November 9, 2017

When Zsofia met Dr. Skains

White Dog and Zsofia went to see Dr. Julia on Tuesday. WD because she was still struggling with swallowing and had an intermittent cough; Zso for her wellness exam.

White Dog for reasons unknown is terrified of vet visits. She trembles and softly cries. I must hold her tightly in my arms and keep a continuous stream of whispered conversation flowing into her ear which is pressed as close to me as she can force herself. I hate to see her so stressed, and Dr. Julia  handles the exam while WD stays in my arms. Today, however, blood work was needed and they wanted to do a quick throat culture so the Little White Dog of My Heart was taken back to the lab. Zsofia sang at the top of her voice to reassure her sister that we would be waiting right here.

But momma, I do NOT want to go see Dr. Julia. If we go will you hold me tight like this?

Zsofia suspiciously looked at the lift/exam table and then agreed to hop up...as long as Steve stood right next to her. Dr. Julia poked and pressed and opened her mouth. Zso presented an embarrassing display of vocal drama that several times made our beloved vet pause to laugh. I am sure the entire office could follow along. All was good. Zso was advised to eat more veggies as she was on the upper limit of good weight...and to chew more. Her teeth are healthy but a bit of plaque is building at the back molars. "Besides," Dr. Julia told Steve, "chewing will make her feel more full." This was in response to Steve's almost defensive response to his Itty Bitty Baby's weight. We drew blood to update her puppy baseline.

White Dog tried to crawl behind me when she returned from the lab. In her excited state the vet got to hear the cough. She relistened to WD's lungs. "It is probably just an upper respiratory tract infection so I'm going to give her an antibiotic shot but I want to send out the blood to make sure it is not kennel cough, a virus, or Valley fever. We have had a few cases here recently."

Zsofia was still singing her story to our vet who reached down and ruffled her furs. "And this one is healthy but I can tell a little spoiled." Zso responded, "Woo WOO (yeah, so?) and pushed her head under Steve's hand. Dr. Julia laughed. "I wonder by whom?"

The bloodwork came back all well. White Dog's liver number is slightly on the high end of the acceptable range, a normal part of  aging. I heard the doctor flipping pages. "Oh my, I did not realize she is going to be THIRTEEN in December. Where has the time flown?" She suggested that we add milk thistle to WD's regimen.

Once WD is past the infection (in 10 days or so) we will call and schedule a tooth cleaning...the first ever for my girl...until now none have been needed. Dr. Julia said, "Tell Siku that getting old is a LOT of fussing. Tell her I know firsthand."  "BOTH of us," I agreed looking down at White Dog sleeping next to me. "And Zsofia cannot even begin to imagine. Bless the vigor of youth."