I’ve been blessed with some very special dogs in my life, but Sissy is in a class by herself. She’s not the best behaved; the lab I trained as a ‘tween holds that title, if we overlook her puppyhood. Frankly, beautiful as she is, her conformation sucks; Fred was much closer to the AKC’s standard. Still, there’s just something about her. Everywhere she goes, she makes friends, and in the blink of an eye, she’s the mayor.
This evening, it was the new vet’s office that fell under her spell. There she is, waiting for another trip down the back hallway, where the techs were looking at her swabs and samples under a microscope, mixing her meds, etc.
She’s fine. I promise. Her on-going “gland” issue flared up again, and since our regular vet is only open a few hours on Wednesdays and then has abbreviated holiday hours until Monday, I gave in and called the vet Pissy’s wife recommended. We couldn’t get in to see THE vet they use before next Tuesday, but a perfectly nice doctor could see us at 4:45.
Everything, from my chat with the receptionist through the LENGTHY visit with the doctor, impressed me. We had a wait, but I’d brought a book, because I was pretty sure our vet agreed to take one more patient (Sissy) at the end of her day, just to get the dog some relief.
Don’t mind Sissy in this photo; she is indeed trying to convince me we don’t need to be there. She’s always well aware of which door we came in, and which one she needs to find a way to get past to explore the rest of the building. And my amazing girl always manages to charm someone into giving her the keys to the kingdom…
Don’t look now Sis, but we’re about to embark on another journey. Instead of my own self-improvement resolutions for 2010, it will be the year Sissy comes off the kibble and gland roller coaster.
Folks, trust your instincts. Not only do you know your dogs, children, heck, even your own body, better than the experts, but there really is such a thing as intuition. See that glorious pink belly? I’ve remarked for well over a year that it’s perhaps too pink. I’ve talked to no fewer than five veterinarians about Sissy and the potential for food allergies as the cause of her gland SYMPTOMS, rather than the glands themselves being the problem.
(Note: not all vets actually have any real training in NUTRITION. We kinda’ lucked into one who does. She knows a LOT about dogs and food allergies, and is quite sure our incident-free months came only because I took the bull er, rooster? by the horns and removed chicken and corn meals from Sissy’s diet. Sadly, she fears that the beef and lamb I’ve been feeding her are also allergens… Maybe I’ll try to go beef and lamb free with the girls. Geeze. Maybe not.)
I was dismissed, even laughed at, because I was sure my girl was allergic to corn and chicken MEALS. Well, I hope the chuckles at my expense keep ’em warm, because just in time for Gretchie’s annual visit, we’re moving to this newtous vet who didn’t even need Sissy’s old records to realize I wasn’t blowing smoke.
She is a beautiful, sweet, smart, silly, funny girl, and she deserves to NOT itch, have pressure in the wrong places, etc. So, she and Gretchen are both going on a very special, very restricted diet for 8-12 weeks. With a little luck, that will clear up everything inside, from the tip of her nose to the tip of her tail.
Some of my longer-term readers will recall that this is our FOURTH vet change since Fred’s death. In some cases, it was simply a matter of compatibility. As with a personal physician, you just have to “click” with your vet, right? It took a while, but we’ve found where we belong. I do hate to make this change in many ways, but there’s not a doubt in my mind that it’s what’s right for Sissy.
Wee Gretch will do just fine at the new place too, but Gretchen is that rare, easy-going, notmuchtroubleatall “kid” we all WISH we could have. It’s such a relief to know I’m not crazy, and with a little luck, y’all won’t ever have to skim over a post about Sissy’s “glands” and the symptoms that go with, ever again.
Just knowing Sissy is going to feel better – probably does already – makes me giddy-happy.
What makes you ridiculously happy, and how can you get more of it in the New Year?
Oh, how I love my goofy, sweet big girl. She’s a ham, but she’s really not a bad model.
Yesterday, it warmed up and I found the steps one more time for Gretchen. She’s still not much on this white, cold stuff.
Chan Knits 