....amputated! About three months ago we took him in to have his teeth cleaned and pointed out to the vet that he had growth on his tail. She said not to worry about it. Well, the last two weeks, the swelling increased and it really started looking gross! Faye....as usual...told me I better take him into the vet today to check it out. She said she felt they would cut his tail off. I really hated the thought of his losing his tail, but remembered that some breeds get their tails and ears "cropped" when they are puppies. But the idea of one of my "children" getting the ax really didn't appeal to me.
So I loaded the 4 dogs into the car for a trip to the vets office. 3 of them travel with me daily as I'm doing all my attorney service stops, and I thought it would be fun to be with his children as we make one stop where they all take a walk at one attorneys office. Faye says it's like them going to Disneyland as they have so much fun there.
So when we arrive, I took Trapper out for a quick walk on a grassy area before he had to go inside to see the vet. He hasn't been to the vet often enough to be afraid of what lied ahead. He went right in and jumped on the scale to check his weight. We then were told to go into waiting room #2. When my other dogs who had been there plenty get into the waiting room, they tend to want to jump on my lap for safety. Trapper didn't know any better so he just walked around the room and pawed the door to get out.
Finally the vet made her entrance and she took one look at his tail and said..."no good"! Just what I wanted to hear. I reminded her that he had been there months ago and she said it didn't look bad at the time. She said she thought the tail had to come off....and that threw me a little as I thought it might be able to be drained. No way she said. When I asked her what's the worse that can happen, she told me that eventually it would split open and he would bleed all over the house. So what I thought. Better than having is tail chopped off. She said it might be cancerous, and I asked her how she knew that? She told me that if they had to do a biopsy, that it would cost around $300 and then they might have to remove the tail anyway. Now remember, I'm sticking up for my "son" here and don't want to see him get his tail chopped off for no reason. When she saw that I was hesitant, she said that maybe she should call Faye...the weak link....who I swear has Munchousen Syndrome when it comes to her babies. I knew what Faye was going to say as she already decided he had to have his tail amputated. I could here the vet talking to her from her office and the tail was getting chopped off. Poor Trapper.
So when the vet came back into the waiting room, I reluctantly gave up his leash as she was going to lead him back to the operating room. She told me she would call me when I could pick him back up.
I rode around all day and when we reached "Disneyland" all the dogs got out for their usual walk and I couldn't stop thinking about how much Trapper would have enjoyed being with his son and daughters at Disneyland.
Finally the call came to pick him up and fortunately I was only about 3 miles away. I don't know how your vets work, but this one you have to settle up before they make a call to the back to bring your dog out. First they make one call after they hand you the bill, and then there's a 2nd call to bring the dog out. Since Trapper now needed one of those collars to prevent him from biting in his tail area...or anywhere else. The bill came to $450....YIKES....and luckily I had all the meds at home so I didn't have to pay for any of those so it reduced my payout! I told the vet last time I saw her that I should keep her on retainer for all the money I spend there every year. I mean every time I get their teeth done it cost $350 a pop. Multiply that by 6 dogs and it costs a lot every year for their upkeep!
Now when I get home, Faye has already decided that Trapper shouldn't be around the rest of the dogs so they won't bother him and he can get some rest, so she was having Tommy...our dog sitter...take him to a motel for a few days so he can rest in peace....not the wrong way....and not be bothered by his children.
So Tommy and Trapper are now residing in a motel in Carlsbad, CA for the next few days. I guess I was fortunate to have won $125 on 3 California scratchers last night. Now only if I could hit the PowerBall for $214 million tonight. Well I hope Trapper rests comfortably tonight and isn't in too much pain. He just turned 13 last month and all his children are only 6 months younger. It sure is going to be tough when I start losing my "babies". It will be like sticking a knife in my heart each time one of them dies. Some of you will remember my thread on losing my Gypsy Rose 4 years ago on the 22nd of February.
So I loaded the 4 dogs into the car for a trip to the vets office. 3 of them travel with me daily as I'm doing all my attorney service stops, and I thought it would be fun to be with his children as we make one stop where they all take a walk at one attorneys office. Faye says it's like them going to Disneyland as they have so much fun there.
So when we arrive, I took Trapper out for a quick walk on a grassy area before he had to go inside to see the vet. He hasn't been to the vet often enough to be afraid of what lied ahead. He went right in and jumped on the scale to check his weight. We then were told to go into waiting room #2. When my other dogs who had been there plenty get into the waiting room, they tend to want to jump on my lap for safety. Trapper didn't know any better so he just walked around the room and pawed the door to get out.
Finally the vet made her entrance and she took one look at his tail and said..."no good"! Just what I wanted to hear. I reminded her that he had been there months ago and she said it didn't look bad at the time. She said she thought the tail had to come off....and that threw me a little as I thought it might be able to be drained. No way she said. When I asked her what's the worse that can happen, she told me that eventually it would split open and he would bleed all over the house. So what I thought. Better than having is tail chopped off. She said it might be cancerous, and I asked her how she knew that? She told me that if they had to do a biopsy, that it would cost around $300 and then they might have to remove the tail anyway. Now remember, I'm sticking up for my "son" here and don't want to see him get his tail chopped off for no reason. When she saw that I was hesitant, she said that maybe she should call Faye...the weak link....who I swear has Munchousen Syndrome when it comes to her babies. I knew what Faye was going to say as she already decided he had to have his tail amputated. I could here the vet talking to her from her office and the tail was getting chopped off. Poor Trapper.
So when the vet came back into the waiting room, I reluctantly gave up his leash as she was going to lead him back to the operating room. She told me she would call me when I could pick him back up.
I rode around all day and when we reached "Disneyland" all the dogs got out for their usual walk and I couldn't stop thinking about how much Trapper would have enjoyed being with his son and daughters at Disneyland.
Finally the call came to pick him up and fortunately I was only about 3 miles away. I don't know how your vets work, but this one you have to settle up before they make a call to the back to bring your dog out. First they make one call after they hand you the bill, and then there's a 2nd call to bring the dog out. Since Trapper now needed one of those collars to prevent him from biting in his tail area...or anywhere else. The bill came to $450....YIKES....and luckily I had all the meds at home so I didn't have to pay for any of those so it reduced my payout! I told the vet last time I saw her that I should keep her on retainer for all the money I spend there every year. I mean every time I get their teeth done it cost $350 a pop. Multiply that by 6 dogs and it costs a lot every year for their upkeep!
Now when I get home, Faye has already decided that Trapper shouldn't be around the rest of the dogs so they won't bother him and he can get some rest, so she was having Tommy...our dog sitter...take him to a motel for a few days so he can rest in peace....not the wrong way....and not be bothered by his children.
So Tommy and Trapper are now residing in a motel in Carlsbad, CA for the next few days. I guess I was fortunate to have won $125 on 3 California scratchers last night. Now only if I could hit the PowerBall for $214 million tonight. Well I hope Trapper rests comfortably tonight and isn't in too much pain. He just turned 13 last month and all his children are only 6 months younger. It sure is going to be tough when I start losing my "babies". It will be like sticking a knife in my heart each time one of them dies. Some of you will remember my thread on losing my Gypsy Rose 4 years ago on the 22nd of February.
