Heart Like a Dog

The Good, the Bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs!

Riding the Storm Out

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Last year we had Snowtober this year it’s Frankenstorm.

While thankfully there is no snow predicted, we are in for some heavy winds.  We also have a lot of trees around us, trees that were weakened or still have broken branches from last year’s storm.

Two weeks ago one of those branches came down with some wind.  Luckily for us, it landed on our gate, and wedged itself between the chimney and the side wall of the house.  Miraculously, there was no permanent damage.  I told Hubby, the Lord just keeps providing us with wood to burn.

Hey big branch! Yeah I’m talking to you. Get off my fence!

 

It looks like it’s touching, but really there is about six inches between the end of the branch and the house.

 

If it were just Hubby and I, there would be no problem. Since we have pets, we need to make sure they remain safe.

The first thing we did was tie down everything that can’t go inside.

Ghetto Grill

 

The storm is expected to last through Tuesday. The dogs will have to go outside to potty, that last thing we want is for something left out in the yard, flying through the air and striking one of the dogs.

On the off-chance that happens, we have hydrogen peroxide, EMT gel and vet tape handy.

It’s important to have plenty of food on hand for your pets.  We feed raw and I currently have five days worth of dinners and about three weeks worth of breakfast.  If need be, we will use the breakfast supply for dinner.

Luckily for us we have city water, but should contamination occur, I have six gallons of bottled water handy.

We also stuck some empty soda bottles in the freezer to use for ice if we need it, or defrost it and use for cooking or washing as the case may be.

Since we live on the side of a hill, it’s highly unlikely we will need to evacuate from flooding, but if we need to evacuate for another reason, the dog’s medications, their medical records, food bowls and going outside collars are all within 15 feet of each other and their leashes are hung by the front door.

Bob is on canned food, which is in very close proximity to the dogs items.

The important thing in any natural disaster is to have a plan, know what items you need to take with you and where they are.  If possible practice a dry run.   Having a plan of action in place for emergencies gives you peace of mind that nothing else can.

If we have to leave in an emergency I feel very comfortable saying we can be out within half an hour…..forty five minutes tops.

Where we’ll go, I’m not really sure, but I did hear on the news that the shelters are taking dogs. 🙂

What types of weather related issues do you need to be prepared for where you live?   Do you have a plan in place to evacuate your pets?  What if the situation springs up suddenly, have you and your family discussed who will get the pets?

Another Vet Visit

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Sampson and his issues.

Well it seems like my poor little Punkin just can’t catch a break with his health issues.  First he had the soft tissue injury for which he went on anti-inflammatory medication (he took the last dose last night.)

Then we were at the vet two week’s ago for a bacterial skin infection.  The vet prescribed an antibiotic (Cephalexin) and a follow-up visit to discuss his Leptos vaccine.

Saturday night I noticed his right ear was extremely hot and red, Hubby and I suspected a yeast infection.

I spoke to the vet’s office and was told to use a warm wash cloth with a mild soap to clean his ear. They didn’t want it too clean, just in case she needed to do a scraping. 🙁  The warm cloth also seemed to help his ear feel better as he did not protest at all, and actually leaned his ear into the cloth.

It’s hard to get a great shot, but his ear red and hot.

 

Last night once again found us at the vet for our third time in less than a month.

Dr. Soutter said, it has the look of a yeast infection, and smells a bit like a yeast infection, but let’s swab it and take a look at it.

Whatcha brewin in there Sampson?

 

She swabbed it and set it to brew.

I  pointed out he has a few bumps on his head, like little welts or bites.

She looked at his tummy and said, his skin infection is better, but not gone.

Then she went out to check on his culture.

When she came back she said, It’s a bacterial infection.

To which I replied, Well that concerns me, he’s had a bacterial skin infection and now a bacterial ear infection, what’s causing this?

She suspects it’s allergy related. 🙁 Something airborne that he is breathing in. We came home with ear drops for the ear infection and an additional week’s dose of antibiotics.

She’s interested to see what happens when we have a good hard frost.

She also said she thought it was okay to give him his Leptos vaccine, I told her I preferred to wait.  She agreed.

Recheck in two weeks.

 

He was so happy to see everyone.

 

I did ask if there was anything we could do to prevent this from happening again.

Dr. Soutter said that some dogs react well to an antihistamine and others do not.  We can certainly try him on one and see if it helps. If that does not work than we can do some testing and see if we can determine what exactly he is allergic to.

When we exited our exam room and went to check out there was a woman there checking out and waiting for her cat.  I decided it was best to put Sampson in the car.

I brought him out and moved the car so I could see him from the window.

 

Are you done yet?

 

It was about 5:40 pm by this time, and a very cool day, still I’m never, ever comfortable leaving them in the car, so I moved it close to the door in order to keep an eye on him and I quickly paid my tab.

