Yesterday I took Luke to the vet; he'd twisted his leg last week which is a common occurrence but he just hasn't seemed himself. He was do for a check up and blood panel anyway so I called and made an appointment for 1:30. This is the veterinarian facility that I've been going to with Elsa, I really like them. But I made the appointment with a new vet, you cannot always get your vet so I wanted to meet another of them as a second vet at the same place. Was I glad I did.
Luke had never been to this vet which is a plus for him and his nerves. When we went in he required quite a bit of eye contact from Mom which helps him to know that all is well. He checks in with me constantly. As I signed him in he tried to jumped up to say hi at the desk but didn't quite make it. The waiting room is small but there was no one else there so we sat quietly and waited. He seemed to be shifting around a lot so I asked if he would like to sit with me? He understands what this means and prepared himself for the lift onto my lap, cute.
He sat on my lap for the entire waiting period before we were called in. Luke has a tendency to turn into Cujo at the vet trying to keep anyone away from him that might take him away. But with his age he has mellowed and he didn't know he was at the vets yet. He had his googly eyes on and seemed quite comfortable on my lap. We chatted and basically just chilled. When a guy with a cat in a box came into the waiting room, Luke's eyes changed immediately to big round worried saucers. His mouth pulled forward ready to growl, he let out a huge and threatening growl. The man turned away and Luke relaxed realizing he was not there for him.
Then a woman came in with an old labrador, Luke caused a huge scene. He barked and growled and carried on all from my lap. It only lasted a few seconds and he then relaxed again, that was the extent of his display which is very good for him. The tech came out and called us to a room, Luke was a bit anxious but not bad. We waited and the very nice tech girl came in and got on the floor with him. She was very gentle and very calm in her actions. He didn't mind her at all.
Next the vet came in and I quickly gave her a rundown on the behavior that might come but it didn't. She too got on the floor and proceeded with the check up. He was so good for her as he always is. She was very gentle, calm and she listened. Listening is one of the best things that a good vet can do, owners know their dogs best and if they aren't into listening then they have only guessing whats going on to rely upon. Luke weighed in at a whopping 41 lbs, SKINNY. Obviously his weight is an issue but it's not a new issue so not that much to worry about being that he'd only dropped a mere one pound.
I talked to her about his epilepsy and that it was mostly stress related. I asked that his blood draw be done in the room with me holding him. This was the big wait and see for me. She didn't mind at all, she completely understood and did not seem rattled by the request. It is something that I feel very strongly about being that my dogs are much more comfortable with my arms wrapped around them versus a complete strangers.
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Last year I had visited a completed different facility who asked me never to return again because I had the same request to be with Tilley. It was this same veterinarian that completely missed a high white blood count in her panel. Upon showing it to another much better vet at yet a different facility they quickly put her on antibiotics seeing that she had something going on inside. Was this the mass on her spleen that eventually took her from us? More than likely I believe.
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So with Luke's check up done he needed to have his blood drawn and get a urine sample. The girls came in with the syringe, I held Luke's head and we were done in less than a minute. Luke is amazing and trusts me with his life so having blood drawn from his jugular with Mom wrapped around him giving him kisses wasn't too too bad.
They said that they would take him out to get a sample and I said I'd do it. I've done it a ton of tons so I grabbed the bowl and head out with my boy. I told him to "hurry up," and readied the bowl. It took less than a 1/2 a minute and he was filling up the collection bowl. What happened next was a bit of a drag, he sort of shook and trotted off at the same time knocking the bowl enough to spill it all over my hand. I stood letting the bulk drip away and laughed, in fact I was smiling knowing that most people would be mortified by this. I laughed all the way back into the office, handed them the bowl and asked where I could wash my hands.
The vet came out again and talked to be in depth about Luke. She said that she will call on Sat. or earlier with the blood test results and to call if I had any concerns. This was a great visit and Luke was more than happy to be leaving with me and not left behind. Elsa had loved this vet so much that she wanted to stay the first time I took her. Canyon Animal Hospital is a wonderful Veterinarians and one that I definitely recommend. Yesterday I saw Dr. Brower and really, really liked her, the vet that saw Elsa for all of her visits is Dr. Hamil who is wonderful as well.