From hungry hippo to happy hippo

Tomy was sad because he could not eat. And because he was not eating he began to lose weight. Something had to be done ...and fast, for Tomy to become his usual self.

Tomy the Hippo, YW, September

Have you ever had a toothache so bad that you just wanted to curl up and try to sleep? You were probably scared of telling your parents because they'd take you to the dentist and you knew that would hurt too.

Well, recently there was a rather large patient who had a humongous toothache. He had a special kind of problem called a painful malocclusion which really just meant that his teeth were not aligned properly. In all his 39 years of life poor Tomy, a hippopotamus at the Bayamon Zoo in Puerto Rico, had never been so sick.

Poor Tomy could not eat his food anymore.

He lost so much weight that he now weighed only 3,000 pounds (about 1,350 Kilos!) Believe me, that is one skinny hippo and the zoo officials began to worry.

Well, when a hippo gets a massive toothache whom do you call? Ordinary dentists cannot treat hippos. Of course they cannot; hippos won't fit in the dentist's chair, will they? Oh, and regular dentist instruments will be too small for hippos.

The Zookeepers phoned Tomy's favourite vet, Dr. Mike Loomis, who was not only his doctor but his friend since he has treated Tomy for the last 20 years.

How do you treat a hippo with bad teeth? Dr. Loomis first gave Tomy a partial anaesthetic. This means he made him comfortable since Tomy would not feel any pain. Just like the injection you get at the dentist's. He then took out his special “hippo file”. Yes, he carried a saw with metal blades and began to saw his lower teeth. This took care of the problem since the lower teeth no longer cut his upper lip when he chewed.

It was a good thing that Tomy was a good patient because the whole procedure was quite difficult. Tomy's teeth measured an average of three feet (almost a metre,) and his mouth can open four feet (about 1.2 metres) wide! Dr. Loomis had a whole team assisting him and every one of them was needed.

When Tomy woke up from the anaesthetic he was able to smile his friendly smile. At the next feeding he was able to enjoy his meal and Tomy the hungry hippo was again Tomy the happy hippo!!