Small Animal Vet Day

Thursday this week was vet day for the small animals.  We go to Paws N Claws Vet Clinic in Fort Collins, as I worked there for years before I changed to training horses full time.  

I loaded up the three dogs in the cab of the truck, and each cat was placed their own sturdy carrier and then secured in the bed of the pickup.  The cats sure weren't happy, but they all behaved themselves well at the vet for all the annual things we need to do to them.

When we first arrived, I took the dogs in first.  Each of them was weighed on the scale, Rizzo at 44 lbs, Pascal at 47 lbs, and Mahzi at 77 lbs.  We weighed them in that order, and individually put them in the exam room.  Once I was in the exam room with them, Rizzo decided she was going to apply to be the receptionist.  She stood up on the table and proceeded to evaluate my paperwork, looking as though she was summoning the next patient.   

 

After she had checked out that surface, she then went to the door which led to the lab area in the back of the clinic.  Rizzo placed her front paws on the doorknob, spread her dog toes to encapsulate the round knob within her grasp.  She precisely and carefully twisted the doorknob to open it so she could go investigate what was happening in the back.  I quickly grabbed the door and shut it again, and she only opened it once more before deciding to stay in the room with me and the other dogs.  She is awfully smart and handsy with those dexterous dog paws.

Last time Rizzo was here she had spent the day at the clinic, and was put in a dog kennel with chain link front and brick walls to separate the dogs from each other.  When the technician went in to get her, the door was shut and latched but Rizzo wasn't in the kennel.  After looking around, the tech looked up.   Rizzo had climbed out of the kennel and was sitting on top of the six foot tall brick dividing wall calmly surveying the situation.  The tech that helped with our appointment was the same one who had found her there, and she marveled all over again at how Rizzo might have done it.

Orzo, Blu, Soleil, and Sabbath all did well, I'm kind of proud of how good my barn cats are for handling and veterinary things, including the crate training.

The small animals all had some vaccines and bloodwork done, and everyone was sent home with a clean bill of health.  Including Sabbath, who is now 16 years old - darn good for a barn cat!  I did more extensive bloodwork on him because of his age.  While one kidney value was very slightly elevated, the rest of his bloodwork looked great.  So I guess the old man will be kicking it with us a while longer!

It was a good appointment, we were efficient and got each animal taken care of with bloodwork, vaccines, and dewormer we took home.  I know it sounds gross, but the cats' main job is to take care of mouse control, and with that comes a certain amount of parasites which need attending to.  The dogs get into all kinds of gross stuff so they also need deworming  in addition to heartworm prevention.  

Thankfully everyone is healthy and ready for the next adventure, hopefully moving to Virginia soon once our property here sells.