This is a bit of a follow up to my last post, since I know you have been holding your breath waiting to hear how my animals are all faring.
Omen's remaining teeth are all nice and clean for a mere $195. Yes, you caught that - remaining. When the vet called to tell me that Omen's dental cleaning had gone well, she said, "We didn't have to remove any more teeth." Um, we never had any of his teeth removed. "Oh, um, maybe he just lost them. You know, of old age." Great. Can anyone say foreshadowing?
Callie's appointment was less productive. We waited, remarkably calmly, if the truth be told, for almost 2 hours to see the animal opthamologist. I tatted (lace) and Callie dozed in her crate. We met a swan who had been abused by teenagers and been in rehab for 18 months. She was just getting some sight back in one eye. We met a 3 year old mastiff who had suddenly gone blind 2 months earlier for no apparent reason. There were numerous other dogs of various ages and conditions, universally loved and doted upon by their owners. It turned out the same vet tech from the vet clinic on base worked at this office as well. We see that all the time here. There seems to be a small circle of devout animal lovers who work themselves to the bone in multiple clinics, shelters and other animal services. Somehow this overworked woman recognized me and her demeanor changed immediately. I had followed up! She had obviously never expected us to take Callie to a specialist for care, but there we were, mere days after the first visit, so we must have acted immediately! I really think I earned her respect and perhaps gave her a little hope that day. Not only was she great at the appointment, but followed up with me over the phone, too. The doctor was nice enough, too, and competent, I'm sure. Everyone at the specialty clinic was. Unfortunately, they confirmed the Horner's diagnosis, and there's not much else to do about it. 3 hours of my life and $150 later (only 10 of which was the appointment), we'd gained nothing. In fact, we were just in time to pick Omen up at the other vet and pay them. Ugh.
Oh, and out of the blue today the dog decided to eat another child at the bus stop. I should stop saying that. He's never actually bitten anyone. But he snaps at people sometimes, and worse, sometimes he goes after people as if he would bite them if we weren't holding him back. We always keep him on a leash, except in dog parks and places like that, and 99% of the time, he's a calm, loving, submissive dog. We have no idea what sets him off sometimes! It's always men, or boys, we know that. But that's it so far. Regardless of why he freaks, it's never acceptable. If you have a Chihuahua and it attacks someone, they can fend it off. Yes, they can draw blood, but it will not be a major injury. If Orion attacks someone, he will cause some serious damage. We're talking court-order-to-kill-the-dog-immediately damage. So we can't risk even one grouchy, bad day. It's a real problem for owners of large dogs. The general opinion among all of the experts we've consulted so far is that I'm not a good alpha. Yes, apparently my rescued dog eats people sometimes and it's my fault. Like a mom needs more guilt. So the goal is to increase his exercise and dramatically increase my time training him one-on-one. And maybe get us both D.A.P. collars! But more on that later...
For now, rest assured the cats are well and the dog is well-fed.
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