The past few days have opened my eyes to the important place our family animals have in our lives. I thought I knew that already, but apparently I hadn’t ever clearly imagined what a Foxxi-less home would be like. So now I have. Thanks, anxieties!
Anyway. I noticed a long time ago that one of Foxxi’s fangs was chipped, but the vet couldn’t get near her mouth during the annual exam. It had been a while (like, 3 years) since her last cleaning, so we decided to bite the bullet and have it done Thursday. Estimate: $600-800 if nothing major was found.
Actual final cost: just over $1,900. Which covered removal of three badly infected teeth, bone grafts to save the adjacent teeth, sealing of six chipped teeth, antibiotic injection, three different prescriptions to bring home, and all the related surgery costs. The vet said she’d have thought Foxxi chewed rocks if she didn’t know better. (Our dog is not a big chewer, never has been.)
That wasn’t the scary part, though. I laid Foxxi in her bed when we came home, and she literally didn’t move for the next 6 hours. No barking, no interest in food or water. When she finally attempted to get up, her back legs didn’t work. Her front half kept flopping to the floor. I heard her whining at 4 a.m., and jumped out of bed to see what was wrong. Her back legs were jutting in opposite directions, so I gently tried to straighten them out. I was rewarded with a snarl and snap towards my wrist.
I spent the night thinking about paralysis, old age, and all that implies. In other words, I was kind of a wreck.
After I got to work, I called the vet, who told me that the difficulties might be a result of going under. Foxxi already had weakness in her back legs before the surgery. That made me feel quite a bit better, but not as good as it felt when Foxxi finally pushed herself to a wobbly stand and barked for her lunch.
She’s even better this morning. I’m very, very relieved. Even with all the nipping, barking and occasional obnoxious behavior, it’s good to have her back to her usual self.
