Fun at the Veterinarian

Cupcake (nee Corona) went to the vet today.
It wasn't pretty....

Saturday afternoon I noticed one of Cupcake's ears was flopping over. Normally her ears are straight up so this was a surprise.  On the top of her pointy ears was a big soft bump. Did she get bitten by a bug? Stung by a bee? I put some Neosporin on it and figured I'd wait and see.

Sunday
Still swollen. Doesn't seem to bother her.

Monday
Still there. Call the vet. She's not in any pain. Make appointment for Tuesday afternoon.

Tuesday

Take the trembling little Chihuahua to the vet. She starts shaking as soon as she realizes Gracie's isn't coming with us. Cupcake never goes for a walk without Gracie. She tried to get back into the house. I tug her along and put her in the car.

We arrive at vet and she's starting to run in circles. I pick her up before she trips me.

To truly understand how upset Cupcake is you have to know her history. For the first 9 years of her life Cupcake lived in a hoarding situation where she had no medical care, was repeated bred, and was rarely handled. There was no love and affection in this little dog's life before rescue. She came into my house full of fear. After two years she's found her place on our couch and in our hearts. However, that doesn't mean she trusts anyone else.

Cupcake is muzzled because she will bite anyone who tries to touch her. (except me, of course) The vet wants to drain the ear bubble so I hold her body and the assistant holds her legs. Just as the vet moves to drain the ear, Cupcake freaks and starts fighting. POP! The blister on her ear erupts and BloOd goes everywhere. It flew all over me and the table.

We calm her down and get the ear wrapped. As I hold her I say, "I think I smell something."

The vet finishes wrapping the ear. I release Cupcake and she tries to leap off the table. I pull her back and she takes a dump all over me and the table. Then she scrambles her little legs around on the slippery mess to make sure her little gift is spread everywhere. Thank you, Cupcake!

I pay the vet, make an appointment to come in for a recheck next Wednesday, and head home to shower. (Cupcake got a bath in the vet's sink.)

Has your dog ever had one of those fun days at the Veterinarian?

Happy Hump Day!

Hard times, Good times...

Sometimes fostering a dog can bring great joy. You take a scared pup into your home, work through the issues, and help them learn what its like to live with love. Then they find a good home and you miss them but you know in your heart they're off to a happy life. That's the reward, the heartbreak and the reason you do it again.

Then there's Trouble. This little brown and white Chihuahua came from a southern shelter. They said he had one deformed leg. Okay, we can deal. Send him up on the next transport. We get dogs with issues all the time. Heartworm is rampant in the south and treating it can be expensive, but we have great volunteers and good vets who help us muddle through the treatment. Parvo? It happens. Sometimes seemingly healthy pups come up and WHAM! Parvo! It sucks, but it's treatable. The volunteer is on 24/7 alert in helping the dog survive but it can be done. We've had to do it a million times and the dogs go on to live healthy lives.
But when Trouble arrived and we placed the little guy on the ground we discovered he had more than a deformed front leg. Both back legs wobbled like he couldn't balance on them at all. Off we go to the vet to discover this little guy was in a lot of pain. Both back knee caps were dislocated and that deformed front leg were all the results of severe abuse. Surgery to fix this little guy will cost over $6000. Yes, Trouble has real trouble.
So we deal. Fundraising goes viral and movies are made and flyers go out. Six grand is a lot of money and bottom line is---we have to raise it because Trouble will be fixed. Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue doesn't give up on any dog.
So we move on and then comes a little Shih Tzu up from the south. She's cute and happy but, after we shave her down so we can see this little girl under all the matting, her face looks funny, lopsided. Something we couldn't see under all the matting. A trip to the vet and we find out her jaw is dislocated. The vet said she must have been kicked in the face at some point.
That's two injured, abused pups in one month. SHEESH! What kind of people abuse animals and then just dump them in shelters? My first reaction is hate. Pure ugly hate. I hate these people and think they should be locked away where they can't ever hurt another living thing. They are not fit to be called humans.
I hate this hate. It's useless. It wastes energy and brings me down.
Instead of focusing on the hate I push it aside and focus on what we can change. We can get Trouble fixed. We can get that little Shih Tzu's jaw fixed. We can move on and keep going and not let the ugly people in this world stop us.
To donate to help either of these pups go to Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue