25 May, 2011
We prefer to think of it as a bionic listening device
Posted by andrea tomkins in: dog stuff
She was licking her front paw incessantly. Actually, the first thing I noticed was that she’d licked a whole patch of the hardwood floor in the office. I looked at the pad of her foot. One of her toes and part of the pad was grossly swollen. Mark, who was home sick yesterday, took a look too. The only thing we could see was the results of lots of licking and chewing.
Our regular vet couldn’t see her. I called another, they couldn’t see her until much later in the afternoon. I called Alta Vista Animal Hospital. Did you know they offer 24 hour emergency care? It works like a people hospital. Incoming patients are assessed as they arrive. Emergency cases get top priority, and other ones follow. Anyway, this wasn’t an emergency per se, I just couldn’t get in anywhere any sooner. They were very nice on the phone and said it wouldn’t be too long of a wait. So off I went.
I tried not to cry in the car on the way there.
I racked my brains trying to think of what it could be. We’d been on a walk that morning and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Was it glass, a sliver, a bee sting? Was it poison ivy from a visit to my mother’s place on Sunday? (I found out later that dogs aren’t affected by it apparently.)
I really liked the vet who checked Piper out, but after the examination it turned out he couldn’t tell what was going on either. Her paw was swollen and there were no clues as to why. So he sent Piper home with a shaved and bandaged leg, some anti-inflammatories, and a prescription for antibiotics should we decide we needed them … which I appreciated, as it might save us a return trip. Also, he didn’t suggest X-rays, which was a relief. X-rays are EXPENSIVE. We agreed that it didn’t appear as though anything was broken.
We received excellent care at Alta Vista. The staff were all very friendly and patient and I now understand why people love them as much as they do.
Suffice it to say our visit wasn’t cheap. (If there is anyone out there who is thinking of getting a dog and wouldn’t be able to make a mortgage payment because of a $212 vet bill, well, don’t get a dog.)
My wallet is hurting but Piper doesn’t seem to be in any pain. She sure suffered with her cone last night. Man, she hates that thing. And who can blame her. It’s embarrassing to have to wear a hard plastic satellite dish around your neck in front of your friends and family.
I stayed up with her and tried to make her comfortable, finally taking the cone off around 3:00 a.m., but then I had to watch her to make sure she didn’t chew her bandage. It was a long night. In fact, it felt just like having babies again!
I am feeling totally zonked this morning. I predict that this day is going to be a writeoff.
Piper is cone-free at the moment, but I can tell, she is feeling depressed. She’s snoozing in her bed right now, with her bandaged paw positioned awkwardly away from her face. Poor thing.
