Me and My Dog.

Bailey went in last week for his expensive vet visit.

They cleaned his teeth (after extracting several), and they were happy to report that his lower canines were intact. This is good, because those teeth help keep his tongue centered in his mouth, rather than having it hang out the side and making him look like a special-needs dog.

They also addressed the problem of his mouth infection-- a major infection of the salivary gland. They cleaned that up nicely, leaving his mouth full of dissolvable sutures.

They cleaned out his ear and found a polyp-- which they left alone, since he's 12 and has no apparent hearing loss.

Finally, they removed a cyst from his paw, stitched up the area, and wrapped it in a cute pink bandage. He was pretty groggy and crabby that evening, but now he's just fine-- he's on pain medication for another week! Lucky dog!

He's going to be just fine, thankfully.

So am I, it seems. Well, sort of.

My MRA showed that there were no issues with the blood vessels in the brain. Then why the pain in the back, neck, shoulders, and arms? Well, it's bone spurs on my vertebrae. I'm being sent to an orthopedic surgeon to discuss options-- of which there may be none. It might just be bursitis / arthritis. At any rate, it's not an aneurysm or any complication from my freakishly oversized cerebellum. That's something.

Bailey and I might just have a beer tonight, to celebrate our mediocre health.

My Poor Doggy!

That's my little boy with my friend Holly last year (he was in need of a haircut!). Bailey and I went to the vet today. He has a bad infection in his mouth, as well as his ear (that one I knew about). He has antibiotics and a topical ear medicine. Poor thing... I feel like such a bad parent.

Next week he's going for a major dental cleaning. At this time they will also completely flush out his ear and remove a small cyst on his paw. The estimate: $1200.

Well, it's not like I have to put him through college, and it's cheap at twice the price to have a companion who never lies, cheats, steals, complains, and who is completely devoted to me.

He's my boy!

A Terrible Oversight.

I have scarcely mentioned him, and I don't have a very current photo, but it occurred to me that I have never posted about my sweet dog, Bailey. He's a West Highland terrier who came from a private home in Oak Brook. He is going to be 12 years old on April 22, and for an old boy he's in pretty good health and spirits most of the time.

He suffered from some jaw cancer when he was just a puppy. Fortunately, they did not have to remove any of the jawbone... but he has no teeth on the lower right side of his mouth. He is a very sweet and loving dog. The only time he makes a growl is when he is being picked up, and that started from the time he was a tiny puppy.

I feel terrible when I spend the night at Michael's, because it means Bailey is alone. Granted, he has the run of the house, and I leave the tv on for him, and he hasn't peed or pooped at all. Still, he needs to be with me, and it would be nice to take him with me for overnights at Michael's. So... very soon, we will be introducing Bailey to Michael's giant-sized (but puppy-aged) dogs. That should be interesting. I wonder if valium is okay for situations like that? (For me, not the dogs!)