Every moment with my dogs is special.  And, as they age, I realize, all the more, what a gift it is that they’ve had reasonably healthy lives, so far.   When they do get sick, which seems to be more frequently of late, it’s very distressing…  Old age and health challenges come to us all, no matter our species or status.  It’s all in how they’re handled:  our own attitude as well as that of those who stick around and how they help see us through.  Earlier blog posts about this include:  Hat-Tricks and Hospital Waiting Rooms (November 5, 2008), Sick Pets and Veterinary Waiting Rooms (November 6, 2008) Home for the Holidays! Sick Puppy Alert: When Two Dogs are Better than One. (December 25, 2008).

Not to outdo Sage and myself, Lev had emergency surgery yesterday.  I’d noticed “the sneeze” for a couple of weeks.  It was intermittent and not like Sage’s—more like a human’s (she’s a bigger dog). It came in series, usually earlier in the day or later at night.  Her playing, eating, barking, walking/running, and bossing were unchanged, but her eyelids, especially over the last few days, started to look swollen (patches of flesh evident between her hairs)…

Sage and I had taken attention away from Lev, over recent months, with our own surgeries, and she had been our “rock.”  This gave me a niggling fear that Lev might not be indestructible herself.  Sometimes you just know…  Once Sage and I were more alert and able to resume semi-normal activities, I observed Lev more closely, taking her straight to the operating theater.  Something wasn’t quite right! “The Sneeze” was the signal…

Please be aware that vets who aren’t certified in animal dentistry can’t always be sure where sneezing can come from.  But, that said, and after-the-fact, even as a lay person, I’ve come to find this hard to comprehend…  In Sage’s case, Dr. Mason jumped to do an elaborate (and expensive) battery of general tests that could have been avoided.  If he’d followed Dr. Kneebone’s referral note’s suggestion to do dental XRays, we could have been saved a lot of grief.  After all, Dr. Kneebone’s deduction came as a result of numerous visits to her office, and homeopathic remedies (again, all at a price—financially and emotionally).  In retrospect, I fear that the “dance” may have continued, had I not screamed for conventional emergency help…  

After an unnecessarily drawn out and frustrating experience like the one Sage endured, you do not forget easily.  We paid Dr. Mason (heftily), but Pet Care did not reimburse us.  This had something do with the way in which Dr. Mason filled out the insurance claim form. It also had something to do with Pet Care’s policies and practices. (There will be more about this in a future blog post.)  We canceled our pet insurance and we won’t go back to Dr. Mason…

This time around, because of the Sage-experience, I bypassed "referring vets" (and related expenses) and went straight to Dr. Sharon French.  She is as kind as she is professional and considerate.  She understands how vet bills can mount up, unnecessarily, delaying appropriate and expedient treatment, and only did the essential.  Once Lev had had the dental Xrays, confirmation was given of what was wrong.  And, when the surgery began, it was even clearer what needed to be done.  Six abscessed teeth were extracted!

Yesterday afternoon, I made another batch of home-made dog food in anticipation of Lev’s homecoming.  She wasn’t ready till nine last night, and a very sad and sore little girl…  Sage is still wearing his lampshade.  (His post-surgery health issue will be discussed in a later blog post.)  He  came with me to get her, wagging his tail, a mile a minute, after a very mellow day.  He greeted her lampshade to lampshade, but she wasn’t interested.

Lev’s nose bled and her tail was down. I held her in my arms and she couldn’t look at me.  Just whimpered.  The drive home, I had her on my lap, lifeless.  Only when we turned into our street did her head pop up and she started to cry.  I lifted her from the car and she walked into the house.  Remarkably, she made it to her favorite spot, climbing tentatively onto the kitchen table, from where she didn’t move.  And, as for the homemade dog food, she wasn’t even interested in that…. With difficulty, I let her be.  

Taking her to bed with me, I held and stroked her through the night.  Her breathing was congested and the snoring kept me up.  Finally, she managed to pee this morning.  And, when I shed a tear, she licked my face.  Sage has backed off in the attention-seeking department.  He’s stable, for now.  Lev needs all our love, and she’s going to get it!

Other blog posts about Lev and Sage, and the canine-human bond and health matters, include:

• Lessons from 2008: Canine Confidence and Coincidence Cure (January 1, 2009)
• Home for the Holidays! Sick Puppy Alert: When Two Dogs are Better than One. (December 25, 2008)
• Homemade Dog Food: Synchronicity, Health, Quality (November 22, 2008)
• 48-Hours of Caring for Sick and Elderly. Sage Makin, Little Wonder-Dog’s Recovery in Images (November 10, 2008)
• One to One at Apple: Customer Satisfaction and Doggies Included (July 26, 2008)
• Older Dogs’ Health Watch (July 10, 2008)
• Artists Need Moral Support—and Caninekind Offers the Best (May 5, 2008)
• Veterinary Emergencies (April 2, 2008)
• Every Art Studio Needs a Watch-Dog (April 10, 2008)
• Sunbathing DOGS (March 12, 2008)