The Family *roll

This was Belly just a few short days ago: running, jumping up trees (look carefully now) and eating 1/2 of the baby’s meals.”What a great dog!” people said. “So cute,” uttered sidewalk denizens of Northfield, “so friendly”.

What are they saying about Belly as of 9am this morning? Well Dr. Bisel of Cannon Valley Veterinary Clinic is full of thoughts about our canine friend: “Belly has a pus-filled, abscessed anal gland on her right side”. “The right gland was lanced and released thick glandular material and pus, and we also lanced it open and drained out pus”. ‘What about the left side,’ you ask? Oh, don’t worry, here it comes: “The left side was full of thick material; I expressed it”.

Absolutely. Horrifyingly. Disgusting.

I’ve never seen the vet’s progress notes included on a bill before but I sure do love it.Who wouldn’t want the interior monologue of your vet as she is sticking a needle into your dog’s anal sac on their invoice? Now I have a copy of a bill and something that can trigger nausea. A handy reference, to be sure.

Luckily, Belly doesn’t seem too badly off after her experience this morning; she’s full of doggie painkillers and treats. We’ve put her in her crate to contain the mess and Eleanor is going to wake up from her nap and think her biggest dream has finally come true: the dog cannot escape from her. If the baby still has 10 fingers by tomorrow, I’ll consider the rest of today a success.

Here is a picture of Eleanor to cleanse your mental palate: