‘Sweetie’ the tiger had a hernia: necropsy
Posted January 3, 2014 9:13 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ALDERGROVE (NEWS1130) – A necropsy on a Siberian tiger at the Greater Vancouver Zoo in Aldergrove shows she had a hernia in her diaphragm.
Sweetie was 18 years old and was born at the zoo.
About a month ago, she went into respiratory distress. When her condition didn’t improve, staff decided to put her down.
Dr. Bruce Burton, the veterinarian who performed the necropsy, believes Sweetie was born with the hernia.
“She did extremely well to live one year, let alone 18, considering the size of the hernia. It was likely not something we could have repaired surgically and since she was not eating, we felt it was in her best interest (the kindest thing to do) for her to be humanely euthanized. It is unlikely she was in any real discomfort at all,” he says.
The zoo has two other Siberian tigers, which are not related to Sweetie.
