Please let my dog's deafness be temporary...
Poor Sarah-dog. She had to be sedated last week and have her ears cleared out where they discovered one of her ear drums had busted. Her equilibrium had been off for a week or so after an ongoing problem that seemed to be nothing more than a runofthemill ear infection that cropped up just like she'd had last year. I got the same drops a month ago from the vet that she'd had last year and it seemed to get better...till she started getting dizzy sometimes when she got up and would tilt her head awkwardly.
Getting her into the vet was an ordeal in itself. She cannot get into my Explorer on her own because her joints just can't do it anymore and she is too heavy for me to pickup. Plus, I usually get a sedative from the vet to give her before taking her in because it terrifies her so much. This time, because they knew they'd have to sedate/anesthetize her, having her be on an oral tranq was piling it on...so she had to go in horrified with no little white pill buffer. And that goes for two of us...
I borrowed piece of plywood to get her into the car last Thursday morn and it actually worked like a gem. She soon figured out it was not going to be a happy ending. I wasn't sure if I'd even be bringing her home. We both ended up in tears, her staying behind at the vets squealing and being dragged into the back to be sedated and me driving home lumpy throated and crying every mile or so, recovering and crying again.
It wasn't till late in the afternoon I heard from the vet's and heard about the terrible state of her ears which they discovered was due to polyps in both of them; the worse being in the ear with the busted drum. They can't naturally clean themselves because of the polyps blocking the canal.
I know she could hear before I took her in. She would still react to dogs causing a ruckus outside and me. Since Friday, the only thing I am sure she heard was when I had a sneezing fit with one particularly loud sneeze. Other than than, I can't seem to get her to hear anything. We have so many verbal cues. So many words she understands and reacts to. Losing this communication is a small thing compared to the possiblity of not having her at all...but it is a loss that I can see she is navigating with an awareness something is wrong. I am doing what I can to approach her now so it does not startle her. I turn on light switches to get her attention and try to walk heavy, but she is still ends up getting surprised by my presence next to her in a world that is no longer supplying her with audio clues. She is on antibiotics and drops so hopefully whatever is going on will clear up. There must be swelling still going on from the cleaning. Short of a very expensive and very invasive operation that ends with them sewing shut her ears, the polyp problem is there to stay...and I can't even think about the tests I'm waiting on to see if they're benign or....what...
Getting her into the vet was an ordeal in itself. She cannot get into my Explorer on her own because her joints just can't do it anymore and she is too heavy for me to pickup. Plus, I usually get a sedative from the vet to give her before taking her in because it terrifies her so much. This time, because they knew they'd have to sedate/anesthetize her, having her be on an oral tranq was piling it on...so she had to go in horrified with no little white pill buffer. And that goes for two of us...
I borrowed piece of plywood to get her into the car last Thursday morn and it actually worked like a gem. She soon figured out it was not going to be a happy ending. I wasn't sure if I'd even be bringing her home. We both ended up in tears, her staying behind at the vets squealing and being dragged into the back to be sedated and me driving home lumpy throated and crying every mile or so, recovering and crying again.
It wasn't till late in the afternoon I heard from the vet's and heard about the terrible state of her ears which they discovered was due to polyps in both of them; the worse being in the ear with the busted drum. They can't naturally clean themselves because of the polyps blocking the canal.
I know she could hear before I took her in. She would still react to dogs causing a ruckus outside and me. Since Friday, the only thing I am sure she heard was when I had a sneezing fit with one particularly loud sneeze. Other than than, I can't seem to get her to hear anything. We have so many verbal cues. So many words she understands and reacts to. Losing this communication is a small thing compared to the possiblity of not having her at all...but it is a loss that I can see she is navigating with an awareness something is wrong. I am doing what I can to approach her now so it does not startle her. I turn on light switches to get her attention and try to walk heavy, but she is still ends up getting surprised by my presence next to her in a world that is no longer supplying her with audio clues. She is on antibiotics and drops so hopefully whatever is going on will clear up. There must be swelling still going on from the cleaning. Short of a very expensive and very invasive operation that ends with them sewing shut her ears, the polyp problem is there to stay...and I can't even think about the tests I'm waiting on to see if they're benign or....what...
posted by Laurie at
5:23 PM
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