By Bill Ward
Candi Amundson knew it was going to be an interesting case when she heard one word: Wallaby.
“It was definitely a first for me,” the Pet Poison Helpline® Certified Veterinary Technician said with a chuckle. “I even asked, ‘You mean that’s not your pet’s name, that’s the species?’ ”
Veterinary associate Dr. Kia Benson had a similar reaction. “It most definitely was my first wallaby,” she said. “Probably the only other exotic animals I had dealt with were a few snakes and a potbellied pig.”
That didn’t stop the two of them from swiftly but carefully gathering all the information needed to provide the best treatment for Namari Saraceno-Oliveri, an 11-month-old wallaby in Rainier, Wash., who has her own Facebook page.
On the afternoon of Feb. 4, Namari had munched down on some lucky bamboo — quite the misnomer in this case — and was bloated and nauseous, with abdominal pain and a low temperature. Owners Brian and Ethan Saraceno-Oliveri had to drive a couple hundred miles to the Center for Bird & Exotic Animal Medicine in Bothell, Wash.
“Oh man, there was a lot of panic, a lot of sadness,” Brian Saraceno-Oliveri said. “We thought we were going to lose her.
“We loaded up the car and drove as fast as possible without getting pulled over,” he added, laughing at the notion of what kind of response “Officer, we have a really sick wallaby” would elicit had they been stopped. “I’m pretty sure I gave myself a crick in the neck because I was staring at the back seat so much.”
When they got to the center, veterinarian Alicia McLaughlin gave the wallaby a Valium and a Bair Hugger warming blanket (Namari was cold) and called the Pet Poison Helpline®.
“She handed us the phone,” Brian Saraceno-Olivori said, “and said ‘these guys will help you out.’ ”
At the other end of the line, Amundson quickly realized that she was dealing with a ruminant-like animal — which has multiple stomachs and regurgitates food to help assist with digestion — and searched the database for any previous wallaby cases. (No such luck.) Then she tracked down plant information and got in touch with Dr. Benson, who started her own research.
Amundson then got back on the phone with Ethan Saraceno-Oliveri and reassured him that the bamboo was “not systemically poisonous, more a problem in the intestinal tract. I told him that this was not a life-threatening situation.”
That news prompted a huge sigh of relief out west. “It immediately brought us peace of mind,” Brian said, “and allowed us to step back and reassess after being so amped up because our baby is sick.”
Meanwhile, Benson was doing her own digging. “We use certified sites to help with plant identification and whether there are toxins,” Benson said. “Fortunately in this case it wasn’t an unknown plant, where they might have to send a photo and we try it figure it out from there.
“We’re sort of like detectives. We take pieces from different sources, including education, and then put it together for the veterinarian. We want to know the who, what, when, where, why and how.”
What she unearthed was that lucky bamboo contains saponins that can cause gastro-intestinal (GI) upheaval, vomiting, painful abdomen and diarrhea — and that the symptoms “should resolve in 24 to 48 hours with no residual effects.”
Her Rx: GI protectants, analgesics, anti-emetics and anti-diarrheals for several days.
Benson said it was immeasurably helpful to be working with veterinarians who deal with exotic animals on a regular basis. “We’ve worked with that clinic before, and they are so exotic-savvy,” Benson said. “It kept conversations shorter. I would mention a treatment, and [McLaughlin] could go, ‘oh, we can do that.’ It was definitely a team effort. It’s very nice when everybody’s on the same page.”
After that evening’s diagnosis and treatment, Namari posted on Facebook:
“A huge thank you to the lovely staff that helped me feel better. I ate some Happy Bamboo and it did not make my belly very happy at all. After some meds and loving care I’m on my way home with the dads.”
In the front seat, two calm, comforted “dads” enjoyed the ride home a lot more than the trip there.
“The people at the hotline went completely out of their way to educate themselves and also us,” Brian Saraceno-Olivoris said several days later. “I know Namari was appreciative. What makes us even more happy is they committed to calling us back and providing a full breakdown of toxic plants. We found that fantastic.
“Now that we have that resource, we will definitely be using it if anything comes up.”
Bill Ward is a freelance wine, food, travels and lifestyle writer. His “Liquid Assets” column runs in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He won a James Beard Award in 2004 for a serious on Italian regional cuisine. We are excited to have him share interesting cases that we experience everyday at Pet Poison Helpline®. He lives in Hopkins, MN with his wife Sandy.