There was a squirrel running up and down the tree behind the car, but Sampson kept looking toward where I was.  Must have been Mr. Squirrel’s lucky day.

Has your dog ever missed an opportunity to torture bark at a small animal because they were too focused on something else to notice?

50 Things Your Vet Won’t Tell You

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In yesterday’s post I mentioned an article I had read in Reader’s Digest, 50 Things Your Vet Won’t Tell You. 

While some of the comments were basic, common sense advice, the following revelations actually made me seriously wonder, how would you know these things unless you asked?

1)  “A lot of veterinarians have told me matter-of-factly that they still don’t use painkillers for procedures that we know are painful. They think that dogs and cats don’t need it or that feeling pain after surgery is good because it keeps them from moving around too much. But research has shown that pets who are in less pain heal faster, sleep better, and don’t move around as much.”

Well you know how I reacted to this one as I actually questioned my vet about the procedure used for cleaning a pet’s teeth. 

My dogs love going to our vet’s office, they are super excited to be there and are happy to see everyone, if one of my dogs was afraid to go, I think I’d wonder if my vet was telling me everything I needed to know about how comfortable my pet was during certain procedures.

2)  “I’ll let you in on the secret of no-kill shelters: We had a contract with our local Humane Society that stated we’d euthanize the animals in their care that needed to be put down. One Sunday, they sent us 72 cats to put down. By the end, we were all emotionally devastated.”

Are they saying that the shelter presents themselves as no kill, because they aren’t the ones actually euthanizing the animals? 

The shelter can SAY we’re NO KILL because we aren’t the ones doing the killing?  Instead we’ll send the animals off to a local vet. 

That is downright wrong, as well as misrepresenting themselves, I imagine a Humane Society that is no kill gets more financial support from donors than another one that might have a higher kill rate.  I’d like to find out which Humane Society is doing this, and spill their dirty little secret.

3)  “Your vet may not have gotten into vet school! Vets who can’t get into traditional U.S. veterinary programs due to bad grades and poor test scores often go to for-profit schools in the Caribbean, where, basically, if you can pay the tuition, you get in.”

Seriously? So any Joe off the street with money can get a veterinarian degree?  I wonder what my vet will say in two weeks when I ask her where she went to school?

Pardon the interruption, I had to go to Expedia and book my trip to the Caribbean. Yes, very soon you shall be referring to me as Dr. Stone.  I wonder if they offer online classes?

4)  “No regulation says vets have to check certain lists before they euthanize an animal, and lots of vets still do convenience euthanasia for owners who prefer the easy way out. We see a lot of euthanasia in November and December, for example, just because people are getting ready for the holidays. I refuse to do it.”

This makes me sad.  First that people feel their pets are disposable and secondly that a veterinarian would euthanize a healthy animal.  I’m glad this vet does not practice in this manner.

There’s something fundamentally wrong with a society that thinks animals are disposable.

5)  “Unfortunately, I’ve had to work in low-cost clinics, and many of them are cutting corners to make a profit. Some places give half doses of vaccines instead of full doses, which is totally illegal and ineffective.”

OMD, so I already HATE the over-vaccinating that takes place in this country, but can you imagine thinking your pet is protected from Rabies or Distemper and finding out they weren’t properly vaccinated?

6)  “Home cooking for your pet is harder than you think. I once saw a dog who was fed a home-cooked diet of chicken breast and vegetables for a year, and his bones became so weak that his jaw broke. If you would like to cook for your pet, find a veterinary nutritionist who can help guide you, or check out balanceit.com.”

I would hope that anyone cooking at home for their pet, would do some research before proceeding, I felt bad that I waited to take Sampson to the vet for his ‘bruise’ I can only imagine the guilt associated with feeding your dog something which made their bones so weak they broke!

7)  “You can go to an online pharmacy and get the same exact drugs you would get from your vet for 10 to 20 percent off. But check first to make sure it’s certified as a Verified Internet Pharmacy Practice Site (VIPPS certified). Some vets will also match online prices—you just have to know to ask.”

8)  “A lot of pet medications are available at human pharmacies for lower prices than we charge. Walgreens even has a list of veterinary medicines for $4 per one-month dose. These are medicines that you would pay $20 or $30 for at your vet.”

The above two should be kept in mind.  Hello, my dog’s on the human drug Meloxicam!

9)  “If the plaque sprays and dental water additives actually worked, none of us would be telling you to brush your pet’s teeth.”

Personally I haven’t used either of these products, heck I’m so bad I don’t even brush their teeth (hey, I just got my dental kit from My Brown Newfies.)  But I do know people who swear by them, so this really makes me wonder, do these work, or is someone standing a little deep in something?

Did any of the nine items mentioned above shock or dismay you?  Are there any questions you will be asking your vet at the next visit?

And just because I can, here’s one of my favorite Sampson pictures.

 

This is Sampson in Emerald Isle, North Carolina in Sept of 2006. He had just turned two.

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