Molly had a rough day today.
The dental cleaning went well. Her teeth cleaned up beautifully. When the doctors did the ear flush, however, they were in for quite a shock. There was an incredible amount of “debris” in the right ear - the badly infected one. In addition to flushing the ear, they had to use instruments to remove clumps of junk from around the eardrum. Now for the real shock. When they began to work on the left ear - the one that was only slightly infected - they discovered that the eardrum was ruptured. Molly has never given any indication that she has had any pain in that ear. I have no clue what caused the eardrum to rupture.
Due to the severity of the infection in the right ear, and the rupture of the eardrum in the left ear, x-rays of Molly’s skull were taken so that the doctors could get a good look at the middle ear. Fortunately, there appears to be no damage to the middle ear. A culture was taken from around the right eardrum, and hopefully the findings will give the doctors more information as to what is growing in that ear and why.
I brought Molly (along with a small pharmacy) home around 7:00 PM. She is in a lot of pain due to the invasive ear procedures. She will be taking pain medications for several days. She will also be taking oral steroids, antibiotics, and an anti-yeast medication. And that’s not all. I have to give her antifungal ear drops - a certain brand in the left ear, and another in the right. She also has two separate ear cleaners - one for the left ear, and another for the right.
The next vet appointment will be in two weeks. At that time, they will give her general anesthesia, examine her ears and re-flush if necessary, recheck her liver values, and do another urinalysis to check the urine protein levels. They will soon be doing a test for Cushing’s Disease as well, but they won’t be able to do it until she has finished her round of steroids and they are out of her system.
Today’s vet bill - $642.59. At this rate, I may be taking on a second job soon!
On a happier note, I signed both Molly and Cruella up for pet portraits on February 24th. I’ll get some photos of the dogs together as well as some of me with the dogs. Expect to see them posted on my blog!
January 24th, 2007 at 8:27 am
Oh I’m the first one to sign you blog (remember when we wrote that in people’s yearbooks and inserted crack for blog?) My mom made me use white out if someone did that to me.
What an ear mess you have on your hands! Who would have thought BOTH ears would have so much trouble. I hope the meds relieve some pain.
Pictures? WHOO HOOO!! I can hardly wait. SAY CHEESE!
January 24th, 2007 at 9:17 am
I sympathize with you on this and for sweet Molly.
We’ve had pet issues since the end of the year also.
Charlie the cat had blood in his urine so 2 weeks of antibiotics and urine samples. It’s cleared up but needs a follow-up because of some other residue in the urine.
Bun Bun the eldest bunny(11years)
had a large growth by his ear, surgery removed it but it must be cleaned, he’s not eating much but he’s a fighter so hopefully he’ll pull out of this.
It always breaks my heart because unless you can see a physical problem they can’t tell you.
I will keep your sweet Molly in my prayers and wrap her in light.
tc
January 25th, 2007 at 12:32 am
my dog has an ear infection too…
January 25th, 2007 at 2:17 am
That’s about what it cost us for the first emergency visit for new puppy we got for my son from the pet store. I’ll never buy a mammal from a pet store again. Fish yea, mammals never! Hope your pup is okay.
January 25th, 2007 at 7:35 am
It’s amazing how much a “free” dog can cost, isn’t it? I’m so glad she did okay though, and she’ll bounce back in no time. Really, you should consider joining my parents at “The Broken Animal Farm”… it’s what we call their place since they always seem to have at least one 4-legger (and sometimes a 2-legger) on the mend. Maybe I’ll get Pooh King’s ears flushed so I can be sure he hears me when I tell him not to steal scooby snacks!!
January 25th, 2007 at 1:21 pm
heres an idea: be naked in the pics but have the dogs in front of you on leashes, like lunging at the camera man. that would be awesome!
sorry, im in a weird mood.
love ya!
January 25th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
Poor Molly.
Er… yeah, what Brico said.
January 25th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Here’s hoping that she gets better soon.
If Brico REALLY loved you, he would pay the bill just because…
OOPS> better stop before I get myself in trouble!!!
January 25th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Hey!! What’s up with all these anonymous comments!? They weren’t anonymous before I switched to the new version of Blogger!
January 27th, 2007 at 12:31 am
Jeeze, sorry to hear about all this.