Outdoors: ADFG caribou spends a day at the vet

Aug. 14, 2007

By MATT TUNSETH/Frontiersman

PALMER - As an avid hunter, Palmer veterinarian John Tuomi has cut into his share of caribou, but none like the one that wandered into his office last Wednesday.

&#8220This was the first one with the intent for it to recover,” Dr. Tuomi joked after completing a procedure to relive a very important caribou of a very painful problem.

Dr. Tuomi first heard about the distressed animal from Bill Collins, a biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Collins, who helps run a research project dealing with nutrition and the digestive functions of wild caribou, called Tuomi after he noticed one of the animals had a wounded eye.

Collins said he wasn't sure how the animal - an unnamed 9-year-old female - got hurt, but said it was apparent that the damaged eye would need to be removed. If it wasn't, an infection likely would spread and kill the animal, or the pain would be so intense that the caribou would essentially be driven mad.

Since the animals in the program are studied from birth, Collins didn't particularly like the idea of losing an animal and having to fly back into the field to capture a replacement.

&#8220It's not like you can just go buy another one and replace it,” he said.

So Collins called Tuomi, who has in the past operated on other large animals, including horses and Musk Ox.

After making a brief house call to the department's research facility, Tuomi concurred that an operation would be needed, and cleared time at his office to carry out the procedure.

So on Wednesday at around 2 p.m., Collins walked into the lobby of the Palmer Veterinary Clinic with an annoyed-looking, 200-pound caribou trailing behind reluctantly on a leash.

After giving the animal a sedative, Collins and members of the hospital's staff did their best to make the caribou comfortable, placing blankets and pillows on the floor and propping the animal's head up to keep it from choking.

Then, with a nurse using a stethoscope to pay constant attention to the caribou's slow heartbeat, Dr. Tuomi kneeled down on the linoleum floor of the clinic and began to cut.

Using a scalpel and laser, the vet carefully sliced off a portion of the animal's eyelids, then carefully began separating the eye from its socket.

As he worked, a rapt group of onlookers - including hospital nurses, Collins, a nurse's small daughter and a curious window washer - stared in silence as the delicate operation unfolded.

The procedure took about 45 minutes, with Dr. Tuomi only taking one break to stretch his back . Typically, operations at the clinic are done on a table, but because of the animal's size, Dr. Tuomi was forced to work on the floor. After Collins offered his leg as a brace, Tuomi said he was able to continue without much discomfort.

After a few last snips, Tuomi successfully removed the damaged eye ball and stitched the caribou back up.

Then came the big moment, as Tuomi and Collins administered a couple doses of drugs to reverse the effect of the tranquilizer.

For a few minutes, the caribou continued to sleep. Then a twitch of the legs, followed by a jerk of the head. A couple minutes later, and the animal shakily got to its feet, looking around the room with what could easily be mistaken for a confused look on its face.

Collins replaced its leash, and led it back out the front door to a waiting trailer. The caribou is expected to make a full recovery - minus, of course, the use of its left eye.

After Collins and the animal left, things went pretty much back to normal at the vet clinic, as staff mopped the floor and removed any signs that a wild animal had been sprawled out on the floor just minutes previously.

Dr. Tuomi said the operation was unusual, as he's used to typically working on family pets. But he said that, in a way, the caribou was similar to many of his other patients.

&#8220For the most part, we pretty much work on things that can walk through the door,” he said. &#8220This one managed.”

After sneaking a few peeks at the operation as he made his weekly window-washing rounds at the clinic, Joe Blessent said the experience was definitely a first for him.

&#8220That was wild,” Blessent said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com