A trip to the Vet

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Saturday routine: 4:30 am: pee, poop, change diaper, water, back to bed. At 7:00 am, H.B. was snoozing away, so I waited for him to wake up around 8:30 am. Then it was time for breakfast and a bath. The bath had rinsed away the gunk in his sores and left some open holes, so I became really concerned and called the doctor and left a message. In the meantime, I took Harrison out for his afternoon walk. We met some new and old friends and did some tail walking.

After his afternoon walk around 12:00 the doctor called back. He suggested I bring him in for a a check up. As I was cleaning him up, H.B. was lying on his side on the kitchen floor. When I went to put some diaper cream on him....he moved his tail! I gently moved his tail back where it had been before and touched him again and ...he moved his tail! I tried it a third time and he did it again!

In the end, I decided to take Harrison to the vet by myself. They cleaned up the area and discovered that what looked like two sores was actually one that was connected. They gave us some antibiotics and some medicine drops to give him and also recommended some epsom salt baths to help keep the sores clean. (I had actually just bought some epsom salts for myself after going to the chiropractor on Friday! What a lucky dog! First daily massages and now daily epsom salt baths!) The doctor also confirmed that Harrison did in fact move his tail! Go H.B.!

Sunday, October 17, 2010

We were all really tired and Harrison slept through the night for the first time in a week. When we got up, we gave Harrison a nice bath around 7:30 am and he had his normal morning routine: pee, poop, medicine, breakfast, a nap in the crate. Rob and I are getting to be quite a team helping each other lift, move and hold Harrison still while we take care of his needs. He seems to be trying to hold his pee and poop and has not had many accidents in his crate. It could be a sign that he is regaining some control in his lower body.

Later in the day, we noticed that his left hind knee was swollen, probably from lying on it all night long. We applied a cold compress, stretched and massaged him and did some bicycle exercises with him.

That night, we gave him a nice bath and got him ready for bed.