Testimonials

This is our newest feature and by far our favorite. We decided to highlight some important health issues and pair them with success stories submitted by our clients. We'll continually be adding to the list, so check back often!

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Hypothyroidism/Hyperthyroidism

The thyroid gland produces hormones that are responsible for maintaining your dog’s overall health.  There are two types of thyroid disorders; hypothyroidism, which primarily affects dogs and hyperthyroidism, which primarily effects cats.

Hypothyroidism is a condition brought on by an under active thyroid gland. This decrease of hormone production can cause physical changes in your dog. Common symptoms include weight gain without a diet or activity level change, lethargy (both physical and mental), hair loss and behavioral changes. To determine if your dog is hypothyroid, a simple blood test will need to be performed. The lab will measure the thyroid hormone levels in the blood and compare them to what is considered the normal range for canines. If the thyroid hormone level is considered to be too low, then the veterinarian will prescribe a dose of thyroid medication that will supplement the current hormone level. The medication is an oral pill that is given once or twice daily. The goal is to provide the dog with enough extra hormone to alleviate the symptoms of hypothyroidism but not to provide too much of the hormone as to cause other health problems. To achieve this balance, the dog is put on thyroid medication for one month and then the thyroid hormone levels are retested after that trial period. If the thyroid hormone levels are determined to be appropriate, then the dog stays on that particular dose. If not, then the dose is adjusted until they are. We recommend retesting the thyroid levels every 6 months to ensure no changes in medication are needed.

Hyperthyroidism occurs when the thyroid gland is overactive and produces too much thyroid hormone. This disease is very rarely seen in dogs but is being increasingly diagnosed in middle-aged to older cats. Common symptoms include unexplained weight loss, rapid heartbeat, poor overall body condition and health, and often an enlarged thyroid gland which can be felt by the veterinarian upon physical examination. Like dogs, a thyroid disorder is determined by a simple blood test.  If it is a determined that the cat is hyperthyroid, then there are two distinct treatments. The first is long-term management, the most common, which includes putting the cat on a special medication to regulate the production of thyroid hormone. This medication is commonly compounded by an outside pharmacy into a fish flavored liquid or a gel that is applied once daily to the cat’s ear. Just like with canines, we are striving to create the perfect balance of thyroid hormone levels with medication. A particular dose is prescribed and the blood is retested in one month to determine if this dose is accurate. We recommend the thyroid be monitored every 3 months or as determined by the vet. The other is a permanent treatment and is called Radioactive Iodine Treatment which must be done at a special facility. Radioactive iodine destroys abnormal thyroid cells eliminating the need for thyroid regulating medication. We recommend consulting with the vet to determine which treatment is best for you and your cat.

Patches Spinks' Story

We adopted Patches from the Austin-Travis County Humane Society in November 2004 when she was about 6 months old. We had actually come there to adopt another dog but upon arrival found out that she had already found her permanent home elsewhere. We looked at another dog but the dog wouldn't even come near us when we were put in a room together. That's when they brought Patches in to meet us. She was shaking with fear at first but she walked straight over to my husband and curled up in his lap. That's when we knew Patches had adopted us. 

Patches loved running in the backyard, jumping and trying to catch birds. She gradually slowed down and didn't run as much as she used to. About a year ago we moved to Georgetown and that's when we noticed she stopped running around the backyard completely and would spend most of her time just lying around. We thought perhaps she was just stressed from the move or maybe even a little lazy. We knew there was a problem when she couldn't make it halfway down the street without stopping to rest.

We brought her in to Dr. Watson for a routine dental cleaning and he suggested we check her for a thyroid disorder. The staff informed us that she had gained quite a bit of weight since they had seen her last. Patches skin was also red in some areas with patchy hair loss. When the blood test results came back, Dr. Watson diagnosed her as having hypothyroidism and put her on a twice daily medication. Soon after we saw a drastic change in Patches. Her hair grew back, she lost the excessive weight she had put on, but best of all, she was acting like our little energetic puppy again. The birds in the backyard might not be excited but we sure are glad to have our girl back to normal!

