If It's Tuesday, This Must Be...

...another day, another vet visit.

Four of my six critters are having health problems.   I've lost track of how many times I've been to a vet clinic in the last several months.  I am hemorrhaging money at frequenting three separate clinics these days....one for the birds, one for the dogs, and one for Misty.

These little gals have been with me for 17 years.  Tessa is an 18 year old African Grey parrot and Newport is a 17 year old Maximilian Pionus parrot.  I take my parrots to the vet for regular check-ups, with blood work, because it is very difficult to detect illness in a bird and I like to catch any health issues early.  We usually receive a good report or have something minor to fix.   Newport had high cholesterol a couple years ago. This was unusual and we attributed it to too many peanuts.  So we cut peanuts out of Newport's diet completely, much to her dismay.  (Newport is a glutton.)  But this year's check-up showed her cholesterol is still very high and her blood is thick and milky.  Tessa, who was "healthy as a horse" (the vet's words) last year,  has developed a problem too. They both have poor liver function and Newport's pancreas is hardly working at all.   After three  visits with an avian vet, we know that Tessa is responding to medication but Newport is not.  There is not much else to do but keep giving Newport her medication and wait.  On the outside she appears to be happy and healthy, but I am braced to find her dead on the bottom of her cage one of these days.  But maybe she'll surprise us and live on for several more years.  It's hard to tell with birds. 

Sadie is a Dalmatian/Australian Shepherd mix, about 13 years old. She has been my constant canine companion for 12 years now.  Her last check-up revealed poor liver function also.  (Maybe I should have our water tested. It seems odd to have 3 critters with liver problems.)  She has been on medication with milk thistle for about a month.

Just a little warning...the picture coming up is not pretty.

We took both of our dogs to the groomer about 11 days ago.  They came home with that freshly shampooed smell; they looked pretty and felt soft & clean.  All was well.

Last Sunday evening I was petting Sadie when I felt some scabby, crusty bumps on her back.  As I checked more closely, her hair started coming off in patches.  "Oh no. What now?" I thought.  Monday was a holiday.  So today, Tuesday, I got her into the vet as soon as they could fit us in.  The poor girl has a raging Staph infection.

2nd warning: here comes the picture...

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Fortunately Sadie doesn't appear to be in any discomfort.  She's not scratching or licking the infected area.  I never would have suspected a problem if I hadn't felt it when I was petting her.   She received a steroid injection and is on oral antibiotics for 10 days.  Twice a day I am to wipe her skin with a warm, moist washcloth and apply antibiotic ointment.  We expect her to heal quickly.  She's being a good sport about it.

  

And then there is Misty and the ongoing saga of the bad tooth.  I will drop her off at the Equine clinic again tomorrow morning and hopefully they can get that ornery tooth out once and for all.   I'm hoping for a positive outcome  (as in...that tooth positively must come out).

In the meantime, while I wait for Misty to heal from these extractions (3 of them to get the whole tooth out), I've scheduled some riding lessons on a school horse with Misty's new trainer.  That way she can get to know me and what I need to work on.  Then when Misty goes back into training, she will know how to work with both of us together.

I hope you and your critters are all in good health.