Nicole is a registered veterinary technician here at Petersen Pet Hospital. Nicole always has a positive attitude, and she looks forward to helping clients with their companions. Her favorite things to do as a veterinary technician include assisting with dental procedures and helping sick or injured pets feel better. Nicole grew up in eastern Iowa and graduated from the Kirkwood veterinary technician program in 2021. Furthermore, Nicole has been a Fear Free certified member since 2021, which means she tries to make every pet’s visit as stress-free as possible. With the help of her family, Nicole’s love for animals grew and her passion for helping them drew her into becoming a veterinary technician. Through her dad’s work she was able to learn a lot about wildlife. In her spare time, Nicole likes to spend time outdoors whether it’s reading, hiking, or playing with her dog. She recently welcomed a red Labrador retriever puppy named Kai to her family and can’t wait to go on adventures with him! Introducing Nicole, Our Vet Tech
Early April, Dr. Knutson and her team saw Sydney and Sammy, an adorable pair of 3-year-old Dachshunds for dental treatments. It had been noted at Sydney’s routine annual exam that she had fractured both upper carnassial teeth, requiring both to be extracted. On the morning of Sydney’s procedure, a thorough exam was performed. Pre- anesthetic bloodwork was run, and the results were as expected. Her EKG showed a couple of abnormalities that could indicate underlying heart disease. To be safe, Dr. Knutson and her team (Nicole and Ashlyn) obtained chest X-rays to evaluate the size and shape of Sydney’s heart. The X-rays looked great, so they proceeded with Sydney’s dental treatment. Prioritize Your Canine’s Dental Health SYDNEY’S ROAD TO RESILIENCE
Sydney was placed under general anesthesia, with all her vitals being closely monitored. Full dental X-rays were taken, and an oral exam was performed — no other teeth needed to be extracted besides the two upper carnassial teeth. Dr. Knutson surgically removed the fractured teeth. Nicole scaled and polished the rest of her teeth while Ashlyn diligently monitored Sydney’s vitals. Pain medications and a long-acting antibiotic were administered.
Sydney recovered smoothly from anesthesia. She was discharged home with her sister Sammy, whose dental cleaning also went well, with pain medications and instructions to feed them a soft diet for 10 days. Sydney is doing great after her extensive extractions. It’s not uncommon to find fractured teeth during routine exams. Dogs and cats hide oral pain well, and it often doesn’t slow their eating. It’s important to know that any treat, bone, or toy you can’t dent with your fingernail runs the risk of fracturing teeth. In addition to daily teeth brushing, we recommend diets, treats, and supplements approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council to help prevent tartar formation safely. Dr. Knutson, Nicole, and Ashlyn enjoyed working with the sweet sisters, Sydney and Sammy, and helping them to improve their oral health and comfort. —Dr. Knutson
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