March 27, 2018

White Dog nuzzled her sister and wished her luck. Nilla was heading to Dr. Julia's for a followup to her traumatic accident of ten days ago. She had been seen by Dr. Julia's associate as an emergency; now our beloved vet wanted to see the progress and assess the situation with her own eyes.

One the day of the accident

The wounds on the top of our girl's head have totally healed and she has duckling down growing on the shaved area which is surrounded by the discolored fur caused by the antibiotic gel. We got an "all clear" that Nilla can be bathed and trimmed up a bit.

The fact that the throat injury will have scar tissue made me glad that it was hard to see and that my beautiful classic girl would not need to wear tall lace collars to conceal...she is NOT a big fan of clothes. Nilla was not thrilled when with the vet's approval, Steve put her regular collar and tags back around her neck...we had taken and kept it off while she was healing. We will continue to watch this area as the skin is still pink and hair is slow in returning.

Next, Dr. Julia ran her hands over Nilla's shaved belly and haunches. Her furs had been removed during the Emergency Treatment to check for other possible wound sites. It is impossible to get a clear view under my girl's double coat of hair. We found no injuries but Dr. Julia noted the skin texture was "off" and that Nilla seemed sensitive to the touch. Further examination revealed a bacterial infection. "Not from the trauma," our vet explained. "older ladies get susceptible to outbreaks like this and Nilla, at what 19, is vulnerable. We are going to switch the antibiotic she was on that does not seem to have helped this and I want you to spray her tummy a couple of times a day with Vetericyn spray. And I want to see her next week." And with that Nilla got a gentle pet from the vet.

"And how is the culprit?" she asked. "Oh, you will meet Roman VERY soon," I told her. "Right now we are working to make him feel safe and to establish boundaries. His damaged leg will be a challenge for you but he is young and otherwise healthy I think." "Unlike this sweet girl. You know I am not getting younger so you could lighten up the challenges you bring me." Steve laughed. ""We are not spring chickens either, remember. But we do what is needed. All of us."