True Cissy Fashion

Off to a early and frosty start Saturday  morning for the first vet appointment of the day which was for Shadow at 8 AM.  Shadow is a healthy dog and came to us fully vetted.  But different vets offices have different protocols and looking over his records, there were a couple of things that I wanted Shadow checked for that he hadn't been. One was for lyme disease.  The deer-ticks that carry it are really a problem in our part of Virginia, and all of our dogs, with the exception of Todd have tested positive and have been treated for it at one time or another.  Shadow is now part of the gang because he tested positive for lyme disease. He's now on an antibiotic and will be just fine.  I am also a big believer that you can never have too much identification on a dog, and so I also had him micro-chipped; so now if (and hopefully never) I lose 'my Shadow' this is another way he'll be able to find his way home.

The vet practice that I go to has two offices, so after Shadow's visit, we were off to see Cissy's vet at the other office.  Her appointment was only supposed to be for blood work and to talk about her skin problems.  Unfortunately it took a turn when I noticed her ear was looking a little 'wonky' and it was because of an aural hemotoma.  (For those of you who don't know, an aural hematoma is when blood collects under the skin of the ear flap).  Hopefully the drain that was put into her ear and the warm compresses that will need to be done twice daily will work and allow it to heal, and help us to avoid her having to have surgery. But Cissy shows her age at times like this and was really tired by the time we got home.  In the early evening, I found her shivering on the sofa, which was an odd place for her. A pain pill, and a warmed blanket from the dryer made a difference and Cissy slept for the rest of the evening.  This morning she whined when I began the compresses on her still very tender ear.  I found myself apologizing to her and I paused for a moment to explain to her why they have to be done.  When our eyes met, she stopped whining as if she fully understood.  In true Cissy fashion, I think she does.