[Dailydrool] The scoop from Belvedere

[Pam McQuade]

You hounds all know how you have to humor the humans. Well, the other day, 
Thursday, Mom and Dad didn't even let me have my breaker before they hustled 
me out the door and to the vet's. I knew something was up and tried not to 
go in the evil vet person's door. But you know how it is--Daddy dragged me 
in anyway.

Things got really fuzzy for a while, then I woke up with an owwie paw. The 
nasty vet had taken a piece out of it! He wrapped it up in a pretty golden 
stretchy kind of bandage, but it didn't make up for what he'd done for me. 
It HURT!

Later I heard Mom's voice far off and started barking. I wanted to go HOME, 
NOW! But it seems she'd brought Abner in to let the vet work on his yucky 
mouth infection. I howled louder, and Mom finally decided she could manage 
both of us in the van, so she had the vet tech bring me out with one of 
those all-in-one slip leashes (she didn't have my collar, because the vet 
had said I wasn't ready to go home yet when she called up about Abs). When I 
came out the door from the place where they do nasty things, I made sure to 
limp a little, just to let Mom know how much it hurt.

We all went home, and I have been milking it for all it's worth. But I could 
tell Mom, who's my main human, was pretty sad. She was being really, 
extraspecial nice to me. And she's almost always nice to me anyway. What was 
up?

Just a little while ago, the vet called. I'm glad I didn't know it was her, 
or I might have been scared. She gave Mom some really good news, though. The 
thing on my paw was a (drum roll, please) ruptured cyst. It is really 
infected, and for quite a while I will have to have more yummy canned dog 
food wrapped around a pill, but Mom is happy again. She's smiling a lot.

I may have to have the skin tag taken off in the doc's office, but she does 
not think I will need more than a local anesthetic, if the tag goes down 
enough in size.

Now, the humans know we bassets get lots of cysts. Why couldn't they figure 
out that this was just another one of them. I mean, did I really have to be 
knocked out and have a piece taken out of my paw? These humans. How can you 
train them properly? Even eight years of steadily improving these two has 
not fully worked. But I am glad Mom is smiling again--even Dad was happy to 
hear the news.
Belvedere, telling another Dashing Basset tale