Vince's dental day (The worst of times and the best of times)

Worried and scared, waiting for the vet

Tired, but fighting the effects of the drugs

I know I've misquoted Dickens in the title, but today the worst of times preceded the best of times for Vince.  We started early.  I was up before 5:00 a.m. for some reason and gave Vince his Acepromazine about 6:30, with just a spoonful of canned food.  At 7:30a.m. I put a basket muzzle on him and we headed to the vet for his dental appointment.  When I got there we went into a room and he got a shot in the butt of something to mellow him out a bit more.  That took effect, but he still fought us when they drew some blood for pre-anesthesia blood tests.  Although he was wobbly, Vince fought the effects of sedatives as much as possible.  I put him up on the table and held his head while they got an IV installed and gave them the anesthesia.  I then cleared out quickly before the gross and disgusting stuff started. 



He had one upper molar that was cracked and infected; it was removed.  That was undoubtedly the cause of his difficulty in eating and who knows how much pain.  It wasn't the cause of Vince's bad attitude, however, he just does not like being restrained by strangers.  He was happy to see me when I came back for him later in the afternoon.  We came home with antibiotics and I'm giving him Rimadyl for the inflammation and pain. 

Happy Vince, sitting with Jennifer

Getting a massage from Heather

I had some other errands to run, including a stop at CASPCA to visit Vince's old friends.  We ran into Heather in the hallway who could hardly believe it was Vince because he had lost so much weight and was looking so much better again.  He walked into Jennifer's office, spotted her and immediately ran to greet her.  While we were there he alternated between Jennifer, Heather, and then coming back to me, uncertain who to thank and who to suck up to.  Jennifer and Heather have figured heavily in Vince's life on several occasions.  Vince was genuinely happy to see them, but was also quite happy to leave with me. 





What started out as such a stressful and lousy day had a happy ending for the old guy.  He's sitting at my feet under my desk this evening and I think he will sleep well tonight.

Happy Vince