Dora made her first appearance in the veterinary clinic last week for a routine physical exam. Like Rayne, she willingly took the anesthetic injection (this time from Sabrina and Dr. Erin, with a prior assist from the entire positive reinforcement training team). While we have to wait for specialists to review some of the data the team collected, Dora appears to be in perfectly good health.
Many thanks to our great crew of volunteer professionals, from the vet techs, sonographers, and veterinary student extern helping with the procedure to the cardiologists and internists reviewing the results—and of course to our very own Dr. Erin!
Someone recently asked on social media what types of procedures the chimps undergo when they are in the clinic. While the answer depends on many factors, including their age, sex, clinical history, stability under anesthesia, and the amount of time since their last exam, we generally try to do the following:
- Update Vaccinations (e.g., rabies, tetanus)
- TB test
- Glucose Reading
- Fecal Exam
- Urinalysis
- Blood tests
- EKG
- Dental Exam and Cleaning
- Dental X-Rays as needed
- Echocardiogram
- Cervical, Chest, and Abdominal X-Rays
- Joint X-Rays as needed
- Full Body Exam
Our goal is to perform these exams as infrequently as possible so it’s important to gather all the information we can while they’re in the clinic.
And that requires a great team.
Hopefully Dora will continue to stay healthy and out of trouble so she won’t have to come back to the clinic for a while.
Good news for Dora! (and for us!))
I guess the team is taking advantage of the last few minutes before calving and lambing.
Thanks to the whole team!
Oh, my dear Dora. I so hope that your recovery is uneventful and quick. On behalf of your friend Becky, we are sending our love and affection.
My sentiments exactly, Tobin. Praying she’ll soon be back to inspecting her teeth by herself, which she does so winningly.
oooh that last photo is the sweetest! That’s a keeper:thumbsup:?
:heart_eyes:
That is great news knowing Dora is in good health. Dr. Erin is a gift to the sanctuary, how lucky everyone is to have her. So many people involved, serious team work to ensure each individual receives the best care possible. It’s been impressive seeing your medical clinic grow over the years. I remember being very impressed with the medical trailer but to see all the equipment and the organization now, in-house, truly priceless!
Thank you to everyone who partipated in this thorough exam. i hope all the results look good and Dira is all set to continue living her best chimp life at CSNW. You folks are an amazing team.
Glad to hear Dora has a clean bill of health! Dr. Erin and co are amazing!
Thank you, medical team and sanctuary staff for your valuable efforts!:hospital::rose: