Starr, an incredibly cute 3 month old Pug, was the runt of her litter. She was not thriving and was not eating properly. So she had to be bottle-fed, every 2-3 hours, round the clock, by her amazingly dedicated owner! When her siblings were transitioned to solid food,...

“I recommend amputating your pet’s leg.” No pet owner ever wants to hear these terrible words. Sadly, it’s a common situation family vets and surgeons are in. At HRVSS, we perform a significant number of leg amputations – front or back – in cats and dogs. And almost...

“I am rushing Everly to the emergency clinic. Her breathing is labored. She is vomiting foam. And her lips and gums are blue.” This was the panicked call Everly’s owner received from the manager of a boarding facility in Pennsylvania, where her dog had been dropped...

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...