Straydog UPDATE posted MONDAY 7/14/03 at ~5:25 p.m. CT

Bill Arnold's Daily Straydog Log

MONDAY JULY 14 2003

Lots of vet visits today--Julie, Jed, Alice and Fuzzy--plus Bobby comes home

Julie and Jed are in crates inside the van ready to go to the vet clinic.

Julie

     Julie has hookworms and a very low glucose reading. She received a wormer and will go to the vet tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. for her all-day glucose curve. Julie also has a fungus on one of her toenails which is being treated with a fungicide.

Julie gets her wormer medicine.

Julie gets medicine on a toenail to kill fungus.



Jed

     Jed has a similar fungus on his tail, which is also being treated. Because he is Julie's kennel mate, he is also being treated for hookworms.

Jed's tail is treated with fungicide while Julie looks on from behind Shannon.

Alice

     Alice shocked us all by chewing the end of her tail raw. She is the dog who is terrified of thunder, fireworks, and gunfire. Dr. Morton is not sure why little Alice is chewing her tail. It could be nervousness, allergies (like Misty), or any one of several other causes (but probably not the fungus that Jed and Julie have). Dr. Morton has advised us to treat her tail, give her antibiotics, and have her wear an E-collar. He also gave her a steroid shot. He's hoping the combination of antibiotics, steroids, and treating the wound (along with wearing an E-collar) will deter her from any further chewing.

Fuzzy

     When I called to make an appointment for Fuzzy because she hadn't eaten in two days, Dr. Morton's receptionist, Vicki, informed me that Pat had taken a fecal sample from Fuzzy in to the clinic on July 22, 2002 for the same reason: she hadn't eaten in two days. Just to be safe, Fuzzy will have a fecal test. Because this seems to happen every summer and Fuzzy has long, thick, black fur, she will get a cooler "summer cut." Generally, we don't shave the dogs during the summer as it exposes them to sunburn and skin irritation. Because Fuzzy has darker skin (less likely to burn), the heat seems to be what has affected her eating and behavior. We never have any dogs shaved all the way to the skin, so Fuzzy will be sporting a new, shorter 'do tomorrow. (She and her kennel mate, Scotti, need nice air-conditioned homes.)

Bobby

     Bobby is finally home! After Dr. McDonald at Dallas Veterinary Surgical Center tried three different antibiotics on Bobby to fight off a bad infection in the leg that was operated on, the doctor now believes he has the correct antibiotic to help Bobby. Bobby seems to feel a bit better--he even ate all of his dinner after he got home. He will continue to receive antibiotics, pain medicine, hydrotherapy and warm compresses which should make his recovery easier.

Bobby walks from the van back to his kennel in the kitchen.

Possible good news about Sir Anthony's possible jaw cancer

     He may not have it, Dr. Morton said after the tests came back this morning. The doctor wants to see Anthony again tomorrow morning to run some other tests.