stoutfellow | Lend Me Your Ears...

I did manage to get Murphy to the vet for his annual checkup last Saturday. Poor fella's getting old... He needs to have his teeth cleaned, but that's going to have to wait until next month. He's also developing some arthritis in his hindquarters - predictable, given his age and the fact that he's half basset. The vet made some recommendations on treating that; miraculously, the main suggestion she made was to pick up some OTC stuff at Walgreen's.

Murphy also had an ear infection going - yeast and bacteria both - so now I have a little bottle of goo I have to put in his ears every day and a big bottle of cleanser I'm supposed to squirt in there every other day. He'll tolerate the goo, but he hates the cleanser. After each ear gets dosed, he shakes his head so hard his ears flap, and when I'm done he growls a little, shakes his head again, and starts tearing around the house, bouncing at me and woofing. Oddly, his tail is wagging all through this little production. The fact that I give him a doggie treat afterwards may be involved...

Poor puppies. I've hired someone to come by and feed and water Murphy and Ben while I'm out of town, but they'll be alone a lot. Still, I'm more comfortable with this arrangement than with kennelling them; they have more room, and they're home. That has to count for something.

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You're a good dog daddy, Stoutfellow. And, yes, I can't imagine that your boys would be happier in a kennel than they would be at home, since they have each other's company. If one of them was to be alone all that time, it would be another thing.

I've done the goop in the ear thing with both my cats. I have to say given your description that Murphy is taking it better than either of them did (g).

Have a wonderful trip!

It's better for the oldsters too: They're not exposed to so many other germs.

Mm, yes. I hadn't thought of that. Thanks.

Murphy's a pretty placid animal. When he was so sick a couple of years ago, the vet gave me a subcutaneous-drip setup for him, and he let me stick the needle in him twice. (The third time he rebelled, and I had to take him back to the vet.)

"After each ear gets dosed, he shakes his head so hard his ears flap, and when I'm done he growls a little, shakes his head again, and starts tearing around the house, bouncing at me and woofing. Oddly, his tail is wagging all through this little production."

I'm sorry for poor Murphy's ear infection, but your description made me giggle. It sounds almost as if he felt obligated to make a big production of his distaste, while his tail is giving away his enjoyment of the attention! I do hope his infection clears soon.

Do you leave tomorrow? If so, have a safe flight and wonderful Christmas visit with your family!

I should say that his tail is tucked during the actual administration; it's when I let him go that it comes out and wags.

Yes, tomorrow's the day. I'll still be in touch via my brother's computer, though I may not post much. Thanks for the good wishes!

Second clarification: you're right, there is a difference. With the sub-c drip, he was visibly - tangibly - terrified, and when I let him go he ran away and hid. That's very far from what he's doing here.

"I should say that his tail is tucked during the actual administration; it's when I let him go that it comes out and wags."

Ah. Poor fellow.

"Yes, tomorrow's the day. I'll still be in touch via my brother's computer"

Oh, good. I'm not mentally *there* yet to wish everyone Merry Christmas. Geez. I haven't even sent cards or done shopping. At least I have put up outside Christmas lights and wound strands of white lights on our standing lamps in the room where a Christmas tree would be if we could have one!

I remembered that.

It's possible that the infection has made his ears itch inside and the drops provide some soothing relief since he can't *get* to the itch or pain.

Webster's also prone to ear infections -- both bacterial and yeast. Strangely enough, none of our other dogs, be they basset or bloodhound, ever had the ear issues Webster does.

He had to be sedated at VT's Vet School once so that they could treat the ear infection and give it a thorough cleansing. He's been positively petrified of vet's offices ever since ...

You're a braver soul than I am. I have to look away when the *vet* gives my cats their inoculations.

Well, frankly, I was more afraid of what might happen if I didn't do it. I was absolutely in tears when I finally admitted to myself that he wasn't going to let me treat him the third time. Fortunately, the vet took it matter-of-factly when I called, which helped calm me down. (When Murphy or Ben gets his shots at the vet, I normally am standing at his head, focusing on talking to him and keeping him calm. I don't generally see the shot itself.)

Yeah, I've done things to my cats that I would never have thought myself capable of, just because I love them and knew it was essential to their well being. Fortunately, so far, none of them have involved needles.

The worst was three prescriptions (at different time intervals) and a twice-daily dose of Pepto Bismol when Linnet developed the bacteria that causes ulcers in humans. He lost a third of his body weight (which he gained back, fortunately). But I still wish I had pictures of him with the pink rim around his mouth and the utterly disgusted look on his face. When I moved out of that house three years later, I was still finding pink dots in weird places.

Lend Me Your Ears...

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Oh, Those Ears ...

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