11-27-2009 Thanksgiving Holiday Time

So, Sunday night (11-22-09) I realized that our middle-sized dog, Jasper, had an odor about him that was reminiscent of infection. I mentioned it to Don Monday morning when he commented on Jasper's somewhat lethargic behavior. We agreed to take him to the vet that evening if the smell was still present--I hoped to have a moment at that time to take a good look in his mouth.
I know there are many people who brush their animal's teeth, but I've rarely attempted to peer into any of my critter's mouths, so I wasn't sure what it was supposed to look like. I was reminded of the time my very first car was making a screeching noise and I pulled off the freeway at San Onofre (where there are no gas stations or repair shops) and lifted the hood, hoping to find something obviously hanging loose or discolored. Fortunately, in that situation, there was a guard at the kiosk who had heard me arrive and walked over to tell me I needed oil and BAD.
Well, I was about as inept at examining Jasper's mouth that evening and there was no kiosk guard to proffer advice.... but what I thought I was seeing was that his lower gum was coming much farther away from his tooth than it should. I called the local vet (Westminster) and was told that red gums that exposed a tooth, and a very strong infectious odor did not constitute an emergency, so I'd have to wait until Wednesday afternoon since they were so booked up.
When Don got home and we were seated in the living room watching television, Don noticed the odor. Pretty soon he was saying, "Let's take him to the emergency center in Fountain Valley, that odor is dangerously potent. He could go into septic shock."
Dr. Campos was very nice and was able to get a pretty good look into Jasper's mouth. The longer he looked, the more he saw was wrong. He showed me that Jasper had a long gash running along the entire length of his lower left gum line and wrapping around the front teeth where some tissue was hanging loose.
"Let's put out the fire with intravenous antibiotics tonight. I don't think stitches will hold up in his tissue because the tissue is so deteriorated...so I think you can pick him up in the morning and take him home with some medications, but let's see what the doctors in the morning think." ($800.00)
I had planned to go in and pick him up early the next morning (Tuesday), but Don saved me a trip by recommending I call before I go. "Dr. Jen Hazlett" (sp?) was in surgery when I called and I was told she would call me back. I called Don who was already at work now, and told him I planned to wait for the call and THEN I'd go pick Jasper up. Don suggested I go to work and decide when to pick him up after I heard from the doctor.
I'd just parked in the parking structure at work and, with phone in hand, was opening my trunk to get out my purse, when the phone vibrated. I didn't even know it had switched to vibrate....(apparently that ring control is a button on the outside of the phone that is sensitive, because the pesky thing is always changing without my intending it to).
Dr. Hazlett told me less than I already knew. She didn't seem to have talked with Dr. Campos and was telling me she'd not been able to get much of a look in Jasper's mouth but she wanted to go in and clean the teeth....it might be a mass causing the infection, but probably wasn't. I felt a bit like I was exchanging roles with her briefly as I described the gash Dr. Campos had shown me the night before....no mass---just a very long horrible gash. She repeated that she'd like to clean the teeth and added that she'd like to stitch up the tissue. I asked about whether the antibiotics would protect him from the bacteria that would be released in the procedure and she assured me that it was better to get the bacteria out now. I then asked about Dr. Campos' statement about the inability of the tissue to take stitches, and Dr. Hazlett assured me that it would be best to get the gums in place and use appropriate material for the stitches. I told her I'd confer with my husband and call her back.
Not sure whether I was coming or going to/from work, I went to the concrete bench under a scrub oak in the commons to call Don and relay what I'd been told. "Ask her," he said, "Why she is so certain that stitches are appropriate if she wasn't able to see inside his mouth."
"Better yet, can I give you the phone number? I've already given her a bit of a hard time." I then went into work. When Don called me back he said he'd told her to go ahead with her plans, and that she had said she would call him after the procedure.
Don called me at about 10:30 to relay the information that the cleaning and stitching had gone well and now she needed to watch him and would let Don know a little later whether we could pick Jasper up that night.
When the day was near it's end and I still hadn't heard, I became anxious that Dr. Hazlett would go home before dispensing her judgment, so I called a few minutes before 5:00 p.m.. Dr. Hazlett explained why Jasper should stay the night--still sleepy...hasn't eaten yet...that kind of thing.
Wednesday morning, after I arrived at work, I called Dr. Hazlett who said he had spent the night well (the dog, not the doctor. Pay attention! Dr. Hazlett isn't a "he".) and while Jasper wasn't letting her look in his mouth, he was wagging his tail and had done well on his walk. We could pick him up when it was convenient.
I was off at 3:00 and went straight to the animal hospital, arriving about 3:30. After the usual *very* long wait in the lobby (Why don't they prepare medications before the animal's parents arrive? Could they honestly think the parent would refuse the antibiotics? And if that *were* truly a concern, couldn't they ask over the phone when you tell them you are on your way? It's not like they hadn't already been granted permission to put a king's ransom on our credit card--twice. Arghh!) we concluded our business (($2,201.35) and I got Jasper home with his two antibiotics by about 5:30.
I was able to administer both, but the next morning after his medications he couldn't hold his food down.
. . . .And this is why we didn't go to San Diego on Thursday for a Thanksgiving dinner with my Dad, Step Mom, and Step Grandfather. We stayed home and watched over Jasper. He continued to have trouble holding food down until we talked with the vet and began following the advice of feeding him a little to coat his stomach a while before feeding him with the antibiotics. We also started staggering the doses....giving a little every few hours.

By Friday morning we felt he was well enough to leave alone in our bedroom while we went to breakfast with Vince and Sharon to celebrate a belated Thanksgiving and Sharon's birthday, both occasions having passed with little fanfair the previous day.
After breakfast at the Buena Park IHOP we went to their house to finally meet their new resident, Princess....the pig.
Princess is a Pot-bellied Pig. I've read that the pig originated in Vietnam and it's distinguishing features are a diminutive size (*Diminutive*? Really?) their sway back, erect ears and straight tails.

Princess is the one on the right.



A family portrait.



Another family portrait. This isn't a transformed Princess. This is Haley.



And J.P. doesn't believe in family portraits. He feels he can hold his own on film.
(You can follow any of these images to Flickr where the rest of the collection lives.)