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When Jennifer brought home sweet Piper at just 8 weeks old, the puppy immediately became part of the family. Jennifer was excited to have a German Shorthaired Pointer to become a sister for her 6-year-old English Springer Spaniel, Milou.
Piper soon proved to have a wild spirit and curious nature, according to Jennifer. “Piper is not only a super chewer, but she is comparable to a Dyson, snatching up anything that catches her eye.” When left unsupervised, Piper would often gobble up anything she could get her mouth on, and Jennifer would often discover this later on when they made a “reappearance” out the other end.
So when Piper threw up a sock, that Jennifer believed she’d swallowed an entire week earlier, Jennifer wasn’t surprised. But this time turned out to be a bit different.
Even after throwing up the sock, Piper wasn’t herself. She was acting strangely. She wasn’t eating or drinking, and her puppy energy was gone. Jennifer knew something was wrong–she needed to bring Piper in to be seen by a veterinarian.
Jennifer took Piper to an emergency animal hospital and there they discovered a blockage in her intestine, requiring life-saving surgery. The cost of the surgery, however, wasn’t in Jennifer’s budget.
“Our 5-month-old puppy’s life was at stake, and we were faced with a big decision. Thankfully, my husband asked what our other options were.” Mission Animal Hospital was given as an option.
Piper came to Mission, where our veterinary team presented her with additional spectrum of care options for Piper, as well as explaining the likely outcomes and costs for each. With options presented in this manner, Jennifer said it made her decision to go ahead with the surgery easy.
Piper’s surgery fortunately went well. Mission’s veterinarian removed suspicious fabric from her intestines that were not able to make a “reappearance”. When Jennifer came to pick up Piper, the sleepy pup, recovering from surgery, was a little too wobbly to walk out of the hospital on her own. The staff handed her off to Jennifer’s arms wrapped in her special blanky, which Jennifer and her family keep in Piper’s kennel still today!
Piper made a full recovery and is back to her bouncy, playful, energetic self, ready to play with her family.
“I am thankful that Mission Animal Hospital was an option for us, and at an affordable cost,” Jennifer said. “Mission took excellent care of our Piper, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
