Dottie gets a bath

I made the momentous decision this morning to give Dottie a bath. Don’t ask me why I waited this long.

The eldest shih tzu did okay with a little grooming when Barbara, her former foster mother, was here, but I was still concerned that she would be afraid of a bath.

I was going to bathe her in the bathtub, but John thought the sink might work better.

She did better than I thought she would, although the blow dryer scared her. She kept gasping for breath and blowing bubbles out of her nose, which she does when she is afraid, so I finally decided to let her air dry.

Flower & Candy Visit the Vet

Delores from BFF Rescue emailed me today that she would pick up me, Flower and Dottie at one o’clock to go to the vet. Oops. I had my days off. I thought vet day was tomorrow.

We talked last week about concerns I had regarding Flower and Candy that I wanted to discuss with the vet. Candy never seems to have the energy her sisters have, plus she seems to tire easily. When her sisters come inside, she likes to stay outside and lie on the paving stones or in the dirt in the garden. I’m always afraid she’ll get too much heat. When I see her, looking so quiet and a little frail, I think of the youngest sister on Little Women who became sick and died. I can’t help it!

In the morning, although she often runs up the stairs with Dottie and Flower now, and although she romps playfully with them, biting at my hand, she backs away before the other two and goes back to her safe area. Delores said that when she was rescued from the puppy mill, the veterinary clinic in Kansas noted that she had an umbilical hernia. I was afraid it was something that was bothering her. We have been seriously talking about the pet adoption process, so Delores wanted the vet to check the shih tzus while they were still foster dogs, so that Best Friends Forever Rescue would take care of any vet charges.

Another thing I wanted to ask the vet about was Flower’s left eye. It seems a little bigger and darker to me than her right eye, and sometimes when I look at her, it has a “glass eye” look. It’s fine if it’s cosmetic — she is such a cutie, with those Maybelline lashes — but I want to ask the vet if it is anything serious.

Delores brought the shih tzus some canine visitors: Peekaboo, the Pekingese I had met at Barbara’s while visiting the girls, and a poodle named Miss Muffet, who was going to get a chip implanted by the vet. They were wearing very cute “Adopt Me” harnesses for their vet visit. They wandered in and made themselves at home instantly. Peekaboo quickly figured out how to get up on the dining room table, climbing onto a chair that was pushed out and then jumping onto the table, where she promptly lay down. Miss Muffet started to follow her lead, but I was afraid our little ewoks would get an idea, so I got them down and pushed in the chair.

Flower and Candy rode in a kennel on the way to the vet, Clear Creek Animal Hospital. Flower got so frightened on the way to the clinic that she pooped in the kennel. Once we got to the vet, I talked to the shih tzus in their kennel in the lobby to try to soothe them. When we went into the assigned room, Miss Muffet and Peekaboo wandered around, examining everything, while my little shih tzu princesses huddled, frightened, in their kennel.

Candy was the first one out of the kennel when we opened the door, so Dr. Lindsey examined her first. Although Candy was frightened, she let the vet weigh her (11.5 pounds) and then examine her. The vet said that the hernia had healed over (I can’t remember the medical term!). She didn’t find anything else wrong with her, so her temperament must just be different than the other two shih tzus.

Flower did okay at first. She sat in the scale (13.5 pounds) and let Dr. Anna look at her eyes. The vet assured us that she didn’t see anything wrong, but that it was good to watch their eyes. However, when the vet touched Flower with the stethoscope, the shih tzu freaked out and tried to jump off the table. I caught her — barely. That was the end of Flower’s vet examination.