This past Friday, August 15, 2014, our Bella got to meet her regular Veterinarian, Dr. Kristin Raboin, for Bella’s second routine puppy visit.  Given Bella’s adventure loving nature, we are on a first name basis with several of the doctors there at the clinic.  We thought we knew about raising puppies but Bella has taken us on quite the learning curve.  We arrived at 3:10 pm and were checked in.  Within a few minutes we went into the exam room and they proceeded in getting Bella weighted [a gain of 1.5 pounds].  They checked for intestinal parasites, ears, eyes, teeth and tummy were palpated and inspected.  An ear fungus was found and Bella was taken back into the hospital area where she was given her routine shots and ears filled with a healing salve for the fungus.  Her old cast was removed and the leg inspected to make sure it was looking healthy.  She received a light sedative so that an x-ray could be made of her broken tibia.  We wanted to check to see how fast the bone was healing.

While all this was taking place Mark and I patiently sat in the exam room, waiting for Bella and her doctor to return.  In about 30 minutes, Dr. Raboin returned with the computer x-ray image showing Bella’s leg.  It is healing, albeit not as quickly as Dr. Raboin would have liked to have seen.  I could see the spider web-like threads of where the healing was occurring.  We had been trying to keep Bella from being as mobile as she wanted to be and thought we had done a good job of doing so.  It seems that Bella is more active than we thought.  Even with the 6+ hours of crate time and limited play area time, she was going to need to be a little less active.  Dr. Raboin suggested that we give our little whirlwind puppy a small bit of Trazodone so that it would help her to be a bit more mellow.  That, along with the NSAID’s, should allow for her tibia to knit back together nice and solid.   As we finished our visit, in arrived Bella looking as cute as could be.  The staff had been working on decorating Bella’s pink cast and they had formed Carolina Blue letters, spelling out Bella’s name on her cast.  As you can see by the feature picture, she was one more cute cookie with her custom cast.  This cast, both in fit and length and design, is the best cast she has had on to date.  Oh yes, Bella definitely had her “groove” going.

For those wondering about how Bella is doing handling the pain from her broken leg, I am happy to report that she has had minimal discomfort.  We do have a liquid pain medicine that I use for her at night.  Her appetite has, for the most part, been good.  I have noticed that the Trazodone sometimes seems to interfere with her wanting to eat.  When that happens, I prepare a quarter cup serving of Science Diet for puppies and add some water to make it easier for her to chew.  I use a teaspoon and place an amount about the size of a regular marble on the end of the spoon.  I place it in Bella’s mouth and she eats and swallows it just fine.  I take my time and let Bella tell me when she is finished.   This is also a good time to give her any meds that are to be taken with food.  Bella does like eating the large puppy dry food chunks and will use them like a snack.  We will hear her munching on one or two at different times of the day.  She is drinking plenty of water, as evidenced by our trips outside to go potty.  Her stools are looking good.  There isn’t any black or tarry look and they are softly firm.

If you might be wondering why I always mention how Bella’s bowel movements look, there is a reason.  Anytime a pet or for that matter, a person, is taking NSAIDs, there is a chance for NSAIDs to  to cause bleeding in the digestive tract.  Digested blood will usually have a blackish or tarry appearance in stools.  As for urine, light color is usually showing hydration, whereas dark colored urine can show dehydration or even blood in the urine.  My advice in either situation is to seek medical attention for both animals and humans who have these things appear in their waste products.  When it comes to our pets, we always err on the side of being proactive in care.   Puppies especially need to have this type of care.  They have smaller bodies and dehydration or internal bleeding can be quick killers when they appear.   The old adage of “better safe than sorry” really carries weight in our home.

Bella continues to do well at home.  Thanks to the small bit of Trazodone, she is more content to play with her toys and nap a bit more than usual.  She still plays and is a puppy, just not as wired for sound and enjoying a more laid back time in her play area.  She did run off with one of my tennis shoes.  Being that they are a hot pink color, I thought it would be an easy retrieval.  One solitary shoe was left untouched and we could not figure out where she had put its mate.  We hunted the house over and looked in her crate.  I finally gave up and opted to wear another pair.  Later that day we looked in Bella’s crate.  She was so sweet and sleeping the sleep of angels. Tucked next to her body was my missing shoe!  We just shook our heads for we have no clue where she had stashed it so that she could nap with it later.  That’s just our  little Bella.

Check back for another Bella update in about 2 weeks.  She goes in for her third visit with Dr. Raboin at Quail Corners Animal Hospital.  Note also that we name Hill’s Science Diet as our favorite pet food based only on our choice and its performance.  We do not receive any compensation for mentioning the food product by name.