Priceless Miss Molly

I am happy to report that my cold is on the mend!  However, I wasn't the only sicky in our house this week.  Miss Molly was under the weather, too.

Molly relaxing in one of her favorite spots

We've had our girl for almost 4 years, and in all that time she's had almost rude good health.  Being a mutt, she doesn't experience any genetic weaknesses.  And for all that she looks like a stuffed animal, she is tough and rugged and ready for any adventure.  However, lately she has been experiencing some flare ups of wax in her right ear.  We gave her some over the counter ear drops, and for a while her ear cleared up.  But about a week ago it came back and it was clear to us that this time she was in real discomfort.  It was time to see the vet.

Molly was due for her needles and de-wormer, so we called and made an appointment for her to have a check up and get her vaccines.  And so Monday we went.  Now, Molly is a sweetie, and everyone loves her, but she is definitely goofy.  She is thrilled to meet people and thinks everyone is her friend.  What's really funny about Molly is that at home she is a major couch potatoe, laid back and lazy.  But take her outside and she becomes a different creature.  Take her to a new place and she really lays on the "charm."  And so as we entered the office she started scrabling around, panting and whining.  She was quite interested in all the other animals, and I was pleased that she admired them from afar.

Molly's appointment went well.  She now weighs 33 pounds.  She was very good while she had her temperature taken and didn't even blink when she got her two needles.  All in all, she's a healthy girl but she does have a waxy ear that requires treatment and a follow up appointment.  I went home with ear cleaner, medication, and her de-wormer pills. 

Once we got home, Molly was very mopey for the rest of the day, which I understand is normal after a round of vaccines.  By the next day she was more like herself.  That evening, we got ready to give her her de-worming pills.  THAT was hilarious.  We wrapped the pills in chicken and baloney and offered them to her.  She took the offered "treat" and tucked in.  We sat back, confident that our plan had worked and that she would unsuspectingly gobble up her pills.

We were wrong.  With shocking efficiency, the pill quarters we had buried in meat began popping out the side of her mouth.  It took several attemps and lots of ingenuity to fianally get the pills down her throat.  And then we got to clean her ear.  You've probably guessed we aren't in Molly's good books this week.

Molly and a few of her favorite toys.

I don't like it when I look at Molly and know that she is unhappy with me. It breaks my heart when she has to have her ear cleaned.  She is actually really good about it all things considered, but we have to hold her still and she whines and shakes sometimes.  And yet, it really is one of those cases where you have to do something because you love someone, even if they don't understand it at the time.  It's the same logic behind not giving our dogs every tasty treat they beg for even though it would make them very happy; we don't want them to gain weight, and develop diabetes later in life.   In short, we make a choice to give up the immediate gratification of pleasing our pets for the long term joy of seeing them lead happy, healthy lives.

I gained some brownie points when I took her for a big walk with some of our friends and their dogs.  As the week has progressed, her ear has improved, and Monday she will go for her follow-up.  I'm looking forward to the day that her ear is free of the wax that causes her so much discomfort.  We've learned that this is often caused by a food allergy, and are paying even closer attention to what she is eating.   

Sometimes people imply that we are crazy for the love and attention we give our pets.  A few years ago when Phelts was very ill and had made several very costly trips to the vet, an acquaintance implied that an animal wasn't worth the expense.  In my opinion, the amount we spend on them is a pittance compared to what they give back.  And their connection to us borders on the psychic;  for years, Phelts has run to the door just before my husband is due home from work.  Whenever I have a migraine (and they can last for hours if not days) Molly will stay with me, leaving only when she is told to go outside to relieve herself, or to have a quick bite.  No one tells her to do this, she just does it.  And last year, when my husband was coming home after being away for six months, she did the strangest and sweetest thing of all.  She was agitated all day, but about an hour before his plane was due to land, she laid at the top of the stairs to our apartment.  And just before the car pulled up in front of the house, she started to whine.  I have no idea how she knew; she'd seemed to give up looking for him months ago.  And yet something in her knew that her master, her pack leader, was coming home.

And to me, devotion like that is worth the cost of a vet bill.