Monstro's Big Adventure

My, what an exciting week.

Monday: We came home to find one of our black Koi had 'something' hanging
out of his mouth. We tried to catch him with no luck. something about a 6
inch black fish in a 2700 gallon pond...

Tuesday: We tried again with no luck...

Wednesday: We finally netted him. We found that the 'something' was his
whole right cheek with the cartridge from around the right side of his
mouth. One of our dogs must have snagged him, ripping open his mouth and
cheek. we put him in a party drink container and called our local pond store
(great people, http://www.ponds4u.com/) unfortunately, both of their Koi
experts were not working that day. We then called our local vet, who
referred us to another vet who looked after our pets 20+ years ago. We
called him, but he did not return our call until ...

Thursday: He called, and Sue and he reminisced about old times and old pets.
He said he was sorry, but his exotic specialties did not include fish, but
he and called around and found a vet who he trusted who knew about fish. Sue
called Cathy, the 'fish expert' and set an appointment for later that
afternoon. We put saran wrap over the tub (where are plastic bags when you
need them?) and transported him to the vet's office. Cathy was wonderful.
She immediately took us into the exam room, stating she did not want the
fish attacking any of the other animals in the waiting room. She did the
exam, stating she though she could do surgery on him and repair the damage.
She also stated that she had just finished her last class in fish care the
previous night! She went out to get us an estimate of the charges, and a lab
tech came in to administer oxygen to the water, it had been sitting for over
24 hours and was getting a little ripe. He set up a bubbler of pure O2 while
Sue and I filled out the paper work. We were stumped for a name, hey, we
have over 40 fish, and only one or two have names! We decided on a Disney
name, and Nemo seemed too popular now days, so the only other fish name I
could think of in a hurry was Monstro, the whale out of Pinocchio. OK, he's
not really a fish, but hey, I was stressed. The estimate came in at $230, we
had already committed to doing what we could for him, so we agreed. Cathy
came in with a baby scale and a small tub so she could weigh him and
calculate the amount of anesthesia he would need. He weighed in at 6.5 Oz.
Off she went to her calculator, and another assistant came in with the
surgery instruments and a towel to lay him on. One big concern was damage to
his scales. Everybody also gloved up to help reduce the damage. Cathy came
back in, the one assistant moved Monstro over to the little tub with the
towel and almost enough water to cover him. The 1st lab tech moved the O2
feed over to the small tub so it was bubbling just in front of Monstro's
face, and he turned on the Nitrous Oxide. After a few moments, we could
actually see Monstro relax as the drug took hold. Cathy started cutting the
dead and shredded tissue away. Sue assisted by holding a 4x4 wipe to clean
off the scalpel. I kept Cathy supplied with whatever tool she needed, plus
kept hoses and whatever away from her so she had free movement. Every once
in a while, Cathy needed the assistant to lift Monstro out of the water so
she could see what she was doing. Once the wound was cleaned, it looked
pretty good, he had no right cheek and his mouth was missing at that point,
but everything else looked clean and healthy. she then took a suture to pull
the opening together. Another doctor or tech walked in at that time to see
what was going on, and he was enlisted in keeping the suture from tangling.
I looked at this and had to laugh. Here is a 6 inch, 6.5 ounce carp with 6
people hovering over him doing heroics, what a scene! The minute Cathy stuck
the needle in him to start suturing him up, he really bucked! He could feel
the pain! She increased the NO dosage and waited a moment before she tried
again. She sutured him up, tied it off and put him back in his own tub. The
assistant then 'walked' him around for about 10 minutes until the NO wore
off. It was just like Sea World, where someone is in the tank with the
Dolphin, walking him around until he can swim on his own! Amazing! Once he
was swimming on his own, Cathy came back in and gave him a shot of
antibiotics. She showed us how to do it, because she wanted him to get a
shot a day for the next few days. The next step was to see if he would or
could eat. We packed him back home and left him in his tub in the back yard.

Friday: I drilled some holes in the tub and we put it on a plant shelf of
our pond so he could get fresh water. we covered the tub with a net so he
could not get out and he was safe from dogs, etc. We gave him his first shot
and gave him food to see if he would eat. We counted 5 pellets, and were
hoping to see less than that a little later in the day. We got busy doing
yard things, and after a couple of hours, Sue went to check up on him, only
to find and empty tub. He had escaped somehow. So much for any more
injections.

Saturday: Finally found him, swimming with the rest of the gang. We did our
normal morning feeding, and - wonder of wonders - he managed to down about
a half dozen pellets! He kinda looks odd, like someone who tried to talk
after a stroke. His mouth opens at a diagonal rather than down, so he misses
his target most of the time, but he is eating. Time for celebrating!




All I have to say is he will really be an ungrateful little poop if he dies
on us now...

--
Shalom!
Michael Lee