The Doggy ER
On Saturday, we were tossing the ball and Hudson managed to bite his tongue. We had a house full of guests. The band was jamming. A couple of us non-musicians were supposed to go get bbq. So we waited while Hudson wanted to continue to play.
After twenty minutes he was still bleeding. It wasn't excessive, and frankly, he really didn't care, but it was, you know, gross. Having Hudson is like having an adolescent jock around the house, ever so often you're going to have to make a trip to the ER. So I put an old sheet in the back of the Subaru and my friend Linda and I took off for the doggy ER.
Did you know that there's really not much point in suturing a tongue? It turns out that the sutures bleed. But tongues heal pretty quick, and while we were at the doggy ER, he stopped bleeding. He started up again, but then he stopped again. What they gave me was soft canned food, antibiotics, and doggy downers. They called them pain pills. But it was clear that Hudson was not particularly concerned about pain. The vet explained to me that if he got excited, his heart would pump more, and he could start bleeding again, which while not even remotely life threatening was, as I said before, gross. (The back of my car looked, at this point, a little like something out of an episode of CSI.)
Doggy downers did not actually have much visible effect on Hudson, but after everyone had left, I coaxed him up onto the ottoman and chair where I was sitting. He's a little worried that if he gets up there he'll get in trouble, but he is always willing to be convinced. Usually he plops down and then plays, 'I'm gonna bite your hand.' He's soft mouthed so 'I'm gonna bite your hand' is mostly a way to interact. But Saturday night he got on that comfy chair sprawled next to me and zonked.
It was charming. Someday he's going to be a big lap dog. But not for awhile. I suspect there might be a trip or two more to the doggy ER before we get to the stage where he can lie still and have his ears scratched. At least, not without doggy downers. I'm not in a hurry or anything. But it was sweet.
posted by Maureen McHugh at 6:44 PM
5 Comments:
I can see why he bit his tongue. Loook at it--it's sooo long.
But honestly, I'm glad he's ok and thanks for an update on his adventures.
Ellen
MAUREEN, please no subject headers like this anymore. We were in a panic! :)
Ahh, Golden Retrievers.
When I was in high school, I had the pleasure (?) of sharing living space with a Golden for a couple years. Toby's most memorable doggy ER moment (and he had a few) was the time Very Early one Saturday morning when he went outside and encountered a porcupine. He just happened to be breathing in when the porcupine let loose all its quills. They were up his nose, all over his mouth, in his tongue, down his windpipe ...
... and then a couple months later, it happened AGAIN.
Oh, poor puppy! Glad he's ok though!
When my dog gets drugs I'm always, like, One for you, and One for me.
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