[Dailydrool] More on Senior Teeth Cleaning

[Pat Dill]

Alas, Pw Rosie too is in "desperate need of dental cleaning."  She is so 
baggy and wrinkled that the vets and vet techs find it next to impossible to 
find a basset vein large enough to draw blood samples.  Our vet told us that 
it would be extremely difficult to find a vein large enough to accommodate 
the needle used for anesthesia and felt that at 14+ it was way more trauma 
than it was worth.  (He went so far as to say if she has a medical emergency 
requiring an IV that they will have to try for the jugular--certainly hoping 
THAT never comes to pass.)

In any case, given the extremely poor condition of her teeth and that the 
presence of some dental abscesses is likely, he suggested giving Pw Rosie a 
1-week dose of antirobe (the antibiotic that is routinely given after doggie 
dental work) once a month as a way of warding off the spread of infection. 
It seemed a benign-enough precaution, is not very expensive, and gives us a 
bit of peace of mind.