Poor, Poor Red Dog

The patient convalesces.

My poor baby!!

He's super out of it. For starters, Big RD never does anything in half measures. The tooth he broke off fence fighting with houseguest Mona was the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. The piece I found on the floor was the only piece which was intact. The rest of it was cracked and fissured into a kajillion pieces below the gum line, which necessitated a prolonged surgery to remove all the hunks - because any chunks of tooth left behind could cause an abscess. So the poor guy was under for a long time while the patient and awesome Dr. Shaw at Kitsilano Animal Clinic removed all the chunks he could find.

When dogs are anaesthetized they are frequently done so with Ketamine (some of the more party animal types among you may recognize it from wild nights at Luv-A-Fair when you called it "Special K."). Ketamine can induce, in some animals, "visions of dragons" in the words of Dr. Shaw. When RD started coming around from the Special K, he was definitely seeing dragons. He was having hallucinations of epic proportions, and had to be sedated with both valium and another drug to control his nightmares.

Now his chart says, in big bold letters, NO KETAMINE EVER EVER EVER. We all figure he's had enough nightmares in his life.

So the end result was a very wobbly Red Dog who slipped and slid all over the waiting room while I was trying to pay the bill.

He says his mouth really hurts:

When we got home, he weebled and he wobbled (and he didn't fall down!) his way straight to the sofa and with a little boost from me, got up, laid down and passed out. Where he remains still.

I took advantage of this opportunity of One Dog Down to take Mona for her first visit to the park. Regrettably, the stupid time change means it was almost dark and there are no photos. But I did have to tell you what a WONDERFUL time Monsie had! I dropped her leash and let her run, and she responded to recall almost flawlessly. And Mona likes to play ball!! She is a very enthusiastic fetch machine. And now she too is passed out with her puppies. This makes her a lot more likable in the house, so from now on it will be regular exercise for the Monser. My baby is growing up!

Now I am off to cuddle my poor wee beastie through his pain. And amuse myself by watching the dogs, who do not understand time changes, wonder why their dinner is an hour late. God I'm such a sadist.