Today at the Peninsula Pet Hospital I met Genevieve again. She had been at the hospital on the 16th, and was back today for an abdominal ultrasound. She was being checked for Cushing's disease, which causes the overproduction of adrenal hormones (meaning a dog has an overactive adrenal gland). The purpose of the ultrasound was to see if Genevieve had a tumor in her adrenal gland, however the veterinarian did not find a tumor and concluded that she most likely has chronic inflammatory liver disease.

There were also two dental cleanings for two grey and white cats today, one for Lizzie the other for Beans. Lizzie had six teeth extractions during her cleaning, and all of the teeth pulled had pus-covered roots. It was not a pretty sight.

I also met Scruffy, a small black and white mutt who was about to turn fourteen. Scruffy was having a hard time; he had lost most of his hearing and was crying all the time. The owner was quite worried that he was in pain, either physically or mentally. Although there is no such diagnosis as Alzheimer's disease for dogs, it is quite possible that Scruffy has some neurological problems due to a surgery he had a couple of years ago (the owner said the crying and unusual behavior began the day he came home from the surgery). The veterinarian decided to put Scruffy on Tramadol, hopefully to curb any of the pain that he might be feeling. However if the crying did not stop, it would likely mean that the crying is due to something psychological.