Pets have a funny way of reminding us what is important. While this has obviously been a very sad time around here lately, our gang understands that life goes on for the living. They have not allowed us to wallow in our sorrow and have insisted that we get on with every day life. Dinners must still be made and puggie bellies need to be rubbed. That is the beautiful thing about animals – though it’s obvious that they know something is wrong (and indeed our guys looked a bit lost Friday and Saturday) they also know that you must get on with life.

Phoebe missing Lilly

They also seem to think that it’s great fun to scare Mummy and Daddy. As such, Sunday morning we were pondering what we would do with the day while the kids enjoyed a good romp. Phoebe and Charlie were running circles around the upstairs when Denny decided to join them. Unfortunately for Denny, he’s not quite the athletic type and his nails were actually in need of a trim. The next thing we know, Phebes & Charlie had run through to the bedroom and Denny came limping behind them favoring his left front paw. Richard picked him up and we saw that he was bleeding profusely. Poor dear had caught his claw on something and partially ripped it out. We tried to wrap it up but he would have no part of it. We called the vet’s office who said to bring him down as an emergency.

An hour later we were in the vet’s office and Denny was being given an injection to help him sleep. He’s always been a bit of a worrier and he definitely hates having his paw messed with, so a sedative was definitely in order. While his foot was being looked at (and he was being given an all-over pedicure) we decided to have a couple of other items taken care of as well. He has had a small skin tag on his upper lip for quite some time and this seemed the perfect opportunity to have it removed. He also had a small bump removed from his ear. Though it appears to have been a skin tag, we are taking no chances and having it biopsied. After Lilly, we have pledged to make sure we do routine exams on all of our babies to check for any unusual lumps or bumps. We’ll do it every month when they get their Heartguard and flea treatment.

As it turns out, Denny did not need the nail completely removed, but it was cut down severely and bandaged up. He was also given shots for antibiotics and a pain killer. He was then given a reversal drug for the sedative and once he was able to keep his head up we headed home. Poor little guy spent the rest of the day feeling generally miserable while Phebes and Charlie keep sniffing his paw and ear.

Chicken rawhide for the patient

I am happy to report that this morning Denny woke up as his usual self. The bandage remains in place until tomorrow. The stitches in his ear are thankfully dissolving ones, so there will be no need to take him back for their removal. And since it has always been Charlie’s job to clean Denny’s ears, he is already seeing to it that the stitches dissolve as they should. Isn’t it nice to have family to depend on?

Charlie – Denny’s official ear cleaner