Meet Happy. We couldn't be sure if he got his name because of his lovable personality or if he just decided to live up to his name. He was in a great deal of pain when his owners brought him in. They suspected that he was constipated but physical exam revealed an enlarged bladder. Radiographs (x-ray) revealed stones in both the bladder and the urethra (the "tube" running from the bladder). Often with stones in the urethra the surgeon is forced to perform a surgery known as a perineal urethrostomy, or more commonly called a p/u surgery. During the p/u surgery the path of the urine is rerouted to completely bypass the normal means of urination.

Though his entire family loves him, Happy's biggest fan is his 6 year old owner, Taylor. Happy was scheduled to go with Taylor to his pre-school for show-and-tell that morning. Instead he was taken to emergency surgery where he continued to wag his tail until the anesthesia took effect. During the surgery, a newer technique (which had recently been described at the Midwest Veterinary Conference) was applied wherein a urinary catheter was fed thru the urethra pushing the stones lodged there back into the bladder, thus avoiding the perineal urethrostomy. A successful cystotomy was then performed, opening the bladder and removing the stones, affording Happy a normal urinary passage. After a short stay, he went home to a very 'happy' little boy.