A Visit to the Vet

Had to take the babies to the vet today. Seymour has been having trouble with his back end, and I have been concerned that he may have hurt his back or maybe he is having symptoms of hip dysplasia. Sierra has been suffering with allergies worse than I've ever seen her have. I also just found a little lump on her leg yesterday that I needed to get checked out.

We saw a different vet today, who is the son of the vet we've most recently been seeing for Sierra, when she had a tumor in the corner of her eye. He was really good, examining Seymour and Sierra so thoroughly and really taking time with them. After the initial wellness exam (eyes, ears, heart, etc) he took Seymour's legs, one at a time, and moved them in different motions to see how they were doing. He said the legs and hips were really good, no sign of dysplasia. Thank goodness! That is a major worry when you have a Golden Retriever, or many other big breeds. Then he pressed all along Seymour's spine, and Seymour kind of gave way a little bit when the vet pressed on the lumbar area. He didn't fall, but he sunk down and you could tell it hurt. The vet concluded that it was most likely arthritis in that area. I had started him on FlexNow several days ago, so I am going to continue it, as I'm not quite up to the full dose yet. It has already begun to help though because when I started him on it, he could hardly get up at all, and now he can get up, it just takes him a minute. Poor guy. I can relate to what he is going through. I am waiting for workers comp to approve a procedure where they give me shots in my back to numb several nerves (temporarily) and see if it makes my pain go away. If it does, then they will deaden the nerves for a more long-lasting effect. If it doesn't, then I will most likely just start taking FlexNow myself. I probably will take it anyway, but I don't want to start it until after the shots because they will indicate if the pain is in my facet joints or not. I'd at least like to know that.

Sierra got a clean bill of health, except for the allergies that the vet said was most likely from the rabbit brush. After the wellness exam he took her out of the room to do a fine needle aspiration of the little lump. Poor Sierra! We could hear her whining and it really upset Seymour (and me too!). I hope it didn't hurt her. I think it was more of an "I want my mommy" whine, as she didn't cry the last time they did that right in the room with me. He said it is just another fatty cyst, and to keep tabs on it to make sure it doesn't suddenly start growing rapidly.

So, my sweet dogs have made it through another terrifying vet visit. On Monday they will be going in to the groomer they have in an adjacent building. I have not been able to bathe them myself since hurting my back, so now I have to take them in for that too.