Stella Has An Appointment

It wasn't easy but as of yesterday Stella has an appointment, but the earliest she can be seen is June 15th a week from today. I had two vets at the top of my list. I called them as soon as they opened and was told "we are not accepting new clients". Hmmmm, I better start looking. So I went to search for Vets in Evansville Indiana and started at the top of the list on Yelp. 13 calls in a row told me the same thing ... "we are not accepting new clients". A town of 120,000 people, more than 14 vets in the area and not one of them accepting new clients ????

Maybe that is why my new friend and neighbor "around the corner" told me on Sunday he takes his 10 month old puppy to a vet in Mt Vernon, a town about 18 miles to my west. I called after not receiving an answer to their preferred communication ... texting. Luckily I got a voice and she listened ... she listened to every word I said without interruption ... then said they could see Stella on the 15th at 11:30am. Not much else I could do and after the morning I had on the phone, eight days away sounded pretty good to me.

I had to do something in the meantime to relieve some of her pain. It was something I had used in the past with vets permission on different basset hounds and on my bloodhound Bertha 13 years ago. Buffered Aspirin 5-10mg per pound of body weight. A couple of tablets would fit into that range for Stella, every 12 hours. For the first time yesterday she didn't want breakfast and didn't get up immediately in the morning. She did not walk out into the kitchen until after I had fed the other two and fixed myself a cup of coffee. To me that means it hurts when she tries to stand up.

She took her GlycoFlex supplement, drank some water and went back to the computer room to sleep under my desk. I snuck off to buy some groceries where I saw inflation hitting me hard when the total figure rang up. I buy basically the same food all the time and have a good idea how much I spend. Yesterday's total was an eye opener even after entering the amount into my categorized spreadsheet for expenditures.

When I returned Stella was standing at the front door wagging her tail, she seemed better than when I left her.

This afternoon we had a chance between light rains to spend some time outside. I realized I had been using the wrong camera for these backyard dog shots. I went inside to find my Nikon 70-300mm lens and mounted that on my camera leaving the iPhone inside. None of the photos are edited and might seem to be a little dark but that was probably due to the overcast skies. It started sprinkling soon after these photos were taken.

To me in that photo she looks like she is hurting.

The other thing I am concerned about is that bulge in her abdomen. She has gained weight these past few months but we have cut back on walking due to her hips and limping. The food she eats may be a little too fat for her but all three have never looked better with the softest coats I have ever felt in my hounds. When you have had as many bloodhounds and basset hounds that I have had since 1987, you get to recognize the signs of things that are not good. That bulge is one of them and has been seen in all my bloodhounds that were much younger than Stella. Notice though she does not have one gray hair on her muzzle where Sadie had quite a few on hers.

Not only was I able to get an appointment for Stella on the 15th, but Walter will be going in on the 24th to get neutered. They told me today to have him there by 8am and I can pick him up the same day at 4:30pm. That's a good thing since Walter has never spent overnight anywhere else but his sleeping bag and Heidi's bed which is now Stella's bed. He is growing fast, loves his yard and doesn't run off.

I don't know the growth cycle for wheat but as you see it is turning color in June. I have no idea when they harvest it either. You cannot see the whole field behind the trees that line my yard but there are about 8 acres back there.

They were so small 9 days ago when I planted them. That natural rain water is the best thing for them and sunshine. I am glad I brought the Mexican pots with me instead of giving them away when I moved.

I will let these photos tell the story but I think you will see that Henry loves exploring his new yard full of grass instead of rocks. He doesn't mind the long cord I have attached to him that is anchored in the yard. He actually waits on top of the step for me to hook him up before taking off ... unless he sees his friend next door, then he sprints to her before I can attach the cord to his collar. I didn't grab the camera soon enough but he spends a lot of time rolling in the grass and scratching his back or maybe just because it feels good rolling in the grass. He loves to explore all the smells in this place.

So things have calmed down a little since I now have a regular vet, that was spoken highly of when I told people where we finally ended up getting an appointment. It will be an easy drive of 4 lane highway for most of the 18 mile drive. I will keep you posted on what I find out about Stella. There is an emergency vet service in town from 6pm until 7am if something were to happen.

It's not that hot outside today but the AC is keeping the humidity out and the light rains off and on today can do great things for the grass seed I planted on Saturday.

Almost time to watch the Reds on tv here in "the tropics" of southern Indiana.