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Four years ago I adopted one of my dogs
knowing full well he had major dental problems. My vet and I discussed a
treatment plan and we both decided to wait until he had lived with me a few
months so he would be more comfortable with his surroundings. It was presumed
his teeth had been bad for years prior to his arrival at the shelter. No one
knew his history but it didn’t include dental care. However, someone loved this
dog and treated him lovingly. He has great manners and knows a number of basic
commands and is very polite and sweet. We think he may have had an older human
and perhaps the human died and the family dropped him off because they didn’t
want him or couldn’t have him. I wish they had taken the time to fill out an
info sheet.
The vet said it would be extensive and costly
the first time he did the procedure and he was right. The second time was
estimated to be less stressful and less costly. It was a bit more---of both. The
procedure was actually more invasive. He is the type of dog, and there are
humans with this problem, who has terrible dental problems inherent to his gene
pool. I’ve had friends who had root planing on a regular basis. I only have had
one small area with a gum issue and after the work was performed I’ve been fine
since. My poor dog.
So the first night was horrible but we are a
week post-surgery and he is almost back to normal. With each day I see improvement
and he is no longer on pain pills. That first night I felt I should have had
pain pills too. I slept on his large dog pillow with him every night for a few
days as he groaned and moaned and whimpered. He will NOT let me look in his
mouth. When I attempt to look at his mouth he politely moves his head and
firmly clamps his lips together. He gives me “the look.” Next week we go back
for his post-surgery check-up. I can’t wait to see her try to pry his mouth
open. He only has eleven teeth left so biting may not be an issue.
Two weeks before his surgery my daughter
moved into a new apartment. She had belongings stored in a public storage unit and
many in my garage. She lives about 20 miles away south of me now which makes
visits a 40 mile round trip and I did my best to help her but then my dog had
surgery and I was no longer able to help her with the stacks of boxes and
debris. She is still sorting through it all because of course she had to return
to work and I became a canine nurse.
Next, we discovered termites at my mom’s who
lives 60 miles in the opposite direction. There’ve been inspections and
appointments and phone calls and my mom doesn’t really understand any of it. We
have more to go on this project. I have a gas-friendly car though.
Finally, we’ve had beautiful sunny weather so
I hired someone to paint my house. First he had to deal with dry rot which was
about as bad as my dog’s gum disease. The painter eventually had to enlist the
assistance of his cousin, a dry rot expert, and they have been out there
banging and pounding and using screeching electrical equipment for two weeks
now. My little dog, the one who didn’t have the surgery, barks at them all day
and I’ve given up trying to stop her. I’ve barked a time or two myself.
Many problems have occurred along the way with
all these fun activities that have had to be resolved. I feel like a yo-yo. I
have only missed one blog posting since I started this operation back in March
of 2009 and this past week was my first week I couldn’t post anything. My head
was pounding and I couldn’t think. I’m barely back to thinking.
[No part of this content may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the
author. Blog series began in March 2009.]