"Patches" Spinks with her owner.

Lucrezia Coombes' Story

While living in Rome, Italy in 1989, Jim and I observed from our high rise apartment balcony that one of the many stray cats that inhabit every section of the city had given birth to a litter of kittens in the schoolyard behind us.  We often took food down to the little feline family in the following months, and were saddened when traffic and disease took their toll on the individual members.

One day, when the kittens were about six months old, we spied two of them napping arm in arm under a huge hydrangea plant outside our apartment complex door.  Jim paused, looked down at the sleeping cats, then over at me, and asked, “Do you want to try to take these two upstairs?”

I raced up those ninety steps to our apartment, taking two at a time, to find a box to carry them in before the little ferals woke up and slipped away from a destiny far kinder than eeking out a brief life on unfriendly streets.  That was the day that Lucrezia Borgia Coombes began her (thus far) twenty-year tenure as the “best behaved pet” who ever owned us.

After flying across an ocean and half a continent two years later, Lucrezia settled into Austin suburbia, where she could once again sleep under flower bushes and absorb the sunbeams on her face. And even though she lost her sister, Isabella, to cancer and one of her own back legs to an inoperable tumor at age 13, she continued to thrive in her own graceful, quiet manner for some years.

It was in the spring of 2006, when Lucrezia was 17, that we noticed her appetite failing even though she was being offered “gourmet” canned food.  Alarmed when her weight began dropping drastically, we took her to Dr. Watson with fears that the news would be bad.  Gently, Dr. Watson prepared us for the worst--explaining that cats often quit eating when they are very old--while at the same time offering hope that there was a chance that this was a treatable thyroid problem.

After an examination and a blood profile, Dr. Watson gave us the welcome news that Lucrezia did indeed suffer from high thyroid, and that he could prescribe a compounded ointment to rub inside her ear to lower her thyroid levels.  Lucrezia began eating normally again within a few days!  That was three years ago this month, and keeping Lu’s thyroid and kidney and liver functions all within, or close to, normal ranges is an ongoing balancing act to which Jim and I--and Dr. Watson--have remained committed.

Jim snapped the accompanying photo of our twenty-year-old darling while I was writing this bio, and, as you can see, she looks great to be a hundred (in people years)!  …And thanks to Dr. Watson’s medical skills, our love, and Texas sunshine she continues to enjoy la dolce vita.

"Lucrezia" Coombes

Digital X-Rays

Here at Tech Ridge Pet Hospital, we think technology is grand. Taking radiographs used to be a long and cumbersome process that was stressful for both the pet and the staff. With our new, digital x-ray system we can take x-rays and view the images within seconds, reducing the time your pet has to lie still in awkward positions or remain under anesthetic. Our new software not only allows us to zoom in on certain problem areas but also to transfer the images to a radiology specialist for further review and create copies for you to take home with to keep with your pet's health records.  

Katy Holom's Story

“Katy” Holom was having discharge from her eyes that her owner, Mark, thought might have been a result of seasonal allergies. During a physical examination it was noted that one of her incisors was off-colored indicating that it was non-vital, or dying. Non-vital teeth should be dealt with immediately because they can be the source of bacterial infections that begin in the mouth and spread throughout the whole body. Katy was brought in to have her teeth cleaned and a digital x-ray of the incisor was taken. The digital x-ray revealed that not only was the root of the incisor fractured, but it was abscessed as well. The tooth was extracted and Katy was put on antibiotics. Mark had not noticed that Katy seemed to be in any pain from the abscessed tooth; the only symptom she had was the discharge from her eyes. Because the roots of the teeth run up into the sinus cavity, swollen roots can cause discharge from both the eyes and the nose, symptoms commonly mistaken for allergies.  How the tooth was damaged is a mystery to her owner. He’s just happy that it was remedied before it caused any health problems. 

"Katy" Holom with her owner, Mark.