Seems like any time I take Butch to the vet anymore, he comes back with more problems that he went in with. This is not a reflection on our vet, Dave is a great vet and really knows a lot about Boston terriers. The issue is Butch himself. He does not like it there at all. I’m not sure if it is all the different smells from other animals, or if he just equates the surroundings to his own personal torture chamber but he is most decidedly in panic mode as soon as we enter the door of the office. Fighting every step of the way he reluctantly steps on the scale, 22.5 pounds. Hmmm, he lost a couple of pounds. Probably from not eating too well on the Maine trip. He also usually runs pretty lean during the summer months anyway. A couple of pound swing is nothing to worry about, with being outside playing and running around he is still in great shape.
On this particular visit I had to get him in for his parvovirus and rabies shots as they are scheduled within a week of each other and I was sure we wouldn’t get out of there without a good butt squeezing … him, not me. Dad was also along for this visit with Buttons and Bosco for their parvo shots also. Dave gave them both shots in the folds of skin on their neck. No problem. They squirmed a little bit but no problem holding them as they are about 15 pounds each, A little bigger than a small thanksgiving turkey.
Then, there was Butch, all muscle, and trying to get out of there, his was more of a full blown Greco- Roman wrestling match than just plain squirming. Keeping his harness on him it was impossible for Dave to give him his shot in the skin around his neck. Instead the other area where vets will give shots to be less painful is on the inside of the rear leg where it connects to the body. With Butch thrashing around and us trying to hold him still, the shots went OK as did the butt squeezing part. The dogs went back with Dad and I went back to work. Later that day, when I went to pick Butch up he was a mess. Dad said he was under the bed the rest of the day. I’m sure his anal glands hurt but there were other problems that developed. Once I got him home he would not lay down. He just stood there looking at me in the middle of the room. As I went about my business he would not move. So I went over to him to look him over good and running my hand down the left side and then the right side he let out a Yelp! and jumped away. I thought that possibly with the shot on that side and his thrashing around that maybe the needle poked him in the muscle and now it is sore. I left him alone and he would still just stand there. He was so tired that his little head would slowly fall to the floor between his front paws and fall asleep … with his butt sticking up in the air. He did not want to bend his back legs.
After a couple of days of rest this subsided and he could walk up and down the 2 stairs into the garage again. He was also running and jumping the second evening so he was doing fine. Probably at 90%. However, another noticeable problem showed up this morning. Picking him up under his front legs to put him in my truck would also result in a Yelp! This, I deduced, was from holding him so tightly in his harness when getting the shots. I’m quite sure that the harness hurt his muscles under his front legs and they are now very sore. Putting my hands a little further down and locking my fingers, I picked him up like a crane and put him in the truck without incident. He is still noticeably sore and I have to be careful with him. It’s difficult when he wants to play so badly but I know he should be careful or he could hurt himself worse or prolong the agony. I also would not let him on my bed to sleep until I knew he would get up and down on his own again. If he can’t do that then I did not want to bump him during the night and send him through the roof. I woke up today and he was next to me on the bed. He jumped up during the night.
Maybe I make too much of it, but there has to be a better way. It seems to me that with every visit to the vet Butch’s anxiety grows and I worry what will be bothering him next. Dave is a great vet and I would not think of changing but something has to be done about Butch’s vet problem!
