On Monday Smiley Dog had an operation. It’s called a Total Ear Canal Ablation. The link is to a article which explains it and the reasons behind it without any gross pictures. For those who want to see the gross pictures / detail of the op there is actually a YouTube video if you search Ear Ablation. The video only goes for about 2 minutes but the real procedure takes a lot longer.
I had to drop him off on Monday morning and we were supposed to pick him up yesterday (Tuesday) evening.
His surgery (on both ears) occurred on Monday evening. Smiley Dog is also known as Freaky Dog because when he had allergy tests recently it was discovered he was basically allergic to lots of things but surprisingly not allergic to two of the main allergens dust mites and moulds. So the freakiness that is Smiley Dog continued into his operation. The first ear took a long time mostly due to the facial nerve was actually in the cartilage. Nowhere it should be. Luckily for his lovely vet Dr C.the second ear’s anatomy was actually the way it was supposed to be and that side took half the time.
The vet who did the operation is absolutely lovely. Smiley Dog loves her and that is probably because after his vaccination earlier in the year he had a major reaction which needed antihistamines, fluids anti inflammatories and an overnight stay. Anyway Dr C. Called me to let me know how Smiley Dog was before his op, once the first ear had been done and once the second ear had been done and he was awake from the anaesthetic.
In the morning I rang to check on him and I was told he was “insanely happy” for a dog who had had that operation. When Dr C. came in to check on him (on her day off) she said he could come home. this was about 5 or 6 hours earlier that expected. He was just waiting to go home and so we went and collected him.
So Smiley Dog used to look like this:
He looked like this yesterday when he came home. He is now completely deaf but we are hoping that he will follow Serious Dog (his half brother) around and that will help him until he adapts. His head is shaved (he kind of reminds me of a sheep now!) and he had drains in both sides.
He wasn’t allowed to be with his brother for a few days but he cried so much we gave in at 3.30 am because we thought the neighbours would be upset.
He seems to be recovering well which is wonderful! I’m sure he will be happy not having constant ear infections and needing medications and ear cleaning every day. Hopefully Smiley Dog’s life will be better which brings me to the other part of my post today.
At Christmas time we buy treats, food and toys (or whatever is needed) for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The holiday wish list for the animals is here. Today was the day we dropped the things off.
Now before we get out of the car I always say: We are NOT getting any animals today. Now there are a couple of reasons for this: Firstly me. When I feel (as a friend recently put it) feel the need to nurture, I tend get a baby animal. Our last animal a rabbit (the one in my Blogger picture in fact) came from there and Girl Child is always on the lookout for something else to bring home. At the moment she wants a kitten.
Today there were at least 30 kittens. All cute and playful but 30! And they were just the ones available to adopt today. Yes it’s Kitten Season in Australia at the moment. I’ve never seen so many kittens in the one place before. What was worse to me was that the lady in the cattery said they were full up with cats too and that’s partly due to people surrendering their animals so they can go on holiday. I guess that’s better than just dumping them somewhere which I’m sure has happened to a number of animals.
Now this is where it happened. My heart started going it’s only a kitten (or when Girl Child decided the many bunnies were our boys siblings - a rabbit). Thankfully my brain kicked in with Smiley Dog is deaf and we need to work out how to deal with that. So we left animal free and me with a sadness in my heart.
Why don't people get their pets desexed? How many of those kittens are going to be impulse bought and then discarded when no longer so cute or when there owners are going away? Normally I try to see the good in people but seeing those kittens today made we wonder what, if anything, some people think.
It’s now 2.30 am and I should go to bed. Rant ending here.
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