Boo goes to the doctor...

Since we moved to town three years ago, austerity forced me to be circumspect about finances, so Boo got his innoculations at the local VIP clinic, where we got to stand in line with a lot of other frugal folks. Boo is a pretty healthy little guy, so eschewing annual $200 vet visits was not worrisome (I found they always found something to treat, like why waste a 25 mile round trip just for a pat on the head). But lately, his ear washings had not produced very good results, and I noticed little scabby sores at the corner of his lips, and then this big raw patch in the deep groove below one eye. Eeeeeyuuuu. I put some triple antibiotic cream on it, and it crusted over nicely, but still looked icky, so I bit the bullet and made an appointment for him with a new, in-town vet. Fortunately, I have a buddy who is a vet-tech and studying to become a vet himself, who could recommend his employer. My, they are really nice people. Boo got his ears all washed out, his butt trimmed (dingleberry city lately, yuck), and his eye examined. Damn thing is a hot-spot! We don't have fleas, but Boo has all these nifty folds and creases in his little worried-looking face that harbor bad microbes. I clean down in the deep fold above his nose, but generally don't mess with the area under his big brown eyes. We came away $143 lighter, with five different medications: Omega-3 capsule (poke hole in end and squirt into mouth once a day), eye ointment (smear under right eye twice a day), ear ointment (squirt several drops into each ear 2-3 times a day), antibiotic pills (one twice a day with food, so I wrap it in a little cheese and it goes right down), and ear cleaning fluid for his next deep cleansing. I had kids who never needed this much medicine! I am feeling, of course, like a bad dog mommy. But I suppose that noticing he needed help and getting him there counts to my favor. Meanwhile, he is happily ensconced on the bed, not a care in the world. Me, I am just stoked because I finally figured out how to get him to be still - I put a big fluffy towel on top of the dryer and go at him. Too high to jump off, high enough to be able to work with him, and comfy for his little poochy butt. He got weighed today, and is a little too fluffy at the moment. This means we will both be cutting down for a while. Can't hurt.