Frustration
I am very frustrated and stressed right now. It's the end of my last full day alone with the dog, and with all that is going on, it couldn't be worse timing.
While the day itself has gone quite well, I am very pissed off at the vet office. Honestly, I feel they could have given me more information about how to care for the stitches on her foot and her stomach. I see that she is a bit red on her stomach, which I understand is a warning sign of infection or seepage, but she is dry to the touch and isn't really puffy. I don't know if I can put antibiotic cream on her stomach scar (she can't lick it) because all I have is human stuff and I don't know if it's really a big deal.
I did call the emergency hospital for help regarding her foot though - the baggie thing they made was alright, but because it is vinyl and has big holes for the tie at the top of the baggie, moisture does get in, and her bandage has gotten a little wet; and it's not easy to tell if the gauze pad underneath is dry or not. So, the emergency hospital people have told me that I need to remove the bandage and replace it; human grade gauze is fine, I'm told. The vet who did the spaying told me all I'd have to do is cut a line through the non-stitches side of her foot and take the bandage off. Little do I know when I try to take the thing off using their methods, but the bandage has been taped to her fur. I had to peel the fur off the tape and snip around it - not easy for me to do on my own while she's squirming to get away. I try not to hurt her and do it quickly but having her move and not come back to me on demand makes me much more frustrated. When I finally was able to get the bandage off (pulling quite a bit of fur off - there was no other way!) the stitches themselves look clean and dry. I put on the new gauze and use the tape ON THE GAUZE to keep it on, then to dissuade her from chewing on her bandage and to keep it dry, I put a layer of electrical tape around everything (but of course, not the fur - that would just be stupid).
I try to put some gauze on her stomach too - I mean she wasn't given anything to cover her bare tummy and given that she's a dog, she lies down in the house, outside and everywhere! Perhaps that is what irritated her. I did try to tape the gauze square to her bare belly where she was shaved for the operation, and it does hang on but it's not secure. I will see about making a little shirt/belt thing to hold the gauze pad lightly to her.
Finally, I have been worrying about what is going to happen on Wednesday when she goes to the kennel. She had a rough time today not seeing Chris and went bonkers when another man came to the door (a friend who came to pick up something he lent to Chris). She jumped up on her crate and looked all over for Chris. Poor thing. Now, I'll be leaving her alone for a week and she's obviously going to need someone to care for her paw and stomach and make sure she's not too pathetic - while also being careful that she's not overrun by other dogs... This is going to be tough for her and me.
I am going to call the vet tomorrow and give them a piece of my mind. I will be asking them about why they didn't schedule the follow up appointment and why they didn't provide me with the needed information - they also will be getting it with regards to the tape on her fur.
Another frustration today came from the crappy City of Edmonton website which didn't work on the Mac platform and barely made any sense on the Windows platform - I tried to get the pet license today as we now have Hershey spayed but the process was totally broken - asking me to pay $0 and not sending me a confirmation page. I will be making another complaint call on Monday.
Not fun - not the dog's fault in any way - it's the people I'm mad at.
While the day itself has gone quite well, I am very pissed off at the vet office. Honestly, I feel they could have given me more information about how to care for the stitches on her foot and her stomach. I see that she is a bit red on her stomach, which I understand is a warning sign of infection or seepage, but she is dry to the touch and isn't really puffy. I don't know if I can put antibiotic cream on her stomach scar (she can't lick it) because all I have is human stuff and I don't know if it's really a big deal.
I did call the emergency hospital for help regarding her foot though - the baggie thing they made was alright, but because it is vinyl and has big holes for the tie at the top of the baggie, moisture does get in, and her bandage has gotten a little wet; and it's not easy to tell if the gauze pad underneath is dry or not. So, the emergency hospital people have told me that I need to remove the bandage and replace it; human grade gauze is fine, I'm told. The vet who did the spaying told me all I'd have to do is cut a line through the non-stitches side of her foot and take the bandage off. Little do I know when I try to take the thing off using their methods, but the bandage has been taped to her fur. I had to peel the fur off the tape and snip around it - not easy for me to do on my own while she's squirming to get away. I try not to hurt her and do it quickly but having her move and not come back to me on demand makes me much more frustrated. When I finally was able to get the bandage off (pulling quite a bit of fur off - there was no other way!) the stitches themselves look clean and dry. I put on the new gauze and use the tape ON THE GAUZE to keep it on, then to dissuade her from chewing on her bandage and to keep it dry, I put a layer of electrical tape around everything (but of course, not the fur - that would just be stupid).
I try to put some gauze on her stomach too - I mean she wasn't given anything to cover her bare tummy and given that she's a dog, she lies down in the house, outside and everywhere! Perhaps that is what irritated her. I did try to tape the gauze square to her bare belly where she was shaved for the operation, and it does hang on but it's not secure. I will see about making a little shirt/belt thing to hold the gauze pad lightly to her.
Finally, I have been worrying about what is going to happen on Wednesday when she goes to the kennel. She had a rough time today not seeing Chris and went bonkers when another man came to the door (a friend who came to pick up something he lent to Chris). She jumped up on her crate and looked all over for Chris. Poor thing. Now, I'll be leaving her alone for a week and she's obviously going to need someone to care for her paw and stomach and make sure she's not too pathetic - while also being careful that she's not overrun by other dogs... This is going to be tough for her and me.
I am going to call the vet tomorrow and give them a piece of my mind. I will be asking them about why they didn't schedule the follow up appointment and why they didn't provide me with the needed information - they also will be getting it with regards to the tape on her fur.
Another frustration today came from the crappy City of Edmonton website which didn't work on the Mac platform and barely made any sense on the Windows platform - I tried to get the pet license today as we now have Hershey spayed but the process was totally broken - asking me to pay $0 and not sending me a confirmation page. I will be making another complaint call on Monday.
Not fun - not the dog's fault in any way - it's the people I'm mad at.
posted by traxis at
10:08 PM
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