She's Legal!

Yesterday was Mia's final appointment of the year for her vaccinations, including the rabies shot.

She received a fancy, dandy tag with her vaccination information on it. But it's far too big to place on her collar. She's only 9.5 pounds and the extra weight might topple her over.

Another 1.5 pounds and she can begin her heartworm medication. The vet advised that starting it before then would be a waste of money, considering she'll gain weight quickly and there's a different dosage for 11 lbs. and up.

I also requested that her lady parts be examined because she'd developed a bit of a brown substance around her stuff. My husband and I have tried to clean it to no end, but nothing has worked. So, the vet informed me that Mia had a yeast infection. Poor thing! She's only 4 months old and is already experiencing womanly problems.

I was told to clean the area twice a day and apply an ointment for 5-7 days and it should clear up. It's probably our fault. We have bathed her a couple times since her arrival and fail to pay attention to her goods. We don't do that with Vito, but that's because he has an outie.

Oh, the vet also said that if the infection didn't go away, surgery may be needed. He says it's not common but that the skin is folding around her wee wee and if it doesn't shrink as she ages, then the surgery would remove the excess skin so the infections wouldn't continue. Yipe.

Last night, we cleaned dutifully and applied the ointment. My husband prefers to hold Mia rather than clean because as he puts it, "She's a lady!" and will begin singing the tune Tom Jones originated.

Vito was also seen. That was a chore, taking two unruly dogs to the vet. Vito went one way while Mia went another. There was a lot of frustration on my part.

He had to have a heartworm test so he could get his Heartguard medication, and I asked that his anal glands be expressed.

Anal glands, for those that don't know, are these pesky things on the inside of the bum that accumulate funkiness and cause dogs to do the butt-scoot boogie.

They produce a FOUL odor similar to rotting eggs anytime he toots. So, we have them cleaned as often as possible because we tire of having to cover our noses for the unforeseeable future.

I was advised, thankfully, that expressing these glands on our own would be a messy job and that it would be better to have a professional do it. And thank God, because when Vito is done, I only have to smell the aftermath. I can't imagine what smelling it firsthand would be like. They should use that as a torture device.

When I loaded the beasts into the car, I was overwhelmed by the remaining stank of Vito's bum. I took a tissue to his tush and tossed it immediately for fear of catching on fire or something.

So, all in all, everything checked out for my babies and now I can obtain a license for Mia Sofia now that she's had her rabies.

TTFN.