I’m not sure if I have mentioned it before, but medical care for a shy dog is a bit different. Fortunately, Pooh hasn’t needed medical care beyond a routine blood test for her medication checkups. We take lots of treats to the vet and it usually takes some work just to get her weighed. Since Pooh doesn’t like strangers she is not at all interested in having a vet tech take the leash and walk her out of the room. Her need for medical care is really one of my biggest fears for her.
In fact, before we left on our vacation in December I had a very frank discussion with my vet in case anything happened while we were gone. (Pooh is easily spooked and has been known to run out in the road. So it’s a sad, but real, possibility that she could get hit by a car.) I told him that he should not do “above and beyond” care or set her up for numerous medical treatments. While I understand that an amputation is not the end the world for most animals, Pooh is different. As I explained it to him, “She doesn’t like her bedding washed, how do you think she will like waking up missing a leg? She doesn’t like change of any kind. Period.” I put it in simple terms…her health care will be about keeping her happy. We discussed her confinement issues, thus the lack of ability to crate her if needed for recovery. He asked me what I would do as she aged and needed more care. I told him I was hoping she would be more relaxed before “that time” came.
Pooh has a lump under her chin. From the moment I saw that lump on her chin I suspected it would lead to the vet…so I bumped up training as much as possible. I’ve been touching her face a lot and looking at her gums to get her used to being looked at. It didn’t seem to bother her, but it hasn’t gone away and doesn’t look like a zit. Last week I took a look at it and thought it had increased in size..red alert. So, I showed it to a coworker, asking if she thought I should get that checked. Yes! Ok, I’ve been prepping for this, right? I was expecting some poking, prodding, and maybe a needle.
Today, “that time” arrived in an instant. Our vet took one look and said that it needed to come off. I looked at him bewildered…muttering something about not knowing how we could do that. He asked what I meant. I explained that I could convince her to come in, but then what? She wasn’t just going to walk into the operating room and she doesn’t like to be picked up either. Then, she couldn’t be kenneled or crated, so how would her recovery go? If she woke up in a kennel, confused it could be a HUGE setback in training. He set me straight and explained that I would be taking the day off work to be part of the whole process.
Anyone who has ever had a pet spayed/neutered knows you drop the pet off in the morning and pick up a groggy pet later in the day. As it turns out, surgery day with a shy dog is very different! For shy dogs there is typically advance medication, which I have heard of, but we haven’t used with Pooh because of possible complications with her daily medication. For Pooh, I will walk her into the vet like any other day and then there will be a shot of morphine before we do much more. After the morphine takes over and relaxes her she will go in to the operating room and receive the gas/medications like other dogs. The morphine will make it so she wakes more slowly after the procedure and I will be in the kennel with her as she is waking. Once she is alert enough I will take her home. Then, we will wait for the analysis of “the lump” and go from there. I had some questions about the likelihood and treatment options, but there weren't answers and wasn’t sure I could handle them anyway. So, first, we will get through surgery day and then, we will see what happens. I wonder if I will be able to stick to my “keep her happy” plan without letting my own wishes cloud my judgement. I hope I don’t need to evaluate that statement any time soon.
In fact, before we left on our vacation in December I had a very frank discussion with my vet in case anything happened while we were gone. (Pooh is easily spooked and has been known to run out in the road. So it’s a sad, but real, possibility that she could get hit by a car.) I told him that he should not do “above and beyond” care or set her up for numerous medical treatments. While I understand that an amputation is not the end the world for most animals, Pooh is different. As I explained it to him, “She doesn’t like her bedding washed, how do you think she will like waking up missing a leg? She doesn’t like change of any kind. Period.” I put it in simple terms…her health care will be about keeping her happy. We discussed her confinement issues, thus the lack of ability to crate her if needed for recovery. He asked me what I would do as she aged and needed more care. I told him I was hoping she would be more relaxed before “that time” came.
Pooh has a lump under her chin. From the moment I saw that lump on her chin I suspected it would lead to the vet…so I bumped up training as much as possible. I’ve been touching her face a lot and looking at her gums to get her used to being looked at. It didn’t seem to bother her, but it hasn’t gone away and doesn’t look like a zit. Last week I took a look at it and thought it had increased in size..red alert. So, I showed it to a coworker, asking if she thought I should get that checked. Yes! Ok, I’ve been prepping for this, right? I was expecting some poking, prodding, and maybe a needle.
Today, “that time” arrived in an instant. Our vet took one look and said that it needed to come off. I looked at him bewildered…muttering something about not knowing how we could do that. He asked what I meant. I explained that I could convince her to come in, but then what? She wasn’t just going to walk into the operating room and she doesn’t like to be picked up either. Then, she couldn’t be kenneled or crated, so how would her recovery go? If she woke up in a kennel, confused it could be a HUGE setback in training. He set me straight and explained that I would be taking the day off work to be part of the whole process.
Anyone who has ever had a pet spayed/neutered knows you drop the pet off in the morning and pick up a groggy pet later in the day. As it turns out, surgery day with a shy dog is very different! For shy dogs there is typically advance medication, which I have heard of, but we haven’t used with Pooh because of possible complications with her daily medication. For Pooh, I will walk her into the vet like any other day and then there will be a shot of morphine before we do much more. After the morphine takes over and relaxes her she will go in to the operating room and receive the gas/medications like other dogs. The morphine will make it so she wakes more slowly after the procedure and I will be in the kennel with her as she is waking. Once she is alert enough I will take her home. Then, we will wait for the analysis of “the lump” and go from there. I had some questions about the likelihood and treatment options, but there weren't answers and wasn’t sure I could handle them anyway. So, first, we will get through surgery day and then, we will see what happens. I wonder if I will be able to stick to my “keep her happy” plan without letting my own wishes cloud my judgement. I hope I don’t need to evaluate that statement any time soon.