Trip to the vet

Well, today is my third day as a stay-at-home mom-to-be. It is so wonderful. :) I’ve gotten some things done around the house and spent some time with our children. And of course, I’ve gotten some much-needed rest. Since I am at home, I will now take care of taking the animals to the vet, meeting repair people at our house, and things like that. This morning was a vet run. Mollie and Andre had to go the groomer. Daisy also needed to go to the vet for her annual exam, vaccinations, etc. But because Daisy and Mollie are big and not easy to control, Ray took Daisy and Andre in his vehicle. I drove Mollie. Mollie isn’t the greatest back seat rider. She has a strong desire to sit in the front seat. Anyway, we made it there. Ray handed Mollie and Andre over to the girl and left for work. I stayed with Daisy for her 8:00 appt with the doctor.

A few minutes later, we got called to go back in a room. The doctor came in a few seconds later. The first thing he did was draw some blood so he can get her heartworm test going. The doctor asked me to help by holding her head. I didn’t mind. Instead of just holding her head, I wanted to stroke it and talk to her. In the corner of my eye, I saw the needle toward her arm. It wasn’t bad though because I couldn’t see the needle go in. Her fur covered it up. But within a few seconds, I saw that dark red blood filling the syringe. I thought, “Wow…this is not pleasant. Please hurry. Please hurry. Please hurry.” Finally, it was over. I told Daisy how she handled it better than me!

Next, the doctor did her exam. He checked her teeth, her eyes, etc. When he got to her ears, he discovered a good bit of wax in her left ear. He cleaned it. It wasn’t a pleasant sight, but earwax doesn’t really bother me. He ran a test on it. Turns out, she has a little yeast infection in it. He gave me some drops to put in her ear twice a day. She’ll be feeling better in no time, I’m sure. Anyway, he then checked her paws, listened to hear heart, felt her stomach, etc. All looked and felt good, he said.

I asked him if a tech or someone is available to trim her nails. He said he would be glad to do it. Again, I held her head and talked to her. When he lifted her leg, of course, she resisted. But in the end, she knew he’d win. So, she gave in some. I know a dog feels pressure when their nails are cut but no pain – unless they are cut to short. Dogs have 20 nails! And after the first two, she and I were both frustrated. It is so noisy. It is a big loud blow every time one is cut off! As I stood there holding her, I thought of how uncomfortable she must be….and I heard that continual POW! POW! POW! All of the sudden, my stomach got very weak. Within a minute or so, the doctor said, “Okay Daisy! We’re finished!” I looked down on the table and saw some blood. With florescent spots flying around my head, I said, “I think one got cut too short. There is blood on the table”. As the light began to turn to darkness, I sat down on the bench next to the table Daisy was on. While he gave her the shots she needed, I held her head from the bench I was sitting on. Of course, I was so busy thinking how it would suck if Ray had to come pick me and Daisy up from the vet that I didn’t offer her much support while she got her shots (the worst part of the exam).

After the doctor left the room for the final time, Daisy and I gathered up our things very slowly. I tried to even fool Daisy. I didn’t want her to know her mom is a weakling, but I think she was on to me! ;)

An added tidbit: When I walked back into the vet reception area, I saw Jennifer, a receptionist I know pretty good that has been there a while. She asked me how Daisy’s exam was. I told her she got her shots and has a little yeast infection in her ear. Then she said, “How are you?” Not knowing if she was being nice like usual or if she had noticed my ghost white appearance, I said, “Good. Ray and I are pregnant!” She said, “Oh wow! Congratulations to ya’ll! That is exciting! So, how are you feeling?” I said, “Okay. Well, I just got real weak in there when I saw blood on the table from Daisy’s nail that got cut to short”. She smiled and said, “Oh really? I remember getting real weak with certain things when I was pregnant”. A few minutes later, the conversation was still about being pregnant but had slightly changed direction. I said, “Ray and I have been married for 5 years. We thought we’d want kids one day, but for so long, it wasn’t in our immediate plan. We were enjoying our time alone and doing fun stuff. But in the last year or so, it became part of regular conversation. We knew it was the right time”. That’s when she said, “Oh, it was planned?” I said, “Yes!” She said, “That’s good.” In her defense, she is not like those who had given up on us. She doesn’t know us that well. But she does know that our animals are our children. She probably just thought we’d be one of those couples that would not ever make room for human children because we make our lives all about us and our pets. As soon as I left the vet, I instant messaged Ray to tell him Jennifer said Congratulations on our big news…and that she also asked if it was planned! His response was “FUNNY!” We get a kick out of discovering just how many we had fooled! :)

~"Tish"