A patient in Cali is currently recovering from something we all dread – a visit to the dentist. But it isn’t often that the patient needs to be given a general anesthetic just to protect the medics…
For the 180 kilo Bengal tiger Socrates, local anesthetic was not an option.
Veterinary staff and orthodontists were called to the Villa Lorena animal refuge center in Cali on Monday after the regal 20-year-old animal showed signs of pain in his teeth. He had stopped eating and was salivating from the right side of his mouth.
Socrates, a much-loved member of the Villa Lorena refuge, had already been at the center for two years, after being left there by his previous owners – a traveling circus – when he got too old to perform.
On the day of the operation the majestic old tiger was tranquilized by the center’s staff, and the vet embarked on an hour-long extraction procedure, eventually pulling out the remains of a tooth whose root was more than 4 cm long.
Socrates is expected to recover from the operation within the next few days.