TV Schooltime - See and Do Time: Animals in Need part 2

animal a student came in with a little poodle named Polly and Polly poodle wasn't feeling very well and the student brought her to dr. Schloss to see if she could help find out what was the matter with Polly dr. Schloss was very gentle with Polly and started to go to work dr. Baker thought that it would be fun to see some of the other animals that were staying at the veterinary clinic this part is rather like a hospital not like the hospital that you'd go to if you were ill but this is a little Snooper brown and snoopy was here just for a checkup and just to stay for a while while his owners were out of town he belonged to a little boy named Billy this little dog was in the hospital because he had sore ears they carefully examined the bandages to make sure the ears were healing the way they should and how about little puppies this mother a Boston Terrier was very worried about our getting so close to her little baby ever seen a puffy that small and she kept running around the mother cat didn't like it very well either when we came in to see her babies because they the kittens were just very very young and she was so afraid that something would happen to them she knew that the veterinarian would be very gentle she wasn't sure whether we would or not but we stayed far enough back so that she really didn't have to worry many animals are treated at the veterinary clinic some of them have sore ears and some come with sore legs and with Oh such sad faces this little dog had been hit by a car and his hind leg was very badly hurt he'd been brought to the veterinary clinic for help notice how gently and how carefully the veterinarian puts the dog on the examining table dr. Baker looked at the dog's leg knew that it was broken knew that if it wasn't fixed properly the little dog would never work never be able to walk again and so he suggested that a little splint be put on the leg immediately the little dog had been frightened by the car and now this seemed rather strange to him to a big machine that came down an x-ray machine that looked right inside the skin could see the bones could show the bones and show how those bones should be placed so that the leg would heal and he'd be able to walk but the veterinarian wants to be sure that the animal doesn't feel uncomfortable while the leg is being set an anesthetic is given to him through a needle and it puts him to sleep so that he doesn't feel any of the things that are being done why little dog was sleeping dr. Baker took a piece of wire heavy water bent it into a very particular shape a shape that would be just right in holding the little dog's leg and supporting it while the bones that had been broken had a chance to heal dr. Baker slipped it up over the dog's hip told his assistant how he was going to shape the rest of the splint remember all of its time the little dog isn't feeling any pain at all he's sound asleep notice how dr. Baker has padded the round part of the splint this is so that it will be more comfortable for the little dog to walk dr. Baker added rolls and rolls of tape to hold the little dog's leg in just the right position notice how he has shaped the supports or the metal strips of the splint so that they they look almost like the little dog's leg once the leg is fastened in the sprint with the tape dr. Baker uses a portable x-ray machine to look inside and see that the bones are just where he wants them and he looks at it from another direction he wants to be sure that when the little dogs like has healed you'll be able to run and play just as he always did and the little dog is still sound asleep more tape to be added because the splint must stay in just the right place veterinarians are trained to take care of the various kinds of things that can happen to animals two little dogs or two great big horses or two even bigger elephants how to take care of them when they have broken bones how to take care of them when they're sick how to keep them well not to let an animal suffer part of the job of the veterinarian and when it was over and the splint was taped in place the little dog was awake he thought it was rather strange to have a leg like that but it didn't hurt and pretty soon he'd be able to walk on it just as this little toy pomeranian was able to walk on a splint had a broken leg too she was fun because she had even learned to do a few tricks splint and all can you sit up that's long fur isn't it pretty she said sometimes just walking is pretty much of a trick when you haven't learned how there she is isn't that special and very soon the little dog whose leg had just been put in in this fund would know how to walk to in other parts of the veterinary clinic doctors were operating on dogs and some of them were working on cats all kinds of animals that come to the Iowa State veterinary clinic dr. lundwall who is in charge of the large animals showed us a very interesting table and other equipment that he uses in his work with great big animals this table tips you see how it is now an animal stands beside it and the top of the table tips over and the animal is on its side because how do you go about convincing a horse or a cow to lie down well you don't have to dr. lundvall operated the controls that tip the top of the table notice the straps that's to hold the animal in place as the table is tipping over and when he's lying on his side to be examined that fed that table will hold up to 1,500 pounds and there's an even bigger one at the veterinary clinic all equipment designed to help veterinarians care for animals dr. lundvall told us many interesting things about the work that is done with horses keeping them well he said the legs are a big problem it's so easy for them to sprain an ankle or catch a leg in a fence dr. lundvall was examining this horse looking at his legs the horse didn't seem to mind and he did certainly didn't seem to be uncomfortable there were students helping dr. lundvall to students who will in turn become veterinarians dr. Matt Emerson was taking x-rays and he was showing the x-ray plate to the horse you