silly dogs

The dogs went to the vet yesterday. I dropped them off in the morning, and picked them up when I got home. Howie (Shih-tzu)Â was just scheduled for his yearly checkup/shots. Molly (Maltese) was scheduled for a teeth cleaning.

Teeth cleaning is a big deal for dogs. The vet has to knock the dog out, so it is a more serious procedure. Molly has never had her teeth cleaned. She had some tartar buildup, which was expected. The doctor also found that she has many missing teeth. I’ve always thought her mouth look a bit empty. He said that it was a normal thing for a small dog. He also found something a bit more alarming… There was a hard mound in the back of her mouth. He thought that it might be a tooth that never finished erupting, so he did exploratory surgery. It was either part of a tooth, or a bone bump. He used a dremel to sand it down, and stitched it shut. He was not worried about what he found.

 So, now the poor dog is in pain. She has to take pain medication and antibiotics. Last night, she sat around whimpering. She was also treatin me like it was my fault. She would have nothing to do with me. She wouldn’t come near me, and stared at me with this pained expression. If you don’t believe a dog is capable of this degree of emotion, you have OBVIOUSLY never met my dog.

She must have forgiven me in the middle of the night, though. She woke me up at 3am, licking my nose. Today she seems much better, and she even took her medicine easily. The best part of all this is that her breath doesn’t smell like death anymore. It still smells, but it is bearable.

Don’t worry. I won’t post a picture of her mouth stitches.