Wedge's Fantom Foxtail

It all started about a year ago. We took Wedge in for his yearly shots and checkup and at that appointment we were told he had a foxtail in his ear. Everything we were told about it was all circumstantial; it might cause problems, it might not, it could keep working its way down into the ear, it could stay put, it could puncture the eardrum, it could cause damage, it could get infected, it could never be a problem, it's hard to know what will happen. Since the cost was pricey to have it removed and it sounded like there wasn't a rush because there was a possibility that nothing would come from it, we decided to wait to do anything about it.

Maybe you're asking yourself how Wedge got a foxtail down in his ear. Well, apparently dogs can get them from walking through underbrush and the summer prior (a year and a half ago) we went to a family reunion that was at a church camp ground for youth activities. And although I didn't recall there being any foxtails at the site, it was believable that that's when it would have happened because we spent plenty of time picking stickers off of his ears and tail. The vet also told us that the foxtail was wet which indicated it had been there for a little while (which from the time we went to the reunion to the time we took him to the vet was roughly 6 months). Other than that there was no other time it could have happened because Wedge is an inside dog and is mostly only outside to do his business and go on short walks.

Fast forward to today. Nick and I decided a while ago to get the foxtail removed from Wedge's ear and get his teeth cleaned at the same time because he had to be put under for both procedures and it would save us some money to only have him put under once. When I made the appointment I was told to drop him off between 8 and 8:30 in the morning and expect to pick him up around 2 in the afternoon. Nick dropped him off at 8:30 (because hello, it's Spring Break and the first week of Daylight Savings so 8:30 is really like 7:30 to our adjusting bodies) and was told to expect to pick him up around 1 in the afternoon.

About 2-3 hours later we got a phone call from the animal hospital saying Wedge's teeth were a lot worse than they thought and he needed 11 of them pulled. Don't panic, he has 42 teeth and the 11 that needed pulled weren't crucial chewing teeth. The problem is he was already under anesthesia so we had to decide right then or we'd have to come back and do it another day and pay to put him under again. We obviously love Wedge and want what's best for him, but having to make impulse decisions that cost a lot of money is incredibly frustrating.

He went in to have a foxtail removed and have his teeth cleaned and left with eleven teeth less. Oh, and the kicker, THERE WASN'T EVEN A FOXTAIL IN HIS EAR!!! It turned out to be a ball of wax with hair caught in it. The reason we took him in turned out to be nothing and ended up costing us nearly double what we were planning. Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it.

How kind of them to bag up the teeth for me to take home....

I picked Wedge up at 3pm because pulling all those teeth meant he had to be there longer, but it also meant Nick had already left for work so I had to take my girls with me. Three o'clock is the dead center of nap time. They called around 1:30 to let us know we couldn't pick him up until 3 so I decided not to put the girls down for their afternoon nap because they would only be asleep for maybe 45 minutes before I had to wake them up and load them into the car and that seemed like it would be more damaging than keeping them up. Thankfully they weren't complete terrors while we were at the animal hospital because I was so frustrated about the charges that I talked to the doctor for 40 minutes before we left.

By the time we got home I was so flustered and overwhelmed, my kids were more than ready for naps, and my sweet puppy was so miserably loopy from anesthesia and morphine that he just needed to be held and comforted. The problem with that is it left me unavailable to jump up and scoop whatever new thing Shelby put in her mouth or pull her away from whatever she's into that she shouldn't be, nurse her, or get either child down for a nap (which at this point it's 4pm and I wasn't sold on putting them down anymore anyway). And the thought of dealing with sleep deprived kids, preparing dinner, bathing them, and getting them down for the night, all while trying to be as available as possible to my puppy who I'm sure was scared and in pain sounded like more than I could handle. So I decided to call Nick at work and tell him it was too overwhelming for me and I needed his help. And thankfully he was able to come home and take care of us. And sadly, I knew that's what Wedge really wanted.

My poor puppy. He was so out of it he couldn't even remember how to comfortably cuddle.

In the 30 minutes while we were home before Nick pulled in, Wedge was completely lethargic. I tried to let him out to go potty and he couldn't hardly walk. He looked like a newly born colt trying to walk for the first time. His back legs just weren't working. Then he started shaking uncontrollably so I picked him up and cuddled with him on the couch and he didn't stop shaking until Nick got home. The first normal behavior he showed was when he heard the sound of the garage door opening and I said, "dad's home". He perked right up in eager anticipation. I'm pretty sure he even purred in the back of his throat to express his relief that his savior was coming.

Wedge and his best friend

The vet said Wedge's mouth should be all healed in a week to ten days. At least he has his dad to hold him tonight. He hasn't left Nick's side since he's been home. We sure love our Wedge and it's so sad to see him hurting. Hopefully tomorrow he'll be a little more energetic and possibly even up for going on a walk. I hate when my babies don't feel good... even my four-legged one.

Also, Shasta fell asleep on the couch. She tells me all the time that she doesn't need to take a nap, but clearly she's not ready to go a whole day without one! (And for that I am thankful)