He's kind of a wuss.

Today was extraordinarily slow, which was a lucky thing because I made an appointment for Kayak to come in for a check up. Gaurav brought him in around 7:45, and the receptionist came and found me to let me know they were here, which was cool of her. Gaurav and I once again related Kayak's story to a new veterinarian, and this time had a plethora of records to show off, with blood tests, and urinalysises and ECG reports, which Gaurav attempted to put in some sort of chronological order. Doc recommended another Chem 27 to compare his values. I'm very happy to report that his bloodwork looked great! He had only one value that was out of range, and that was his Amylase, which is a pancreatic enzyme. By itself, it usually doesn't indicate anything other than a little indigestion. This is very very cool. This means that we can go ahead with getting him neutered. He also has a lump of some kind on his hind leg that Doc recommended we get taken off while he's under for neutering, along with a teeth cleaning if doc thinks that he needs it. The risk from anesthesia is mostly from the going under, not the staying under, so we might as well get a lot done while he's under. We're not sure what the lump on his leg actually is, and the Doc says it's probably harmless, but that it's in a great spot for Kayak to chew on it and make a big mess when it explodes. (Ew.) It's a little bigger than a marble, and is hard. While Kayak was getting his ears cleaned, (with a muzzle on of course) he whimpered most pathetically. He also whimpered for his shots. The vet staff thought that this was pretty funny. I asked Doc if he'd ever heard a dog whine so much, and he said "yes, but they were toy poodles." Gaurav of course found this hilarious, and I sheepishly smiled and said "Yeah, he's kind of a wuss." I love my needle-hating-thinks-he's-tough-but-is-actually-a-wuss-dog. And anyhow, all the other dogs are scared too. They pant, and drool, and shake, and poop. So my dog is a little more vocal. That gives him character. Right?

After Kayak and Gaurav left, I checked out our other patients. We had a pair of cats being boarded, a Siamese and an orange cat. Both had diabetes, but the orange cat had more severe diabetes. The cats drank extreme amounts of water (we're talking a big dish that gets refilled a couple times a day) and then pee like mad. I had the pleasure of cleaning out their cage. Actually, I don't really mind cleaning up after animals and moving them to a nice, clean, fresh, dry cage where they will be so much more comfortable. It makes me feel good.

We had about 3 German Shepards come in, one of which was laden with ticks. We pulled on off her face, and found a bunch more. Doc said they were just going to "Frontline" the rest, which means putting the dog on a tick/flea killer that is topical. Maybe Kayak is spoiled to be on Frontline year-round, but since he shares a bed with me...and I don't really want to find fleas or ticks on me....I'm not going to let him get laden up with ticks before I kill them all. Ticks are absolutely disgusting, they bury their little heads in dogs (and people,) and their feet wiggle if you touch them- sick.

The mystery of the day was a small white "Fief" (which is what one of the techs calls all small dogs, who are by nature troublesome beasts.) This fief-puppy pees blood. They thought the blood might be because she was in heat, but when I took her for a walk, it came out when she peed, and only when she peed, not randomly like a dog in heat. Plus, her vulva wasn't dilated, so the vet knew that it was a urinary issue. I wonder what that could be.

I asked about Butt-Surgery-Dog (BSD) and they told me that he had been in for a visit because he was chewing on his butt. He had to get a bigger e-collar (lampshade style) to prevent him from reaching his butt. He was not pleased about this development.

One of the last things we did before we left for the day was to check Diabetic Orange Cat's blood glucose, and give him insulin. I held (rather good natured) kitty while the tech tried to get blood from several different veins. She was unsuccessful, and Doc had to do it eventually, but I found myself uncharacteristically drawn to the task of obtaining blood. I found my hands itching to try it myself, which the mere thought of used to make me feel nauseous. I actually wanted to try it. My eyes were fixated on the needle and the vein and the task. I wonder if I will get an opportunity to try sometime soon. I can't believe that I am hoping for it.