Years ago when I was seeing pets in a clinic, we had a little Jack Russel terrier mix who came in often.  Jack was like many terriers and enjoyed tearing things apart.  He was also an overachiever and went on to eat whatever the thing was that he’d just torn to bits.  Jack tore up his toys and ate the squeakers.  He shredded up his dog bed and ate the fluffing.  He went through the trash that his owner tried hard to keep away from him and ate everything, fresh or rotten, that he found in there.  Each time Jack’s owner would bring him by for a quick check to make sure his belly was settling down okay.  We were happy to interact with such a friendly patient and the owner appreciated the peace of mind that came from her short walk to the clinic. I appreciated the practice in palpating a belly, doing a physical exam, taking X-rays, and the overall pleasure that came with seeing an owner reassured that her beloved pet was doing well.

Things got a little strange one day with Jack and his owner.  They came in with the concern that Jack had, once again, eaten something that he shouldn’t have.  Nothing out of the ordinary for this little guy.  My technician placed him on the exam table and got his vital signs–his heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature.  All were pretty normal with his heart beats and breathing at what was to be expected after a walk to our clinic.  The owner informed my technician and me that she was very concerned as Jack had eaten some sticks.  Well, that was nothing out of the ordinary for a dog.  Dogs eat sticks all the time.  While wood isn’t an ideal choice of dog chew, it’s not as bad as garbage which can cause pancreatitis or, depending on the contents, be toxic to a dog.  My questions began so that we could assess what, if anything, was out of the ordinary for Jack.

Me: When did he eat the sticks?  

Client: Yesterday.  

Me: How has his appetite been?  

Client: Eating and drinking fine.  

Me: Has there been any vomiting?  

Client: No.  

Me: How is his general interest in play, walks, all the things he loves to do?  Client: Nothing different.  

Me: And his stools?  Any diarrhea or blood in his stools?  Any straining to have a bowel movement?

Client: No, but I know there are sticks stuck up in there.  

Me: Hmmm, you know there are sticks in his gi tract, his intestines?  

Client: Well, yes.  There are sticks in there and I know one is sideways and stuck.

Me: So he’s been straining to have a bowel movement or has otherwise been uncomfortable?

Client: No, he has been pooping normally but i checked and there are sticks up in there and there is at least one that is sideways and stuck.

Me thinking: Well, as he has recently chewed a bunch of sticks, I can see how there would be stick pieces that he’d have to pass.   Me out loud: Have you seen pieces of the sticks in his stool?

Client: Yes, i’ve seen them but the thing is there’s at least one piece that’s in there sideways and i’m really worried.

Me thinking: Now i’m wondering to myself how in the world someone would know a stick is in there sideways?  We hadn’t taken any X-rays and even if we had, it could be pretty difficult to tell sticks from stool.  It’d be unlikely that an Xray would pick up anything on a dog that otherwise looked healthy, was passing stool, was comfortable when i palpated his belly.  How could she tell the sticks were in there and that they were sideways?  I was really confused.

Me out loud: Ma’am, can you help me understand how you know there’s at least one stick still stuck inside your dog’s bottom?  And that it’s sideways?

Client: Yes, i felt it.  I got some gloves and some KY jelly and i did an exam.  It’s for sure in there sideways and i couldn’t move it.  It’s stuck.

Me thinking: OH MY GOSH is what came from the voice in my head.  My tech had to leave the room as a smile starting making its way onto his face and he couldn’t control it.  We had heard lots of interesting and unexpected things in our time together and he’d always been completely professional.  Even so, nothing had prepared us for a client admitting that she’d done a rectal exam on her own dog.  No vet enthusiastically performs a rectal exam and it’s not even something we allow our techs to do.  It’s an internal physical exam that can be uncomfortable, messy, and without a solid medical background and knowledge of anatomy, it can get pretty confusing when you’re feeling around in there. Yet here was a client who’d taken it upon herself to glove on up , get on in there, and check things out.  It was really confusing.  On one hand it seemed she should be hugged and honored as a superhero pet owner and on the other it seemed she may need a lecture about the proper way to provide medical care.  I chose a solid middle ground and elected to repeat the rectal exam.  The owner seemed pleased that i was willing to validate her findings by searching around in there.  Did i feel some sticks?  yes.  Was anything at all concerning or stuck in any way?  No.  All normal poo mixed with little pieces of wood inside a healthy warm dog bottom.  

I sent the owner home with instructions to offer Jack an extra meal to help move things along the gi tract a little more quickly.  Certainly if she saw any blood in his stool, if he seemed uncomfortable, or had any vomiting then they needed to come back in for a follow-up.  Otherwise those sticks were expected to pass without incident and he’d be just fine.  Now, as for what Jack would now think if he saw his owner putting on a pair of disposable gloves?  That is something I’ll never know for sure. In the years that would pass before i moved on to a new assignment, Jack continued to come in regularly after eating something he shouldn’t have. The owner never again mentioned conducting another rectal exam and i never had reason to ask if she had. That day with the sticks stayed fresh in my mind as whenever Jack came into the clinic, my technician would set out a pair of gloves and a tube of lubricant as I headed into the exam room.