26/08/2026
🐶🐾 Meet Toby 🐾🐶
Mr Toby came in to see us recently for a ear infection, and he saw the lovely Dr. Megan.
Here’s how we get to the bottom of ear troubles like Toby’s:
Otoscope exam - We use an otoscope, a scope with a light and magnifier, to look right down the ear canal. This lets us check for redness, swelling, discharge, foreign bodies, or anything else causing discomfort, without needing to guess.
Ear cytology - We take a small sample from the ear and look at it under the microscope. This tells us exactly what we’re dealing with, whether it’s bacteria, yeast, or both, so we can treat with the right medication instead of a one size fits all approach.
This is also why we can’t just dispense the same ear medication your pet had last time, even if the symptoms look similar. Ear infections can be caused by different bugs each time, and using the wrong treatment can let the infection linger or come back worse. Cytology means every treatment is tailored to what’s actually happening in the ear on that particular visit.
We’ve booked him in for a revisit, and this is a step we always recommend. Ears can look better on the surface before the infection has fully cleared underneath. A recheck lets us confirm the infection is gone, make sure there’s no lingering inflammation, and catch anything that needs a change in treatment before it becomes a bigger, more expensive problem.
Toby is now on treatment and on the mend.
