there were other stressful things going on today.

squirt and andy had their yearly shave off. i stayed and held them and Bark Ave not only did a great job but were very patient and kind with both of them. however, due to their poor social skills from being long term puppy mill dogs..they were both terrified despite the sedation. squirt bit the groomer many times but he has a soft mouth so he did not break the skin. andy however, does not inhibit his bite and she was bleeding from about 4 wounds before we got the muzzle on him. i felt badly for her and for both of them. next time i will have to increase the sedation dose, but due to squirts seizure condition, that is tricky..it may lower his seizure threshold.

the other worry today is jesse..he woke up lame today and could not weight bear on his back right leg. yesterday being the dick head that he is..he had june pinned to the floor in utter terror. i thought maybe he had pulled something when he was terrorizing her but tonight i am not so sure.

tonight i got him up to go outside to pee and he hopped out on three legs but when he came back in, he literally threw himself thru the doggy door on to the floor and then could not get up again. i tried to help him but he couldn't stand at all and i ended up using a towel under his belly to help him back up to his bed.

whenever a dog suddenly and dramatically loses the full use of one leg, i am always afraid of an unknown bone cancer that spontaneously fractured. it is too late to do anything about it tonight so i gave him some good pain control, tucked him comfortably into bed and called renee to get him into the vet first thing in the morning.

i am on early shift in the morning so the vets won't be open before i leave or i could have taken him in with me and dropped him off.

jesse is a really difficult dog (he came in with a cage muzzle)...he is also a really old dog..17 going on 18 pretty darn soon. and while i appreciate he still has the spunk to terrorize june..i think he should admit he is probably too old to do that anymore...without hurting himself.
i just hope the old foolish bully has only pulled something and not done something worse.

erin is off tomorrow and renee has to take jesse into the vets and still take care of the house, dionne is new to the mp building...Sooo..if anyone has any extra time and come and help them out, i am sure it will be greatly appreciated.

also, very sadly, we got an email today that caspar has passed away due to organ failure as a result of his diabetes. for those who may or may not remember..caspar was one of my little poodle shadows. i had to muzzle him twice a day to give him his insulin cuz he was a vicious little prick over getting poked. but the rest of the time, caspar was a lovely and very sweet dog. i am so glad he had the chance of a home of his own before he died.
rest in peace caspar...you were a great little dog, most of the time.