FLYING CLOUD ANIMAL HOSPITAL: from the complex to the mundane, saving one fur baby at a time.
Vaccinations. Dentistry. Surgery. Annual wellness checkups. Most dogs and cats visit Eden Prairie’s premier pet hospital for humdrum reasons (or “routine health care,” as it’s more properly known). But to many others, Flying Cloud represents their only chance at getting much more of that most precious thing on earth: time with their beloved people.
The following are a few of those pets’ stories as told by Jeffrey Krull, Flying Cloud partner and managing doctor of veterinary medicine.
Lucy
“Dr. Mike Grace recently treated a 4-year-old basset named Lucy, who is just the sweetest collection of wrinkles you ever met. Her owner brought her in because she was lethargic. Refusing to eat or drink. Vomiting. The kid was so sick that we were genuinely concerned she would rapidly decline over the next 24 hours.
“Fortunately, we were able to speed things along by performing diagnostic testing right here in our hospital. Dr. Grace diagnosed hyperadrenocorticism – an endocrine disorder also known as ‘Addison's disease,’ which is somewhat rare in dogs.
“But the day soon became even stranger. Before Dr. Grace could finish explaining Addison’s disease to him, Lucy’s owner correctly guessed that she would need to be treated with mineralcorticoid injections. It turned out he had the very same condition, which isn’t much more prevalent in people than it is in dogs! I’m sure he’d rather have won the lottery, but his odds of doing so aren’t all that much better.”
Bruce
“Bruce, a 5-month-old mixed breed terrier puppy we treated just a few months ago, was saved from a lifetime of limping – or, worse yet, becoming a tripod.
“It was a heartrending accident. Bruce and his owner were playing on the back deck. A poorly executed leap from some patio furniture left the poor kid limping on one leg, and with a nasty fracture to his knee.
“More specifically, Bruce broke his ‘tibial tuberosity.’ It’s a bony bump which anchors almost all of the thigh muscles to the tibia. You cannot walk without two of them. Neither could Bruce.
“We immediately placed a splint on Bruce, hoping that alone would be enough to heal him. Subsequent radiology, which we also perform on-site, proved it wasn’t. Bruce was in luck, though, because we just so happened to have a board-certified surgeon ready to go that day. One specialty surgical procedure and uneventful recovery later, and Bruce is well on his way to returning to full activity.”
Remy
“Everyone at Flying Cloud loved Remy already. The 9-year-old corgi mix is owned by a long-time client of the hospital, who brought him in because he’d become distressingly lethargic.
“An X-ray pinpointed the cause of Remy’s languor: a large mass on his spleen. It’s not uncommon for such tumors to grow so large that they bleed the dog to death.
“Remy’s owner chose not to take any chances. We proceeded with surgery, and were rewarded for our efforts with one of the largest tumors I’ve ever seen. It was approximately the size of a honeydew! I’m sure Remy feels relieved to be rid of it.”
Tarzan
“A damp, wheezing, nameless waif that had been rescued from the side of the road. That’s all the 1-month-old kitten was when one of our clients dropped him off at our hospital. He was mouth breathing: a surefire sign of pneumonia, and concurrent with a one-in-ten chance of survival.
“Our staff made a passion project of that kitten. Dr. Jessica Koupal, who oversaw all his care, couldn’t even hear his heartbeat at first, so buried beneath wheezes and crackles that it was. Several members of our team volunteered to keep watch over him throughout each night, giving him food and fluids and warmth and making sure his little nose stayed unclogged.
“It took a lot love and antibiotics, but after a couple of months we finally got to see the beautiful, happy kitten he was meant to be. The Flying Cloud customer service representative who adopted the kid named him ‘Tarzan’ after his passion for climbing and swinging on shirt sleeves.
“You’ve surely noticed by now that I call our patients ‘kids.’ I don’t do it because it’s cute or endearing, but because I really do see them that way. They’re fur babies. Saving their precious lives is the greatest calling I could have hoped for.”
12365 Singletree Lane, Eden Prairie
(952) 941-8676 • FlyingCloudAnimalHospital.com