Vet Visits!

Woo, everypup. It's me - Dave! Both Stormy and I got to go to the vet's this week for our Senior Care appointments. Mom took the camera with us for my trip, and I thought I'd show you just how taxing it is! We each had the big 12-month one, not the 6-monther; Stormy told you all about what happens at each at the post found here. I thought I'd show you some highlights with our pictures!

Here I am with Beth the Vet Tech (in purple) and my student, Jenny.

"This little toothy went to market..."

They're doing a dental exam on me. Sure, some puppies stand up for that - or maybe sit - but there were preliminary tummy rubs involved and I sort of melted. As you can see, they know how ferocious I am, so they're concerned about sticking their hands in my mouth. I'm being restrained by ... oh, wait. Maybe I was just laying there. I'm not sure. I might have fallen asleep and missed something.

Jenny took her hands out of my mouth for a second, so I thought she'd want to rub my tummy. In this next shot, I was trying to accommodate her.

Here's my tummy, Jenny!

She tickled my toes instead. Almost as good, pups!

One of the parts of the Senior Exam is the blood pressure check. Most of you pups might not have your BP checked, unless you're under sedation for surgery or having a dental or something. It involves them shaving a little area just above your pads on a front foot (basically, the inside of your wrist), then they squirt cold goo on the sensor and hold it on the shaved area. They put a "cuff" thingy on your arm and pump that up, just like on bipeds and they have this amplifier so they can hear your blood. Some dogs have a hard time relaxing during this procedure and have to be held down, or at least held still. That sensor is really ... sensitive! Woo. Here I am during the BP session:

That's Jenny again, and Rachel, another Vet Tech. As you can plainly see, it takes a lot to restrain me. I must have worn Beth out! Rachel brought that nice, fluffy blanket in for me to lay on - wasn't that nice of her? Stormy said she did the same for her. They take SUCH good care of us!

Mom brought my Tuffy toy for me to play with in-between tests. Hey, Khyra! See it under my head? Thank woo again! Not only is it a fun toy, it's a great pillow, too! Woo.

I tried to relax a little after the tests. Actually, I tried to stay awake. It was hard! While Rachel continued to give me tummy rubs, Dr. N said I could have some cookies. Oh, pups, not only does she not make us have to sit first, she didn't even make me get up! It was great. Laying on my back on a fluffy comforter ... Rachel scratching my tummy-tum ... being fed cookies by Dr. N.... Rachel said to Mom all they needed was one of those big palm leaves to fan me. That would have been GREAT!

Hey! Where'd everybody go? Where's the palm leaf thing?

I guess they were kidding. Too bad.

Both Stormy and I had really good BP. Hers was 125 and mine was 120. Overall, we got really good reports and that made all of us really happy!

We are so thankful to have such caring, skilled vets and vet techs! They're doing a great job taking care of us AND training people like Jenny to do the same! Woo! Thank woo for all you do!

Luv - especially to anyone out there reading from the K-State Vet Med Teaching Hospital,
Dave