Recently in Tessa Category

Took her to see Dr. Farzad again on Friday due to a trace of a blood spotted in her urine.  After thorough x-rays and analysis, it appears that it's just an UTI so we shouldn't have to worry about anything.  I dragged her to work with me afterwards since Dad was out and I didn't want her to be alone.  Ironically, we had more people complaining about walking Tessa through Canadian Tire to get a can opener (two) than walking her through the hospital (none).  She behaved well all afternoon.

Current weight: 65.0 pounds.

Tessa went in for her annuals this weekend and we visited Dr. Farzad's for the first (real) time.  I had made a huge fuss earlier this week going to the Willowdale Animal Hospital and giving them grief about first delaying the facsimile of her health records by three weeks, then trying to charge me for them.  I was willing to pay for them at that point but the evening receptionist was so embarrassed by their procrastination that she put all twenty-eight pages through while I watched.

We probably should've changed vets sooner as Dr. Farzad was both terrific with Tessa and extremely generous with the charges.  Tessa enjoyed the experience and didn't even notice the two needles until the good doctor sprayed her when a spot of blood seeped up.  She's also managed to drop to 72.2 from 76.6 pounds since April 30th and we're very happy about that.  Continued diligence!

Yesterday at the school, Tessa ran into Cindy and proceeded to try and mount her.  Not the most accommodating of dogs even on her best days, Cindy jumped up and charged at Tessa's neck, teeth snapping at her fur.  Unfortunately, she managed to step on Tessa's leash and prevented her escape, frightening Tessa and making her cry.

She ran not to me, but to Cindy's owner wailing in a high-pitched howl that I'd never heard, breaking in spots like a sobbing child unable to catch their breath.  She sat down and dangled her paw limply for inspection, but flinching whenever anyone touched it.  The owner hugged her and apologized twice, telling her it's alright.  Tessa continued to sob.

As Cindy and the owner decided to take their leave, Tessa watched them go, stood back up and promptly sprinted happily away. 

If you're in my kitchen then you must be edible. 

Now stand still while I taste your pants.

To my complete surprise, we participated in Earth Hour last night after I arrived home at 20:15 and found that my dad had turned off all the lights in the house.  On discovering that Tessa hadn't gone on an evening stroll after dinner, we then went out and bumped into BT, and proceeded to walk for an hour, counting all the houses who had their lights turned off (half, at best).  At that point, Tessa yanked on my sleeve to pull me home as she was tired from her spa day.

She isn't tired, however, when there is salmon involved! Aw jeah, where ma salmon at?!

Yes, the temperatures are still around the freezing point but you wouldn't know it from the dogs playing in the surf.

Taken tonight, as Tessa passively urges me to go to sleep.

After following the doctor's orders (no food on Saturday, migration to her new high-fiber diet, going cold-turkey on the turkey, 400mg of Tylocine every 12 hours), Tessa was understandably tired without any food in her but was still fairly active on her walk.  Vomited yellow bile on Sunday afternoon at the dog park while playing and missed her afternoon poop again, prompting us to think she'll need yet another 2a.m. (as she's had every day since Tuesday night) but she slept quietly through the night at the foot of the bed.  Monday morning walk was regular with good consistency, so I hope the worst of it is over.

She's been exceptionally well-behaved, quiet and undemanding, while her food was cut back.  I wonder if she thinks she's been bad and is being punished.

To paraphrase:

----

"So is it safe to change diets and take this medication along with Sentinel?"

"Yes, certainly, why do you ask?"

"Tessa's monthly Sentinel schedule is every month on the 17th, which is coming right up."

"I see...which vet did you visit previously again?"

"Willowdale Animal Hospital."

"And I assume you've kept her on the Sentinel schedule monthly...may I ask why?"

"That's how they had prescribed it to us and never told us otherwise.  Is that bad?"

"No, no, of course not, but let me tell you something just between me, you and the gatepost.  The rotating set of vets at the Willowdale Animal Hospital are paid by commission, simply by how much money they pull in for the hospital.  While I can't specify on the professionalism of the doctors there, one might certainly question if such a system has the best interest of your dog at heart.  Now, Sentinel is prescribed monthly and treats pests that may have begun growing in the past month or so.  Now, taking it as a preventative measure against heartworms, fleas and so forth is certainly a  good idea, and you certainly wouldn't want a Samoyed to risk fleas at all, it should be pointed out that heartworms and fleas are nearly non-existent in Canada during the winter season.  Do you see what I'm getting at?"

"I guess so...."

"Here, we use Revolution because it treats fleas at all points in the flea cycle (while Sentinel only treats during the initial phases) but we prescribe it only from June until the onset of frost.  We do a heartworm check in May to make sure nothing was picked up during the winter season but I must say that the chances of that are slim to none. 

I have to admit that I'm shocked, utterly flabbergasted.  If they're prescribing Sentinel to you year-round, you could certainly question what their motive ultimately is."

----

I have wondered, previously, why it was so important for them to book a check-up before prescribing another round of Sentinel when it's a harmless pill prescribed by weight-class.  I guess now I know.

Took Tessa to a new veterinarian today, who spent about ten minutes railing against the money-grubbing practices of those at Willowdale Animal Hospital and then prescribed some standard Tylocine and a high-fibre diet for Tessa to see if it solves her stomach issues.  In the meantime, he also suggested we starve her for a day and "start fresh" tomorrow, so to speak.  Tessa's been taking it really well, especially for a dog who likes eating more than anything.

While we're on the subject, Tessa's now up to 74.1 pounds so we really should monitor her diet more closely than we have...

Gave the dog a bath after dinner tonight since a hot shower always makes me feel better when I'm ill.  15 minutes lathering and rinsing, half an hour of blow-drying as she chewed on a brand new piece of marrow (which she's now taken to have in private in her den).  She seemed especially tired after dinner and her schedule is still somewhat irregular, but the bath sure riled her up something fierce.

It also occurs to me that she's down to her last Sentinel pill and it's about time to make a veterinarian appointment for a check-up and a refill.

Whined to go out tonight at 20:30.  Had a mild case of the runs, then tossed up what was left of her dinner.  Will keep an eye on her to see if she gets sicker in the coming days but she's definitely not lethargic so maybe it's just a troublesome tummy.

Morning Update: She went out three more times during the night. We'll monitor how she is today.  Dad's theory is that she had a piece of mango two nights ago and it isn't agreeing with her.

Threw up again during the night, ~5:40'ish.  Nothing much came up, second puddle was just spittle.  Didn't feed her any particular junk last night, didn't even brush her hair, so not sure what caused it.  She did want to go out particularly urgently this morning, but that's likely the time change.

It snowed this weekend.