The Value of a Dog Named Gus

Another exhaustive week is coming to an end.  On Monday what I thought was an infected hot-spot on Gus's back leg, turned out to be an infected pressure sore (or bed-sore) instead. I will begin by saying that it's very rare that I can't see one of my two favorite vets.  But since Gus couldn't wait until one of them could, I decided to take him to the vet that treated CarrieAnne for the lump on her neck. He'd taken such good care of Carrie, and in similar circumstances I've taken our other dogs to see him.  "Dr. X" is, in my opinion a very good and thorough vet, with confidence and experience and I respect and trust his professional judgement.  It ends there.  And I will begin by saying that I know that Gus has many health concerns, some of which will never be resolved and I know that his time with us is limited.  Which is partly why I left the office feeling discouraged and without much hope that was triggered because of what I felt was Dr. X's "attitude" towards Gus.  When those clouds cleared, I remembered why it was that I preferred not to take my senior dogs to him.  Dr. X, in my opinion, (I may be wrong) does not see the "worth" of a dog like Gus. All week long I've struggled with caring for Gus's infected, open wound, feeling that he (Dr. X) could have and should have done more to help Gus. All week long I struggled because I wanted to prove to him that Gus would indeed live to see the start of next week. All week long I kept seeing the value in trying to help a dog like Gus. But by Friday, I felt like I may be losing that battle and I knew Gus needed to be seen again.  I was relieved when Cissy and Cricket's vet could see him.  There is no doubt that Dr. C sees what I see in a dog like Gus.  It truly showed in how she interacted with Gus and how she patiently listened to my thoughts and concerns.  She has come up with a good, workable treatment plan that I feel is going to help the sore to heal, which I will tell you more about later.

Finally, I just have to tell you that in the rush of my week I didn't need yet another proverbial wrench thrown into it. But as you well know, you don't always get that choice.  I will spare you the details of why and how it happened, and just tell you that I tripped going down the steps at my office on Thursday and I have fractured my ankle. It's now a beautiful color of purple with no sign of an ankle bone and there is something that vaguely resembles the foot and toes I've known my whole life. Thankfully I can put some weight onto it, but the doctor told me to stay off of it as much as possible.  I do enjoy a doctor with a good sense of humor! The way it looks right now, these chairs on my porch are going to remain empty for awhile.

But I do hope you are able to relax and enjoy your weekend!