August 11, 2021
Today our little Peanut went to the vet for a dental cleaning. It was his first in 3 years! We should have done this before, but last year when we were preparing to set up the appointment Ladybug was very sick and we just never got around to it. Like humans, dog heart health is directly related to their dental health, so I am very happy to have this taken care of for him.
To preface the “meat” of this post, we were very concerned because as noted in a previous post, our little boy had heartworms when we adopted him and consequently, has a faint heart murmur. The vet explained to us the ins and outs of the dental cleaning procedure for fur babies Peanut’s age and with a heart murmur. She said that just because a heart murmur is faint is not an indication of how good or bad his heart disease could be. To get that information, we would need to see a dog heart specialist to get a full diagnostic. However given his overall good health, we all agreed they would proceed cautiously which meant additional bloodwork in advance of the procedure and diligent monitoring during the procedure. Needless to say, with all that information, we were very nervous about this. We already lost our little Ladybug this year and could not take the loss of our little boy so soon after. The hope is that this keeps him and his heart healthy so we will have him for many years to come.
With all that said, This morning we got up, did our usual routine and I dropped him off at the vet at 7 a.m., he was out of the car and in their very capable hands by 7:25 a.m. We love our vet, they have taken care of many of our fur babies over the years and we have grown to have great trust in them. Since we live within 10 minutes of the vet and in case something went wrong that required me to make an emergency run to their office I worked from home today. Before I left their office, they promised to provide an update and call me if any extractions were needed.
I always feel so bad dropping him off for the day at the vet, I worry he may think we are abandoning him; it is a traumatic experience for me and him. The whole day I was anxiously awaiting an update on how my little boy was doing and finally at 3:15 p.m. I got a call from them. It was our very friendly vet and she reported that Peanut was doing well and was currently under anesthesia. She said she was surprised that “for a dog of his age and genetics” that his teeth were overall good after cleaning the tartar build-up off however they found some loose teeth and would require some extractions. Forturnately they were small teeth that do not help a lot with chewing. In total, there were 5 little teeth, incisors and pre-molars. So overall good news!
Peanut’s little tiny teeth!
We went to pick him up around 5:30 p.m. and he was so out of it, but happy to see us; he wanted his momma though. The silver lining in HIS mind will be that he is gets a soft food diet for the next week. Right now as I sit here on the couch next to him, I am so thankful to Jehovah that he watched over my little Peanut today and helped bring him safely home to us. I hope to have many more years with my little Peanut; he’s a good boy and makes our home a little more joyful.
The righteous one takes care of his domestic animals, But even the mercy of the wicked is cruel.
Proverbs 12:10
We cannot imagine our lives without this little guy and we are so thankful that we get to be his “parents” while he is here on this earth. This little guy has had a traumatic day and will sleep good tonight!
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