Pretty Little Pup
This is a short paper I wrote for college. It details an experience of a necropsy (animal autopsy) of a sea otter pup. If this subject disturbs you, then read no further. It's very vivid, but not what I would call gory. This is a tribute to the love that goes into animal rescue. It's difficult not to get attached sometimes. I was a Sea Otter Research And Conservation (SORAC) volunteer for 5 years. I followed Otter #470 from birth to death and beyond. Of all the cases I've been through, this one hit me the hardest. The orphaned pup was being raised by SORAC in hopes of some day being released back into the wild. During her 7th week she began refusing food, and despite desperate attempts to nourish her, including through IV and stomach tube, her health steadily declined.
Her body rested peacefully on the steel surface. I looked down at her lifeless form with a mixture of love and sadness. Hopefully this procedure would open up new insight to her cause of death. If I didn't know better, I'd guess she was delicately dreaming of distant clam fields, and the slightest touch would wake her up. Even now, her downy brown fur shined in the artificial light of the examination room. Her short arms and small leathery mitten-like paws opened wide as she beckoned for her internal examination to begin. The doctor's instruments were placed next to the sea otter pup like fine silverware.
The doctor made a long incision down the length of the small pup's body. Her fur and skin gladly separated for the scalpel's path. The doctor gently reflected her pelt to reveal the glistening pink flesh beneath. There wasn't any blood; only soft, creamy muscle and ligaments. There was a slight aroma as well. Not the stench of death and decay, but the cool and crisp spice of freshness. The doctor made a second cut along her abdomen and exposed the pup's diminutive internal organs in her belly.
The pup's intestines wound their way around gut in irregular coils, and the substitute milk formula from her last feeding was visible through the thin walls. Underneath laid her kidneys: sacks of tiny orbs bundled together like red grapes. In contrast to the rest of her pristine innards stood her liver. It was jaundiced with fatty cells instead of the deep crimson it should be. It was a strong lead to her untimely demise, but only a microscopic inspection of the tissue could bring her case to a close. The examination continued.
The doctor began clipping the pup's ribs away one by one to uncover the organs within her chest. Her lungs were as soft and pink as cotton candy. Her little heart was strong and firm, promising many years of faithful service if she had only lived to see them through. I took a step back to look at her full form once again.
There she was, elegantly displayed for the world to see. Her dainty organs were so perfectly fit in such a small frame. I never thought before how wonderfully cute she could be inside and out. She smiled towards the sky as I said my final goodbyes to my pretty little pup I helped raise and then usher into the afterlife.