Photo Updates

Looking a little worse for wear this morning...notice that left eye? Still a good lookin' conehead dontcha think??

Hiding under the table...let this be a reminder...no sudden movements when Dolce is eating!

This is the face he gives when he wants something...in this case it was a drink of water and a belly rub.

If you can't tell, this left eye is looking much better tonight.

Dolce's Not So Great Week

Dolce has been through the wringer lately! I was telling Brett that he's had so many complications and injuries, people are going to think we're abusive...which we're not...obviously. So here's the low down on all that Dolce has been through as of late:

1. Injury to his right wrist. I came home from work on Tuesday evening to find Dolce limping and unable to place weight on his front right foot. We took him to the vet and he was given metacam to help the swelling go down. Dolce has since recovered from this.

2. Monthly x-ray. Once a month we take Dolce has to have x-rays done of his jaw. He has to be sedated for his x-rays so after midnight we cannot give him any food. Dolce and I equally hate this appointment since it terrifies him and he leaves the office at the end of the day completely out of it. I hate it because I don't like leaving him there all day and seeing him sedated and unable to walk is really hard to watch. This past weekend, they must have sedated Dolce much later in the day than normal because when we came to pick him up at 7pm he was barely able to lift his head. We decided to wait a little bit longer and run over to Ellen O'Brien's house to get some meds (did I mention we've also had a Giardia outbreak in the house...just lovely!) for the other dogs while we were waiting. When we got back to the office to pick up Dolce he was so extremely out of it his little body was limp in my arms and his head was swaying back and forth. I wrapped him up in my sweater to keep him warm and we headed home...this was around 8pm. At home I wrapped him in a blanket and laid down in bed with him and watched a movie to calm him down and help him relax. (He was attempting to walk, but wasn't able to.) It took until after midnight for Dolce to start coming out of his sedation.

3. Ulceration to his left eye. On Sunday morning at about 6:30 I found Dolce's left side of his face extremely swollen and he was in pain. I honestly started freaking out because I had no idea what to think. Could it be a spider bite? Bad reaction to the sedation? Did he fall down last night? It was so early there really wasn't much I could do, so I placed him on my chest and he slept right there for another hour. Later in the afternoon we took Dolce in to the vet and they immediately knew what was going on. Apparently when animals are but under sedation the vet will place ointment or drops of some sort to keep their eyes from drying out...otherwise they can be scratched. At some point Dolce's eyes must have dried out while he was under sedation and was injured, this was made worse when he kept pawing at his eye. (I only saw him paw at his eye a couple times, which I stopped him but who knows what he did all night while Brett and I were asleep.)

4. The pin in his jaw. When we dropped Dolce off for his x-rays on Saturday I asked the vet tech to ask Dr. Adams about the little black bump/cyst on Dolce's bottom lip. I had been very tempted to poke around and maybe even pop it...but I stopped myself...good thing! Turns out the bump that looks like a cyst is actually Dolce's pin. Dr. Adams says it has not migrated but may eventually break through the skin and expose itself...which could be a reason to remove the pin sooner than later. (Yes, the pin will eventually come out...and that was always part of the plan.) Good news is that the side of the jaw with the pin holding it together has finally started to heal. The bone is starting to come back together and fill in where there was nothing...very good! But there is still movement in that side of the jaw...so it is by no means 100% healed yet.

To tally it all up Dolce is now on the following meds:

1. Enacard - for his heart disease

2. Flagyl - for Giardia

3. Erythromycin - for his eye

4. Tramadol - pain reliever for his eye

As for the photo of Dolce...that is what he was doing as I typed this blog...just staying comfy in his bed...he's been a real trooper through all of this. I guess Dr. Adams was serious when he said that Dolce's a tough little guy.

p.s. Forgot to mention...until Dolce's eye is healed, he has to wear an e-collar while he's home alone...I hate doing it to him. I really wish I had a job that allowed me to take my pups with me.