Katrinia rescues: Clint keeps two teeth

In addition to starting her "Snowball Effect" campaign, Phyllis DeGioia has taken two Katrina foster dogs into her home. In this report, Clint comes home from the veterinarian's:

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Great news for Clint! The veterinarian (same one who said Bella was so pretty and gave her a treat) was very hopeful about his condition. He thinks Clint is not deaf and that he's more like 10 years old than 16 (although no one can be sure because you usually use teeth and eyes as a gauge). Clint’s blood work is good, which is just amazing.

He still has two bottom teeth! The really gross part is that the two teeth that were removed were rotted and severely infected. The veterinarian said normally he has to crack through a jaw to get those teeth out but these were so bad that he just twirled them out with his fingers. I almost threw up thinking about it.

Clint’s prostate was enlarged, so the neutering should improve that. The veterinarian thinks that lots of moisturizing on Clint’s eyes will soften the cataracts and allow Clint to have some level of vision! He also thinks the turning left is obsessive/compulsive behavior related to vision loss, but I still suspect it's neurologic (the veterinarian hasn't seen Clint in full parade twirl, just turning around in his cage). It would be great if it was behavioral, though, because we can probably improve that more easily. I now have ointment for his eyes, two weeks of antibiotics, pain meds and instructions to use canned food -- so here I am bringing "crack" into the house to drive my dog Ginger wild.

He’s not exactly a happy camper this morning, but Clint should feel much, much better once he recuperates. The pain meds are easy to give because of that syringe, but the antibiotics should be given with food to prevent nausea, and he’s still not interested in food. I put a pill into a bit of canned food and basically shoved it into his mouth. It’s not enough food, but it’s better than nothing. He’s still not drinking. And despite everything, he refuses to roll over and give you his belly, even after anesthesia. Those moist towelettes sure come in handy when cleaning up little poodles with an attitude about belly exposure.

Allison was not at the veterinarian's yesterday so Bella still has no meds. I did get an e-mail from Allison (sent at 3 a.m. -- I don't know how she's functioning) saying Bella's records indicate she's on flea-control medication and asking if she still need antibiotics (yes, her cough is bad). Her itching is lessening so maybe it will be OK. Bella's becoming more outgoing, starting to play a bit with Ginger. This morning when I had Clint out trying to pee (no luck) the three of them sat together on the porch steps, a nice little pack.

Bella fell asleep on a friend’s knitting bag. Isn’t she cute?

Speaking of Clint and pee ... guess what happens when a poodle who has had fluids all day is sleeping on your lap/chest and you startle him? -- Phyllis DeGioia, editor, VeterinaryPartner.com