Lorenzo, a sheepdog/standard poodle mix, was treated for sepsis and other issues. He’s shown with his owner, Jodey Eliseo, and Dr. Katherine Hedges.
About a dozen former patients of the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital — dogs who had once been critically ill and had spent extended periods in the hospital’s intensive care unit — returned to UF’s College of Veterinary Medicine on Aug.12 with their families for a celebration of life gathering that proved emotional and inspiring for all who came.
Planned and implemented by Adesola Odunayo, D.V.M., a clinical associate professor of emergency and critical care at the college and the Michael Schaer Professor of Small Animal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine, the event lasted over an hour and was an opportunity to reconnect the patients and their owners with the veterinarians and technicians who were part of their care teams.
Some of the participating families and their pets drove hundreds of miles to be present. It was the first time such an event has ever been held at the college, and those involved say they hope it can become a tradition in the future.
Dr. Adesola Odunayo led the event, which featured a presentation with highlights from each patient represented.
“We had ‘Celebration of Life’ events like these at places where I previously worked, and they were always so meaningful,” Odunayo said. “For those of us who work with pets when they are very sick, it can be very difficult, as not all of the pets we see survive to have positive outcomes. With almost all of these patients, at some point we’d be talking about the possibility of euthanasia. Veterinary professionals who work in that setting can question their sense of purpose.”
To see these animals now recovered and healthy was rejuvenating for the doctors and technicians who cared for them, Odunayo said.
The event began with a presentation highlighting the cases of each dog present, with information about the disease the pet experienced and how it was treated. The clinicians associated with each case stepped up to the podium to present about their cases.
Jodey Eliseo owns Lorenzo, a puppy who turned 1 year old in September and was one of the dogs represented. She said the event was full of heartwarming stories of survival.
“It also drives home just how hard everyone at UF worked to save our critically ill babies, and how much they care,” Eliseo said.
Lorenzo’s story included being rushed from an Ocala veterinary clinic to UF on June 23, 2023 — septic, with an extremely high fever and leaking from a perforated intestine. After UF’s team stabilized Lorenzo’s blood pressure, surgery was performed to remove a metal shard that had been left inside his body and to fix the perforation. Although Lorenzo survived the procedure, he wasn’t waking up from anesthesia, so brain impairment was a possibility.
“He finally woke up, brain intact, but was on two kidney-killing medications for his low blood pressure,” Eliseo said. Lorenzo rallied, but infection, belly fluid, and antibiotic resistance followed. Then Lorenzo had a blood transfusion, endured another surgery, heart scans and pneumonia before finally improving with a change to his antibiotic medication and time in the ICU’s oxygen chamber to heal his wound.
Wednesday, a female pit bull, with her family and Dr. Brittany Fraser. Wednesday was successfully treated for baclofen toxicity
“After 17 days, he was able to come home,” Eliseo said. “Dr. Hedges, Dr. Hair, Dr. Ehrhardt and all involved with Lorenzo’s care are remarkable doctors and human beings. I cannot thank them enough. I wasn’t going to give up on my boy and they went above and beyond to give this ordeal a happy ending.”
Eliseo also had special thanks for all of the technicians who were with Lorenzo almost 24/7 or called in to check on him when they weren’t.
Britny Chunn, an emergency/ICU certified veterinary technician who worked with six of the patients present, said being with these animals during their worst times and then seeing them months to years later was both rewarding and fulfilling.
“I was one of the fortunate ones to have spent many hours and likely shed many tears over these patients we were lucky enough to celebrate during this event,” she said. “Working in the emergency and critical care setting, we often see so many patients who are only hospitalized for a few days, but many of those celebrated were there for many days to many weeks. As technicians, we are there during the good, the bad and the scary moments. What makes it all worth it is getting to see them be discharged back to their families, who were many times told ‘it’s not looking very good.’”
She added, “Getting to see patients like Suki, Luke and Jackson, who was unable to attend, be discharged after being so sick they were unable to lift their heads, now walking, wagging their tails and giving kisses brought me so much joy and is truly the reason I became a veterinary nurse.”
Odunayo said one moving highlight of the event for her was the story of Dexter Nesbitt, a dog who was hospitalized for a leptospirosis infection of his kidneys. Dexter received dialysis in UF’s ICU for over a month, then developed endocarditis. Although he later developed cancer and passed away, his owner, Aubrey Nesbitt, felt it was important to attend.
Taylor Curley, D.V.M., an emergency and critical care resident, was Dexter’s doctor, and gave an overview of what he overcame. Dexter’s owner also spoke and expressed her gratitude to the UF team.
“I appreciate everybody who attended the event and contributed to making it meaningful,” Odunayo said. “This also extends to all the team members who could not make it — doctors, students, technicians, customer service representatives and other staff members. It really does take a village, and I am proud to work with such an incredible group of dedicated individuals.”
