Thor, a 2-year-old, 100 lb Great Dane, was in a tough and strange situation. He had a condition called paraphimosis. This means that being intact (i.e. not neutered), he got a bit excited with his female Great Dane buddy, and could not get his penis back in his...

Gibbs, an 11 year old Samoyed, used to be a Grand Champion show dog. 5 years ago, he was adopted by his furever family. His owner recalls: “About a year ago, Gibbs started to have some irritation, swelling & bleeding in his back end. A number of treatments were...

Baby Girl, a 10 year old kitty, had a small mass on the inside of her left ear. It grew larger, and seemed to find it’s way through the cartilage and started to grow on the outside of the ear. It was diagnosed as a “cyst.” This is word that is unfortunately often used...

We amputate a significant number of toes in our patients. Did that ever cross your mind? We’ve performed a huge number of toe amputation, aka digit amputation, both in cats and dogs, and for a variety of reasons. When is a toe amputation needed? There are several...

“Oscar was miserable, depressed and uncomfortable. He hesitated to go outside to poop…”Oscar, a 10 year old Olde English Bulldog, had an itchy problem.And his owner drove 3 hours, all the way from Southern Maryland, to find a solution at Harrisburg Regional.A...

It’s hard to deny that anesthesia and surgery are stressful. So we take it very seriously, and we do everything we can to decrease stress in our patients. Here are 5 ways we reduce stress.   1. We recommend preop medications Our canine patients receive a pain...

Link, an 8 year old Doxie, was in trouble. Externally, he was bright yellow (jaundiced), had been vomiting, and hadn’t eaten for a few days. Fortunately, instead of procrastinating, Link’s owner took him to his family vet, who ran blood work. It showed elevated liver...

At Harrisburg Regional, we spend an insane amount of time and effort to prevent and treat pain in our patients. Let’s take the example of Tucker, a 9-year-old Lab, who had major knee surgery today – a TPLO - to address a torn ACL. And let’s count the ways we used to...

One very common question I hear from clients is "Is (s)he too old for this surgery?" or "Do you think surgery is worth it in a pet that old?" Mind you, the dog could be a 6-year-old Great Dane or a 10-year-old kitty. Invariably, and with a smile, my answer is "Age is...

At HRVSS, we certainly remove many masses. Often, patients are referred by their family vet to remove a “cancerous” mass, in the belly, under the skin, or in a number of other areas. Unless a biopsy has been performed, I always call these “masses” more objectively:...