the puppy factories kicked in. Comes to mind German Shepard, Poodles, Cocker Spaniel and Golden Retirievers over the years. The rampant inbreeding resulted in some pretty wacked out dogs. Same with cross breeds as years back we acquired a dog that a guy was developing as a breed by inbreeding and the dog was nuts.

Roberto said:

As you already are aware it all depends on the breeding history of the dog. Several breeds have been damaged over the years as they became very popular and the the puppy factories kicked in. Comes to mind German Shepard, Poodles, Cocker Spaniel and Golden Retirievers over the years. The rampant inbreeding resulted in some pretty wacked out dogs. Same with cross breeds as years back we acquired a dog that a guy was developing as a breed by inbreeding and the dog was nuts.

In my opinion the AKC has done more damage than the puppy farms by changing what was important in sporting and working dogs and three of the 4 dogs you mentioned are just that. When you take a working or sporting dog and start breeding them for things that have nothing to do with what they were originally breed for, it flat screws them up. You can throw a Dachshund it that group as well because a standard Dachshund at one time was one tough little bugger. Some have said the standard Dachshund is the only small dog classified as a "man stopper". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachshund

My girl was Malamute, German Shepard and Wolf mix. She was 125 pounds of love and protection. She died on New Years Eve 2008 at Puerta Privada . She was only 12 years old and is still missed greatly. Smuggling her back across the border was a gift from God.

garyd said:

My girl was Malamute, German Shepard and Wolf mix. She was 125 pounds of love and protection. She died on New Years Eve 2008 at Puerta Privada . She was only 12 years old and is still missed greatly. Smuggling her back across the border was a gift from God.

I bet you miss her. I only hope we can keep our girl healthy for 12 years. She still hasn't bounced back to 100% since last week's episode in Mexico. Getting her a checkup in the US tomorrow. Her breathing is definitely improved though.

ABQ Adventurers said:

I bet you miss her. I only hope we can keep our girl healthy for 12 years. She still hasn't bounced back to 100% since last week's episode in Mexico. Getting her a checkup in the US tomorrow. Her breathing is definitely improved though.

Valley fever?

ABQ Adventurers said:

I bet you miss her. I only hope we can keep our girl healthy for 12 years. She still hasn't bounced back to 100% since last week's episode in Mexico. Getting her a checkup in the US tomorrow. Her breathing is definitely improved though.

Keep us posted. Prayers are with you and her.

If you are so inclined please pray for our beloved German Shepherd, Tova. She has a mass in her lungs (it wasn't pneumonia) and will be having surgery in the morning. Please, please, PLEASE let it be successful! She had been our constant companion for 9 years and we love her so.

Prayers and positive thoughts for Tova and for you.

Thoughts . . . energy . . . prayers directed your way. Meanwhile, I wish every dog would have the wonderful life and devoted "parents" of Tova.

one good thing about using your dogs name as internet passwords...you think of them every day

Here's the latest update on Tova:

She made it through the surgery and seems to be recovering well. The good news is it is not cancer. But what it is is hard to explain. The vet said it is unlike anything he has ever seen. To dumb down the much better medical explanation, Tova had most likely gotten ahold of a bone, which broke off and lodged in her esophagus. Many dogs have died from situations like this but Tova is a fighter and suffered (probably for quite some time) in silence as things backed up behind the blockage. It blocked her breathing and eating. Her body was pretty miraculous and created a new pathway (or pocket) for things to get through which is what kept her alive. But over time the new pathway backed up too. We didn't know any of this until we took her to a highly recommended vet in Santa Fe after returning from our trip. The vet did an x-ray and found the blockage.

Today's surgery removed the blockage and now that she got through that and the initial (very risky) recovery phase he says she seems to be doing very well. Breathing has improved tremendously already. She will stay at the vet's for a few more days for observation. She's not out of the woods yet but we have gone from hearing things like "little chance of survival" to "very hopeful" in just a day.

Thanks for your continued love and prayers.

Oh, and in case you do prefer the more medical explanation here it is: Huge (10 cm out pouching) esophageal diverticula of bone and food. All removed on liquid diet from now on. Hopefully no aspiration pneumonia, further impaction or continued weight loss.

In other words: "¡No bueno!"

She's a tough girl and a fighter; so I give her a good shot for a recovery!:)

Damn...always ignore my honey and give the dogs bones....no more!

So glad she is still fighting!! Pigs ears only from now on, right? That is so scary. I think of all the bones I have given my beloved dogs in the past, and never once had the thought of something awful like this. Thanks to Tova we all got a little more educated! My best wishes and prayers are coming her way. Perhaps a little colloidal silver in her water to help healing. My mother swears by it!

I have always been told to avoid bones that splinter, like chicked bones, and small bones but thick beef bones are OK. Especially a joint. The dogs have to grind them. You can take them away when they get small.

Most cooked bones will splinter. Joints work well as stated above but if you are not concerned about something being raw they can eat chicken or beef but only raw. Just like in the wild.

garyd said:

Most cooked bones will splinter. Joints work well as stated above but if you are not concerned about something being raw they can eat chicken or beef but only raw. Just like in the wild.

Not sure about chicken bones under any circumstances. Most bird bones are thin and hollow and can splinter. Chicken leg bones are great for teething babies. Just let thm chew on the joint end, mmmm good !!

If you are concerned about smell or baceria on big beef joint bones, boil em for 3 min. Won't cook the bone but will sear the meat. I used to buy the big joints in the meat counter. My big Bullmastiff would grind them down.