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:...

Majic, a 9 year old Beagle, had a very swollen and firm right thigh. Long story short, this was a classic case of an unusual type of fatty tumor, aka lipoma. It’s called an inter-muscular lipoma, which means that it lives under a muscle, or between muscles. In Majic’s...

Stanley, a 9 month old Pug, was struggling to breathe.Because of his flat face, he had all the signs of dogs (and cats) with “brachycephalic syndrome,” such as bulldogs, Pekingese, and Boston terriers: difficulty breathing or catching his breath by day. some snoring...

The beginning of a new year is a great time to think about all the patients we helped, and which surgeries they required to get better.This will give you a feel for which surgeries are most common.So here are the top 10 surgeries at Harrisburg Regional...

We recently treated a cat and a dog who kept compulsively chewing a body part. This blog about self-mutilation is not for the faint of heart, so I will try to keep it PG 13 and will not share pictures of the damage...I will describe how we “cured” both pets, and then...

"My dog needs surgery to remove a tumor in his stomach," said the voicemail.Max, an 11-year-old Maltese mix, had been lethargic and in pain. He was vomiting. He had no appetite. His stools were dark ("dark tarry stools"), which was compatible with a bleeding ulcer in...

Jane, a 1-year-old Golden, kept having bladder infections. Antibiotics only gave temporary relief. She also kept licking her backend. An emergency vet then realized that Jane had an excessive amount of skin covering her private parts. Get ready for a very sensitive...