Rescue Journal

Crappy vet day.

Alison  ·  Sep. 12, 2006

Bill went in to have his abcessed tooth checked...Nicole found the bad tooth, I already knew about the bony mass on his cheek...which I was hoping to ignore. Anyway, the vet figures the tooth abcessed as the mass moved into the gum line creating more pressure. It does not look good, we did some bloodwork to check his calcium levels which may tell us if it is cancerous and how significant it is. He has lost 33 pounds in the last year, I was stunned, I knew he was going down as he is way more active now, than he was with all the field runs lately, but 33 pounds?? that scares me. Bill is pushing 17 years old...we don't do surgeries on 17 year old labs if we can help it. I was quite happy to ignore that mass as it was causing him no pain, and chances are that something is going to end his life sooner than later. But now that tooth is going to become painful, and it needs to come out. They might as well try to remove the mass, while they are in there. The vet says the surgery itself is a no-brainer, the trick will to be to make sure Bill wakes up from the sedation. Even a best case scenario is going to suck. Assuming Bill does fine with the surgery and wakes up again without trouble, there will be at least a 2 week healing process which means no field runs and toddering about eating horse poop. That is Bill's very favorite thing to do. When you are as old as Bill, 2 weeks of missing out on your very favorite things can literally be a lifetime.

We went to Mcdonalds after the vet's and Bill had a cheeseburger and a junior chicken sandwich, he is home now and having a nap because that was a long, long day for him. Bill has been with me for many years, he was one that no one would ever adopt. Six years ago, everyone said he was too old and he wasn't. Now he is and I don't want him to be this old. I want him to stay exactly like he is, no more weight loss, no more grey hairs, no more aging before my eyes. i gotta teach that dog to freeze time and just stay like he is now, forever.

Comments

Sheila

Maybe next time you are in there you can ask for copies of your invoices and payments. They need your permission verbally or in writting to give me your records.

Carol

i booked his surgery for next wednsday...i am working 12 hour shifts for the next 4 days, then dave is away for 3 weeks (who I wanted to do the surgery) but Sue is at the clinic on wednsday and I am quite comfortable with her expertise with our most precious and very ancient one...oh! and here is my vet chuckles for the last couple of days...the other day i saw a dog come out of the exam room who was vaguely familiar. i said "i know that dog" and the man said, "she is one of yours"...it was cleo who i only had for a couple for weeks before her adoption many years ago (she was in for a recheck after a cancerous tumour removal)...anyway, this is the funny part...when i went in to talk to the vet, i said, "hey, that was one of my dogs"...he looked at me and shook his head and said "half the defective dogs in Maple Ridge are your dogs" the other funny thing was when i was in there today, we were talking about all the weird and interesting health issues our animals always have. he said "oh yeah, if it is wrecked, wierd, and going to be a headache, we know it belongs to you." I told him that the only reason he is such a good vet is because of all the really interesting things he has gotten to learn from our animals. I think this is true, he should be grateful.

Mo

Bill's tough he'll be fine , I just know it ! Carol when is he going in ?... and Rae... uh... no need to stockpile poop at SAINTS , there's a constant supply & several 4 legged, hooved types willing to supply as much as we want .. or don't want : - )

Carol

absolutely right deb!!! he has no idea he is almost 17...i am down grading his age to 10 again, then we can have at least another 7 more years. haha...the dogs always believe me when i tell them something cuz they think i am pretty darn smart.

Deb

Just fill the wheelbarrow full of manure again, but try to refrain from bathing in it this time, and save it for Bill. He has no clue what 17 means, Carol. He loves you, he loves his life, every pain free day is a gift to both of you. May Saint Bill live until he decides he no longer wants to. Good thoughts going your way, Carol.

Jean

Aw, poor Bill. The old gentleman will miss his poopfeasts - but I'm sure he'll more than make up for it when he has recovered from the surgery. Hang in there Bill!
By the time you are better, maybe the mudhole that we call a pond will actually have some water in it again.

Rae

Poor old Bill, he's such a trooper. Carol you won't have to worry about him losing any more weight if you keep taking him to McDonalds for lunch, lucky dog. It's hard to watch our good friends grow old, they become an extention of yourself and everything good in your life. Maybe you can stock pile some poop for him and he can have a feast when he's all healed. Give him a big hug for me!!!!

Leila

Here is hoping that Bill has 2 weeks of no field runs and 2 weeks of no toddering about eating horse poop. Come on Bill you can do it.

nicole

i'm sorry it didn't go any better at the vets, but atleast bill got some mcdonalds out of it.