DEWITT —
Dr. Emily Meyer takes care of small animals, such as dogs and cats.

Emily has been a veterinarian at the DeWitt Veterinary Clinic, 2419 260th Ave., DeWitt., for four weeks. She is the small animal veterinarian and primarily sees dogs and cats. However, she may treat other small animals as well. She comes in most days at 7:30 a.m. and works until 5 p.m.

By 9 a.m. Thursday, Emily could be seen up front, finishing with a client. She explained heartworm medicine to a pet owner and then spoke to her co-workers about possible issues one of their client’s pet may be experiencing. She then moved to the back for interaction with some of the animals marked to be treated.

A cat who had been abandoned at the clinic will go to its new home Friday and Emily has to perform a couple of procedures on him. His new owner is asking that he be neutered and de-clawed. Before they can start the procedure, blood has to be drawn and tested. Emily holds him down as Veterinarian Technician Tara Hansen draws his blood.

While waiting on the bloodwork, Emily takes care of a dog. The clinic also offers pet grooming in the back. She vaccinates any dogs or cats who need it as they come in.

Emily prepares syringes with a distemper vaccine and kennel cough vaccine. She draws the liquid medication out of one vial and adds it to a powdered medication in another vial. Mixing the solution well, she then draws the liquid back into the syringe.

She then gets  a dog, who is still wet from her grooming and administers the vaccine. The kennel cough vaccine is administered in the dog’s nose. Once she is done, Emily takes the dog back to the groomer and fills out her medical file.

The bloodwork comes back on the cat and they are alright to go ahead with the procedure. The cat is given anesthesia to put him under. Emily and Hansen clamp his tongue down and intubate him so he can breath and is given enough anesthesia to last him the entire procedure.

A monitor is also put on him to keep track of his breathing and his heart beat. While Hansen shaves the cat’s groin area, Emily goes to wash her hands. She said neutering an animal is not as invasive and does not require as much sterilization as spaying a cat. Emily carefully makes an incision and exposes the cat’s testicle. She then stretches it slightly, clamps it and removes it. She then moves onto the other one.

After the cat is neutered, Emily has to de-claw all four paws. The front paws each hold five claws and the back hold four. Hansen has already sprayed antiseptic on each of the paws. Emily carefully cuts back the skin and incises around each claw. Emily said they will give the cat good pain medicine and keep him overnight.

Once each claw is removed, skin glue is applied to the area to seal off the wound. After all five claws are removed, the paw is cleaned  with hydrogen peroxide. A gauze pad with a powder is placed on the paw. This powder is an anti-bacterial and a  anti-inflammatory.

Emily then wraps a bandage around the gauze pad. This special bandage has a substance on it to prevent the cat from chewing on it. This process for one front paw takes 10 to 15 minutes.

Emily then moves onto the next one.