Page 29 - Sonoma County Gazette - May, 2018

FAMILY PET cont’d from page 28
Now it’s been a week since D’Artagnan was injured. Once he’s settled in, we anesthetize him to replace his bandage. As we feared, his tibial fracture is infected. The ultra-long acting antibiotic injection he was given is convenient, but has a limited spectrum of activity and is simply inadequate for treatment of an open fracture. We pack the wound with antibiotic, start D’Artagnan on a broad spectrum combination of two powerful drugs... and (you knew it) he purrs and purrs and purrs.
It’s a bad idea to perform any orthopedic surgery on an actively infected patient, so D’Artagnan will have to wait a few more days before his FHO surgery. We’ll get that done, but will have to wait and see how he responds to the new antibiotic therapy. It would be nice to save his leg, but there’s really no way to know how things will turn out. Only one thing seems certain: He’s going to purr and purr and purr. Stay tuned.
Would you like to help D’Artagnan? Visit ninelivesfoundation.org and click “Donate”
Ode to the Return of the Birds of Spring
By Lisa Hug
Swainson’s Thrushes singing this season Give me a very, very good reason
To get out and hike
Or possibly bike
Into the forest, where songs are teasin’.
Orange and ornate the orioles are
Here from subtropical lands afar.
They build and build their hanging nests But there within they do not rest.
They brood and feed then fledge their stars.
Swirling swallows swoop and swoop. Like Blue Angels’ loop-de-loops Pesky gnats and flies they eat
To them, they are delicious treats
So please forgive their messy poops.
When wandering warblers awaken the trees. Most rejoice, but not the fleas
For warblers are insectivores,
They eat bugs by scores and scores
Watch out, good beetles and spiders and bees!
Swainson’s Thrush
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