Sophie had been doing something strange the last few days - rubbing her lower back on the bars of her crate (the doors are left open and are used as dog beds). Because we are barely holding our ground in the Flea Wars, I assumed she was scratching her lower back - a spot she cannot reach any other way, being shaped like a beetle. Yesterday, I noticed to my horror that she had scraped all the hair off her tiny heiney, and looked like a baboon.
That was only the start of my horror. Today, her little butt was swollen and distended. Yup, dog people are already nodding wisely - impacted anal glands. Called vet. At first they said they had nothing today, but as I described her pitiful state, God bless them, they squeezed me in (no pun intended, dog people).
$85 dollars later, one gland was successfully expressed, the other is still bulging, she's on an antibiotic and the beloved standard, Prednisone, and we will go back on Thursday morning to express the other, if it doesn't take care of itself. Tonight I will place Her Royal Heineyness on a towel beside me on the couch, and apply warm compresses to her tiny backside. Fortunately, after many years of working in corporate legal departments, applying warm moist towels to a dog's ass seems like career advancement.
Oh, and the dying cat decided he's not dying yet, and I can't look into his alert, interested little face and hurry him along, because he may be right.
Oh, the delights and joys of the canine anal glands. Pekes seem to be very prone to that sort of trouble. Really nasty if it gets to the abcess stage..... We actually developed a routine, in which every Peke was checked out about twice a year - hold warm compress to the area for a few moments, then a fresh (and, ahem, thick) pad, and gently massage and squeeze. Maintenance only.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to Boris - alert and interested is GOOD. Tickle his chin for me, please.
Gae, in Callala Bay
Oh lordy, what a mess--not what you were expecting, eh? Poor Sophie, but she'll probably love all the attention from you. And I'm glad to hear Boris is perking up, that's good news!
ReplyDeleteHave been so worried about Boris! Glad he's better today. I am sorry to hear about poor little Sophie girl, though. Fortunately, that's a common (albeit unpleasant) problem and shouldn't cost your thousands to research and find out what it is! I had to laugh at the idea of her back end looking like a baboon! Poor little baby!
ReplyDeleteTeresa
Honestly, yesterday morning I could barely stand to look at her poor little butt - picture two angry red protruding eggs. I mean small chicken eggs, not little bitty birdie eggs, on an 11 lb. dog. Horrible. Even the vet techs winced when they saw it, and wouldn't touch her until the vet saw her. Today, one is nearly down all the way, and the other is half the size it was yesterday, and the redness is gone. I do hope that she won't be prone to this, because, UGH.
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