5:26 p.m. - 2007-11-27
Eye-Popping Vet Bills!
Woah nelly, two days in a row! And I'm still putting off writing "the bad entry."
Last Sunday, Harry and I were playing fetch with the cardboard roll that comes in the paper towels (his favorite, even though he has about 964 toys). He tore after it, and while running at top speed, he turned his head back a bit to grin at me and then WHAM. He ran into a big cardboard box full of Christmas decorations that was in the middle of the floor. You could tell immediately that he poked his eye, because he was squinting it and it was very watery.
Erik and I decided to let it go for about a day, to see if it healed on its own. And on Monday, it did seem a bit better. But on Tuesday, it was red, runny, and he almost always had it closed. But since it was Thanksgiving week, we couldn't get an appointment at the vet's office until Friday afternoon. I felt so horrible for him, as he was clearly in a good deal of pain. Since he's poked his eye, actually, he hasn't slept on our bed as usual. He seems to want to be by himself, choosing the rug next to the bed or underneath the bed entirely (the latter being his preferred choice last night.)
Our vet said that he had scratched his cornea. And that dogs with protruding eyes (like shih tzus) are much slower to heal from those kind of injuries and it can be difficult and scary. They actually did a laser treatment at the vet hospital on his eye to help with pain. And Erik and I have had to give him eye drops, one kind for pain twice daily, and another kind for treatment every two hours while we are awake. (And if it seems at all like he is rubbing his eye, we need to put one of those horrible "lampshade" E-collars on him so he doesn't make it worse.) They also discovered that his right ear was infected, so we have to also give him an ointment twice a day and clean his ear with a solution every other day. All this medicine on top of Harry already having to get a steroid every other day and a shot in his back every week for his allergies. He is a trouper, I must say. And I must also say that we are putting the vet's children through college.
Harry went for a check-up last night, and thankfully, his eye is healing surprisingly well. He's been very patient about getting the eye drops, and I'm really proud of him. He has to continue to go for check-ups, though, until it is healed. The total of the two vet appointments so far has been $240. Harry, couldn't you have waited to crash into stuff until after the holidays, buddy?
We also have to shell out $450 next month to board Charlie and Harry at the kennel while Erik and I take our belated honeymoon in Disney. And then in January, Harry has to return to the veterinary dermatologist, because even after all the skin tests for allergies and the vaccine they developed to meet his needs, he is still dependent on that steroid. When he goes off the steroid, his skin turns pink and red again, and he winds up hairless in spots from the scratching, even opening up sores and wounds. It's horrible to see him suffer like this. But he can't be on the steroid for a long time, because that's bad for him, too. He's already put on three pounds (which is TONS when you only started out weighing 13) and is more aggressive with Charlie than I think he would normally be. I'm so worried about the money for the dermatologist. When we went last year, the visit/tests/vaccine cost us $900. And that was after six months of going to our regular vet to weed out other potential problems. All in all, it cost us a couple thousand dollars. Last year, I made the decision to sell the diamond in my engagement ring so we could save Harry's life. A ring is replaceable. Harry just isn't. He never will be.
If you're not a dog person, it's hard to understand. I wouldn't have really gotten it before I had Harry. But he's like an appendage, he's like my kid. I'll always do everything to make sure he's safe and not hurting.
Hey, next time I'll tell you about our honeymoon plans! Betchya can't wait!
