Another Medical Adventure

I was enjoying lunch, seated at a picnic table at the New York Botanical garden soaking up the unusually warm sunny weather on my dog free week- Eti was staying at a friend's house when I got the dreaded call from said friend- '....there's something wrong with Eti '.

I had recently had Magnus stay with us, and my reward was a swop - Eti was to stay with Magnus' family while I had a couple of weekends away and the weekdays were to be spent doing some long planned DIY projects, varnishing the dining table, some painting, some spring cleaning- all best done without a fume sensitive and curious dog around. So there I was on Day 4 when the phone call came, telling me that Eti had a swollen rear end and had been scooting all morning. By the time I got to him his swollen anal gland had abcessed and was oozing and bleeding. Off we went to our vets.

I have since learnt a lot about the anal gland - but I'll post about this another time. Thanks to the wonders of digital photography and email- I also have some gruesome photo evidence, that Magnus' dad sent me- which I'll spare you. Suffice to say Eti is making a good recovery. What I just wanted to say about this episode is a little more philosophical. First on the list - things happen and you fix them. I also gained a new perspective on my vet- although I have a couple of grumbles about the practise- I was very happy about their flexibility and ability to accomodate us at short notice- a good reason to stick with them. Surprisingly, I was also kind of glad to have Eti back home, despite the unfortunate circumstances. As always he can be depended on to raise a laugh with his antics. He now has to take medication after meals which I mix into some mashed banana, so has quickly learnt to wait by his food bowl until I come up with 'dessert'. He tracked down that silver lining right away.