The Good, The Bad, and The Grumpy

We went to visit Dr B this morning. Today our victims were Sebastian, Fudge and Morgan.

First up was Miss Morgan aka Grumpy. She was only there for an Adequan injection, then went off to nap in the car with Rob while the others got their checkups. Dr B was pleased to hear that both her appetite and her activity level have improved since starting the injections. We all feel that she must be in less pain.

Next up was Sebastian. His bad behavior started at home this morning. When I leashed him and picked up the little pee cup, he guessed what was happening and decided that he would not part with any body fluids today. I walked him three times and the dog that usually likes to mark every bush and pole chose to hold it. OK, I gave in and we went without a urine sample.

He greeted all the ladies at the office and hugged the doctor and distributed plenty of wet kisses. He even got on the table voluntarily for his exam. All was going well till the doctor put the tourniquet on his leg for a blood draw. Nope! High pitched unhappy noise came from him and he started squirming. The first stick was going OK till he jumped up and threw his head back hitting the tech in the jaw. OK, lets try again. We got another hold on him and started over. Nope! He started backing up and almost went off the table. Stick number two was no good. Well, Dr B is just as stubborn as Sebastian. We called in reinforcements to hold the squirmy boy. We put a muzzle on him to distract him and give him something to think about besides his leg and the doctor spent some time pinching his leg to desensitize it. When he said go I pinched Sebastian's nose to further distract him and this time we got the blood. When he got off the table, he got a treat, then went to sleep under the desk and snoozed thru the rest of the appointment.

Finally Fudge got on the table. What a difference. He laid quietly for his blood draw with just my hand on his shoulder. No dramatics. Fudge had a new bump that needed to be looked at. After his experience with skin cancer last year, any new bumps make me uneasy. This one is not serious and can wait to be removed next time he has a dental cleaning.

 There was some blood in his urine and we couldn't tell if the infection is in his bladder or his prostate, so we're using an antibiotic that will work for either. We're waiting to see if anything shows in his blood that might explain his change in eating habits. If nothing shows up we'll try treating his arthritis as he may be experiencing more pain than he's telling us about.

We all felt tired from Sebastian's antics and I was glad to get home, have some coffee and put my feet up for a few minutes.

 Sebastian was happy to get home and pee.