May Flowers

After last weekend's storms, we've had lovely weather, though spring seems to have turned into summer overnight. Still we're enjoying a few May flowers in the yard.

I've been around over the past week and have read a lot of your blogs though I didn't have a chance to comment. I hope to correct that soon. It was a busy week. On Wednesday Tess, Lola and Norma Jean paid a visit to Dr B. It's always exciting when those three go together. They greeted everyone inside and examined the brochures and the waste baskets and checked out the dog food displays. They drank from the sink and looked into the storage closet. When the doctor walked in they greeted him with kisses.

Norma Jean volunteered to go first by jumping onto the table. Tess, who is highly competitive jumped up there with her  and not to be outdone, Lola got ready to join them. Dr B found it distracting to have all three girls on the table at the same time and we recruited someone to come hold two of them.

Norma Jean is a big strong girl with lots of muscle from jumping and swimming.  Her teeth, ears, eyes and coat all look good. Her weight is perfect at 62 pounds. The little growth on her shoulder is nothing to worry about and we're watching a small growth on her leg. It's not dangerous but it's location could be a problem. While the doctor examined her, she was busy cleaning his ear and she even held fairly still for her blood draw. Lab reports are back and are perfect.

Lola went next. She weighed in at 61.5 pounds which is perfect for her. She has less muscle than her sister but is in good condition. Teeth are pretty good, just need a bit more chewing and brushing. Ears and eyes are fine. No lumps and no signs of joint problems. Lola had a very hard time standing still to have her blood drawn and it took two techs to hold her while I talked to her and dug my fingernail into her nose to distract her. It worked and her blood report was perfect, too.

Finally it was Tess's turn and she suddenly wasn't so bold. She stood very still for her exam. No lumps or bumps and her eyes and ears looked fine. Tess has defects in her front legs and back. It's from the growth plates not growing at the same rates when she was little. She has a very strange looking walk with her front legs far apart and her feet turned out, but she's our most active dog, running and jumping and retrieving a ball or frisbee. She has some arthritis in her front legs and this time the arthritis in her wrists was worse. Still, she never complains and we're trying to keep her comfortable with glucosamine and fish oil. We'll increase both as her condition worsens and eventually we'll go to an arthritis drug to help with any pain. We're keeping her weight down, 56 pounds to relieve the joints. For now she's happy. She stood nicely for the blood draw and her report was also perfect.

Friday we went back again with Bailey, Morgan and Noah. Morgan went first. She has a checkup every six months because of her age. She's doing pretty well. Her weight is good at 43 pounds and her eyesight has stayed about the same. Her hearing isn't so good but we can't decide how much she hears and how much she just ignores us. She's a lumpy old girl but most are just fatty with a few sebaceous cysts mixed in. Her arthritis is a bit worse and we're adjusting her meds a little to make her more comfortable. Her lab reports will be back tomorrow and we don't expect much of a change from last time.

Next it was Bailey's turn. She weighed in at 61 pounds and the doctor suggested that she lose two or three pounds.  She was in good shape overall but I told him about her favoring her right front leg and he checked it closely. He thinks she has a shoulder injury that is painful. We discussed diet and medication to give her some relief. Everything else checked out well and she even stood quietly for her blood draw. That's a first, we usually have to struggle with her. Dr B commented that she seems to have matured a bit.

Finally it was Noah's turn. He's doing pretty well. I was hoping that he'd gained some weight but the scales still read 48 pounds. We'd like to see him hit 50, but he actually feels like there's a little more dog there so the doc was pleased. He checked out well and we'll add a little more olive oil to his meals and keep on the same diet.

Now that most of my dogs are seniors, I have to anticipate old dogs problems but this time the reports were all good except for Fudge. He'll have surgery on Tuesday, then it will be about a week before we have the pathology report and know exactly what we're dealing with. 

I'm very glad that week is over. Now back to those flowers.