Saturday, January 24, 2015

A Week Of Silence!

 Both blog pages lay silent this week as I dealt with life's little curve balls. I missed all my computer classes and have barely left the house unless it was to visit the Drs office, time after time. This time it wasn't Mom and it wasn't the hubby it was Domino. The Dr office I was visiting over and over again was the Veterinary office. 

  My feet were barely on the floor Monday morning when the day started going wrong. I noticed Domino was just laying there with no energy and when he rolled over I saw a suspicious spot on his hind left hind haunch. A closer look showed me that Domino had ripped his hair out creating a spot the size of a silver dollar and he was gnawing at the spot making it raw, red, and bleeding. For months now both dogs had been licking, scratching, and chewing at themselves much more than what is normal, but nothing like this. 
  It would be two hours before the vet we used would be open so we put Domino on lock down not allowing him out of our sight so he could no longer chew. That accomplishment was much harder than it sounds. Domino was determined to chew that spot. After what seemed like an eternity it was at long last 9:00 AM and I was on the phone to the vet. A blessing I didn't know I was getting came with that phone call. The Vet didn't have an opening for my poor baby, much to my annoyance. I did some searching on line and found a vet that sounded like our kind of person and I gave the office a call I was told to bring him right over. The vet Domino had been seeing couldn't fit him in even for an emergency, but a Vet we had never been to understood the need to get Domino seen and treated right away. When we got to the office we were shown right to a room and the Vet Tech was with us in seconds asking questions and taking notes. She reassured us that everything would be okay and that the Dr would be in soon.  
 When the Dr came in the room the first impression she gave us was stellar. She greeted Domino with a friendly petting and a quick look over then she greeted the hubby and I with a friendly hello and a warm handshake.  The second impression was even better, she didn't ask the same questions over again that we had just been asked by her tech assistant. Instead she started the conversation with solutions to Domino's issue and answers to the questions we had asked. It was so refreshing to have your voice heard the first time.
 Did you know there is an RX dog food? Nope I didn't. That was the first thing we heard about, not fleas and flea dirt. The vet we had been using stuck to a diagnosis of fleas even with no evidence what so ever of there being any fleas. She just kept selling us different flea treatments and skin calming shampoos.  It turns out there is hypo allergic food for dogs and that food allergies are the second most common reason for scratching and chewing.Parasites were also talked about and tests set up to make sure the boys, Getty as well as Domino didn't have any. Once a course of action was decided upon, Domino's hot spot was treated with a steroid patch that needed to remain undisturbed until the spot had healed. Feeling confident that Domino had just gotten some very good medical care and that at long last the itching and discomfort was about to end we left the Vets office. We were armed with the cone of shame and a RX for 17 pounds of dog food. 
   I am not going to lie Hubby and I almost fainted when we saw the price. 5.00 a pound is pretty pricey, but we figured if it worked it would be worth the price. I do have to say at this point we were both hoping forParasites. It wasn't Parasites. 
 Tuesday passed uneventful for Domino. He did his best to get comfortable and rest with the cone on his head. 


We got into the habit of taking the cone off when we would walk Domino, other than that the cone stayed on. Domino and I took a ride in the afternoon  to drop off samples at the vets for parasite testing. I was hoping that would be the last trip to the vet for a while anyway. Nope.
  Wednesday Domino was being so good not fussing with his hotspot when the cone was off, and the food seemed to be helping both boys, the scratching had calmed way down. We decided to let Domino hang out without the cone as long as he stayed in the same room as us. With out thinking I let Domino go in the back yard with out the cone and no supervision. Not even 5 minutes had passed when I hear the Hubby yelling at Domino to stop. We get Domino in the house and sure enough he had the entire patch chewed off and the area is all raw and bleeding. I get the on the phone and talk to the Vet Tech.  Yep you know it we were going back to the vet but not until Thursday afternoon. 
  I swear Domino knew what he had done because when he came in his head was hanging low and he walked straight to the cone. No more breaks for Domino he would wear the cone at all times now until the area completely healed. 

  Thursday afternoon we go back to the Vet and lucky for us the area was healing well enough not to require another patch. Domino gets a treat and we happily walked out of the office.
 It is now Saturday afternoon and Domino is cone free, he and Getty are also itch free. When they scratch now it is the normal doggie thing and not the constant can't get any relief itch. 

  So you see the first call to our old Vet really was a blessing. Their inability to fit Domino in when he needed immediate attention led to me finding a Vet that cared more about Domino and finding a solution that would work to make him comfortable once more, than selling me products and doggie insurance. Not only are the Rancocas Veterinary Associates caring good Drs, they are also fair when it comes  to the price. The food is costly true but the bill we were handed at the end of all this  was much less than I expected. Affordable good medical care for my boys. That my friends is a very big blessing to me.

2 comments:

  1. I get emails when you post your blog and today I get "It's All About The Food". I couldn't help but laugh - dog food. We are so lucky that living here in the high desert of California we have no fleas. Yes you read that right, no fleas. The climate here is dry and without humidity the fleas can't survive.

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    1. Really my old title came up? Cool. No fleas must mean happy dogs in the California desert. We get fleas here for sure and tics but we are on top of preventive measures all year long. I knew I was right and the boys problems wasn't fleas. So happy to have the answer at last.

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