Nurse Anaesthetists Shannon McCarthy whispers in the small dog’s ear, “Nighty-night Suzy. You’ll wake up later. This isn’t the final one.”
Explains McCarthy, “I’m always afraid they’e heard of this shot through the doggie rumor mill that puts them to sleep and they never wake up. I just want them to know this isn’t it.”
McCarthy strokes Suzy’s silky head as she drifts off to sleep.
Her jaw goes slack and veterinarian Dr. Catherine Sanders and McCarthy get to work.
First Sanders and McCarthy intubate Suzy so she can be kept in an unconscious state with gas anesthesia. They also want to be able to flush her system with oxygen after the procedure so she will have no lasting effects of the medication.
McCarthy keeps an eye on her patient’s blood pressure, pulse, oxygen levels, and heart rate. She also does physical inspections that can alert the doctor that an animal is going into crisis. And she will occasionally squeeze a small plastic ball to help Suzy take deeper breaths during surgery.
Sanders considers McCarthy the anxiety police because she tailors the medications each animal will receive to keep their visit as stress free as possible.
“I’m the pain police,” says Sanders. “We won’t compromise our pain management.”
Their carefulness carries through the surgery. They’re gentle when they have to flip the dog onto her back to expose her abdomen. Tenderly, Suzy’s belly is shorn clean and vacuumed off.
“We don’t want to get any hair in her,” said Sanders.
Then she is bathed in antiseptic and iodine. A pain block is administered and the incision is made.
Within 45 minutes, the standard procedure is complete and Suzy is slowly waking up in a quite place.
McCarthy checks off Suzy on her color-coded board, and they start preparing the next patient for his surgery.
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- Nurse Anesthetist Shannon McCarthy monitors Suzy, a 7 year old sheltie, while Dr. Catherine Sanders performs a spay on her patient at Taylor Brook Animal Hospital in Auburn. Sanders took over the practice mid-October after buying the clinic from the former veterinarian.
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- Jaw tone is an important factor after induction medications are given to a patient at Taylor Brook Animal Hospital. A slack jaw means the animals is asleep and then Nurse Anesthetist Shannon McCarthy and veterinarian Dr. Catherine Sanders can intubate, thus allowing them to maintain unconsciousness on gas anesthesia and administer oxygen after the procedure for 10 minutes to flush the patient’s system of an effects of the anesthesia.
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- Dr. Catherine Sanders sprays iodine on to the freshly shorn and sanitized abdomen of Suzy before her spaying at Taylor Brook Animal Hospital recently. “The abdomen is major surgery and we will not compromise our pain management,” said Sanders as she injected a block of pain medications before making the incision.
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- Suzy rests comfortably, tucked into warm blankets, in a quite place after her spying recently at Taylor Brook Animal Hospital in Auburn. “The first thing is safety, and then the second thing is healing,” said Dr. Catherine Sanders, new owner of the practice. Suzy will get a snack as soon as she is alert enough to eat, another dose of pain medication and then more pain meds for three days after.
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- Dr. Catherine Sanders looks up while prepping for her next canine spay. A patient’s pre-anesthetic testing, which checks for potential liver or kidney issues and anemia, came back slightly elevated and she wants to notify the owner. “Pre-anesthetic testing gives a good baseline also,” says Sanders. “Then if the animal gets sick, we know what to look for.”
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- Dr. Catherine Sanders vacuums off the abdomen of Suzy before her recent spay at Taylor Brook Animal Hospital in Auburn. “We don’t want to get any hair in her,” said the vet before sterilizing her belly.
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- Dr. Catherine Sanders scrubs meticulously between each finger and up to her elbows before each surgery. Sanders did her veterinarian training at Tufts and has been in the business for 15 years. She bought Taylor Brook Animal Hospital in mid-October.
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- Dr. Catherine Sanders, right, administers induction medication to Suzy while nurse anesthetist Shannon McCarthy cradles the calmed dog. About 30 minutes before surgery, McCarthy gives the animal what she calls a “happy cocktail” of a pain medication, a tranquillizer, and a medicine that supports the cardiac system. “They’re really stressed here,” explains McCarthy. “I’m the anxiety police.”
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- Nurse Anesthetist Shannon McCarthy keeps a detailed and color coded dry-erase board of the all patients she and Dr. Catherine Sanders have for the day. She notes what time and type of pre-surgery medication, induction medication, pain meds, and at home care each individual will receive and then checks them off as she administers the drugs. “The quality of care they get here is phenomenal,” said McCarthy. “We tailor the medications to each individual animal.”
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- Gently nurse anesthetist Shannon McCarthy picks up Suzy off of the warming pad and surgical table of Taylor Brook Animal Hospital after her spaying. “Anesthesia causes the body temperature to drop so we need to keep them warm,” explains McCarthy. Suzy will stay wrapped in the blankets throughout her recovery.
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