Thursday 22nd September.
I took Suzy and Mum back to the vets on Tuesday to have their spay stitches removed. Both were very good in the hands of a lady vet. As happened the first time I took them to the vets, both were reluctant to get into the car and were sick on the way there and again on the way back. Somewhat shell shocked but no doubt glad to get rid of the stitches they spent the afternoon sleeping.
Both now join in the regular playfights and post-meal ‘zoomie’ sessions of whacky races which occur. I have no doubt that they are both capable of looking after themselves. I well remember one food fight that Suzy got into when she was still living in her cave about 8 months ago. She and one of her siblings got into a very serious scrap and were really going at it. I wasn’t about to try to sort them out physically and the only thing I could think of was to throw the water I had taken with me as their post meal drink over them.
After a liberal soaking they separated and set about washing their wounds. Two minutes later they were attending to each others wounds.
You may recall the scene that greeted me when I released the girls from the bathroom; the photos are in the previous post.
Yesterday I had to go shopping… this entails driving to a small market town some 20kms away. An average shopping trip takes up about 75 -90 minutes.
For reasons best known to herself Sophie had decided not to perform on the early morning walk not later when she had had her breakfast. I was reluctant therefore to put her in her crate; the mess she gets in has to be seen (and smelled) to be believed.
So with Izzy and Leo doing their King and Queen of the pack thing upstairs, and Spike and Scruffy in their crate I left Suzy, Mum, Sophie and Fred and Sox in the living room having first removed anything likely to be construed as a ‘toy for destruction.’ (or so I thought…). Got back from the supermarket and this is what greeted me as I opened the door….
(At first I thought I was suffering from Déjà Vu. Many years ago when Izzy and Leo were just youngsters, they silently destroyed a three-seater settee and matching armchair. Stuffing and covering material were strewn all over the living room floor. They had managed to do this without making a sound. Summer and I were having a rare Sunday morning lie in upstairs).
I dragged the groceries into the house and through into the kitchen and unpacked it, cursing all things canine. Then I went back into the living room to assess the damage. For various reasons the scatter cushions we use had all been stacked on top of a low cupboard. It was these cushions that had been attacked rather than the settee or chair. Nevertheless I was far from pleased.
My problem is this; toys are expensive with my lot, expensive because they have a life expectancy of about five minutes. They love rawhide bones but fight like hell over them and worse still they all suffer from the sh*ts after a chewing session. I have asked Summer to get hold of some Nylabones whilst she is in the UK; I cant get them over here, but they do keep them occupied.
Janice and Marie have both responded in the past to my posts in this blog and one of the questions Janice posed was why didn’t I have Sophie spayed at the same time as Suzy and Mum. The reason is given as reply to an earlier response. There was no need, no priority. Suzy and Mum were priority cases because both were pregnant and I certainly couldn’t look after two broods of newborn puppies. My own thoughts on the matter were that Sophie could wait until the onset of her first season and then we’d get her done. It did however prompt an email from Marie who pointed out that her vet wouldn’t perform a spay op until after a first season. So I started digging…
The internet has a whole host of reasons why one should not spay before a first season and an equal number that suggest that it’s ok.
I put the question to my Spanish vet that had ‘done’ Suzy and Mum and he is of the ‘don’t do it’ school. I also threw the question to a friend at the vets we used for years in the UK. Guess what… the answer from them is that there is generally no problem with pre-first season spay ops. The American Veterinary Medicine Association sits firmly on the fence (why am I not surprised?)
So this is something I am going to have to play by ear I think… wait until Sophie does come into season and then talk to the Spanish vet again. It’s going to be an interesting time however with four un-neutered males in the house.
Hopefully Summer will be back by then!