[Dailydrool] Rupert turns 7, mouth sore - numbing agent ok??

[Dale Rutz]

Kacy,

I may be completely clueless but all of my bassets have an opthomologist.  ALL 
of them!!!  And here's why:

I noticed one of LuLu's eyes seemed a bit droopy and kind of odd.  I got a 
recommendation to a good Doggie eye doctor who sees a lot of bassets from Bay 
area basset hounds so I made her an appointment.  Everyone said eyes are nothing 
to mess with.  So I took her and it turns out that she has a condition which is 
easily controlled with drops 1x daily but could have lead to permanent eye 
damage had I not taken her.  And I dragged my other two in because .....

When I was in the waiting room the phone rang constantly.  First caller was 
asked "are you currently an established patient?  No?  Ok well the first 
available appointment is 6 weeks from Tuesday.  Sorry, that is the first one I 
have.  I can put you on the cancellation call back list but I rarely get 
cancellations.  Emergency?  Sorry, we can't help.  Try Emergency blah blah 
blah."  Then the next call came in.  They were asked "are you currently an 
established patient?  Oh, good!  Emergency .... oh, ok well you can just bring 
him in and drop him off and we'll hold him in back and one of the doctors will 
take a took at him in between patients, as soon as possible.  Once they have had 
a look at him they'll give you a call."

So I made an appointment for Snoopy,  took the 6 weeks from Tuesday one.  And 
guess what?  He DID have a condition, different from LuLus but the med is the 
same.  And Gracie is also now an "ESTABLISHED PATIENT."  G-d forbid we ever wake 
up one morning and find the dreaded bulging eye .... but if we do we will be 
seen by an eye specialist THAT DAY because we are established.

Good luck and G-d bless and find yourself a doggie eye doctor is what I'd say!




________________________________

Okay, first and foremost, Happy 5th Gotcha Day to our big red, counter-cruising 
loverboy, Rupert. We also celebrate today as his 7th birthday, since they 
estimated him to be around 2 back when we adopted him. This boy has completely 
stolen my heart (and lap). He is utterly devoted to me and I to him. He bosses 
sweet Cowboy around, steals the toys and eats any leftover kibble, but deepdown, 
I know that Cowboy loves his brother and is hopefully happy that we brought him 
home a friend 5 years ago today. 


Onto health stuff - this past weekend we noticed that Rupert's left lower eyelid 
seemed "saggier" than usual and slightly rolled out. We also identified a 
sore/bump on his upper left gum/lipperflap and wondered if it was related. 
Yesterday Rupert went to a new vet to have everything checked out. {We chose a 
new vet because they are also the Emergency clinic and have lots of specialists, 
state-of-the-art equipment, etc. Plus they are about 25 minutes closer than the 
vet we have previously been using since moving to this area 18 months ago} 
Anyway, not impressed. The vet spent about 5 minutes with Rupert. Denied that 
anything was wrong with his eyes, stating that they look normal for a basset 
hound and that no pressure check was necessary as the eyeballs are not enlarged 
and the eyes are still white; checked the mouth sore and stated its merely an 
irritation from a bad tooth that needs to be pulled; determined that Rupert is 
10-15 pounds overweight - which I completely disagree with!; and then tried to 
sell us on an insurance plan and care package despite being told that Rupert has 
accident-only insurance coverage and that we weren't interested. He also tried 
to swoop Rupert to the back for a nail trim without asking, consulting, etc. 
just stating, "well were going to at least take him back for a nail trim - these 
are far too long!" ..."Um no thanks, we trim them at home" (and they really 
aren't too long for Rupert's standard)

Granted, I was not present - the Dadslave took him - but I trust Dad's 
judgement. He too has the Ru's best interest in mind. So while relieved that the 
vet said nothing serious was wrong, I just don't feel completely at ease with 
his diagnosis. So we have an appt scheduled with the old, trusty, 
30-minutes-away vet for Thursday to again have the mouth (and eye too) checked 
out, and possibly to schedule a dental if the vet concurs that its a tooth 
causing the issue. 


Poor boy though, I can tell his canker sore or whatever it is, is bothering him. 
He keeps pawing at his snout. Is there anything safe we can give him or put on 
the sore until he sees the vet Thursday morning? Is Oragel or something like 
that safe? I know how bad it can hurt to have a sore in your mouth, so any way 
to help ease the discomfort, especially today on his Gotcha/Birthday would be 
appreciated. On that note though, he's eating great still and counter cruising 
like a champ so thats reassuring at least. 


Thanks and drool to all,
Kacy with Cowboy and Rupert
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