We went to Charlie’s first acupuncture treatment yesterday afternoon. They were running a bit behind due to a few emergencies they had.
While we waited to be seen, I saw several dogs getting various forms of therapy.
I watched one dog in a big water chamber getting water therapy. Another dog had recently had his back leg amputated and was sleeping between rounds of therapy.
When they took us into a room, they used this mechanism that looked kind of like a cell phone. One of them tried to hold him still. The other tech pointed it at his body and moved it over him to see where his hot spots were.
Evidently the hot spots are inflammation. I’m learning quite a bit about these things.
Then the vet came in. She is a traditional vet who went back to school to learn alternative treatments. The first thing she noticed was that his body was hot, so she told someone to go get a thermometer.
His Temperature Was High:
She took his temp and then said his temp is kind of high; has he been acting sick? I told her he’d coughed a bit, but that wasn’t too unusual with his trachea and allergy problems.
The vet went ahead and did the acupuncture and checked his temperature again. She told me she was going to call Dr. Poteet, his regular vet, and that I should take him over there.
So I drove him over to Dr. Poteet’s office about 4 miles away. Yes, he had a temperature.
They ran all kinds of blood tests and couldn’t find a thing wrong with him. Aside from all his old age ailments they currently treat him for anyway.
Oh, they did find a cyst on his neck, where he’s had them before, and they lanced that.
The vet asked if he’d been upset, and I told him when I take Charlie out he’s always upset. Even though I hold him close to me and never even put him down on a floor.
So we think maybe just going to a strange place with big dogs walking past him frightened him. He saw a different vet and had procedures done he wasn’t accustomed to.
Charlie & I Were Both Drained:
By that time it’s nearly 6 p.m. Charlie and I are both drained.
The vet told me to watch him closely the next few days. Naturally this is a long holiday weekend.
So Charlie is set up with a treatment plan at the acupuncture facility. And it upsets him just to get out of the car and go in there.
Hopefully he will grow accustomed to going there because I really want to help him feel better.
Charlie has a soft dog bed in the passenger seat of my car, so he’s comfortable in there. Like many dogs he likes to go on car rides.
But my Charlie is a nervous Nellie. Always has been. Abi was the dominant dog and he followed her. And now that she’s gone he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do.
So that’s my long winded story. Today I’m tired and can barely think straight.
I had to call the apartment office earlier to put in a work order and I referenced someone named Nick. The manager had no idea who I was talking about.
The manager kept asking me who Nick was and I had not even realized I’d said that name. So I told her I have no idea who Nick is. Don’t know a Nick. Could have been a figment of my imagination. Must have gotten the name wrong.
The older I get the longer it takes me to recover from anything. Confusion and being upset and worrying about my pets falls under the broad category of anything.
Though Charlie is afraid of so many things, like gnats and bugs, he is not afraid of fireworks or thunder.
Imagine that.
The 4th Of July Holiday:
He barks when he hears fireworks in the distance. But he doesn’t flip out and go under the bed or anything. We’re two days away from that holiday.
I keep my sound machine on when they do the fireworks. As a child I was terrified of fireworks due to the noise level. That hasn’t changed.
So we’re just going to spend quiet time at home the rest of the week. We’ll attempt to stay calm and collected and not get people’s names mixed up.
When I was a kid I remember old folks getting people’s names wrong and I would wonder what on earth was wrong with them. Didn’t they know John from Jacob or Kate from Karen?
Now I don’t have to wonder anymore.
Sometimes when I’m talking to my daughter I’ll be talking about Charlie but refer to him by a dog I had in the past.
My daughter will stop me and say: “Mom, you said Teddy.” Or I might have said Bubba or Pepper.
She kind of laughs, but in about twenty years she’ll get it.
Oh, my goodness, Charlie had quite the stress-ul (my letter “e–” has stopped working on my keyboard) day yesterday. I hope he’s more relaxed and calm by now. You, too,
It is SO exhausting dealing with this hot, hot weather. I am praying that I can get some kind o- help to get an air conditioner even i- it means only a window model. I just have no energy at all.
Raining again here late this a-ternoon. More mosquitoes. Yuck. Do you have mosquitoes there? Somehow I think o- the western states as too dry, but I know you’ve had quite a bit o- rain this year.
Take care and stay cool, you three.
I was so sad hearing what a horrible time you and Charlie did have…I am like that, too…stress makes me unable to think clearly. I agree with some of your other friends as state above, possibly consider if the stress of it all for Charlie and for yourself will be worth the acupuncture sessions…I have heard positive about it in humans, though…so possibly worth another try or two..of course, being your decision as you are living through it all. It is always hard worrying about a sick pet..digs at our hearts….I have some seniors, as well..and it is something quite a bit.. Take care and again love seeing your quilts…Have a peaceful holiday..hope the fireworks are not excessive..
Have you tried Rescue Remedy for Charlie when you take him out? Most stores carry it, such as big box health food stores like Whole Foods or Natural Foods or Natures, etc. It’s drops and works great for animals who get nervous, anxious and upset. It’s for people, but I know many who use it for their pets, alpacas, etc. It’s called “Bach, Natural Flower Essences – Rescue Remedy”. I’m sure you can get it on Amazon. Is a brown bottle with a yellow label. It might really help him to not get so stressed. Marilyn
No, but I bought Composure chews from the vet and they don’t seem to work to calm him.
I hate taking my cats to the vet for all the same reasons. They get so nervous and scared with all the strange smells, the dogs barking and the car ride. Clementine needs blood work done next week and I dread taking her. My cats are also terrified of fireworks. I put them in the basement at night where it’s quieter, make sure the AC is running full tilt (for a noise blocker) and I also run a fan on high down there. Poor things can still hear all the booms and the house shaking, so I find them hiding under furniture. I don’t like loud noises either, so I never go to the fireworks displays. It also dismays me to know that they greatly upset those with PTSD from being in the Service and the noise also kills birds and butterflies.
Our world has become noise polluted. In fact I read that’s the biggest pollutant currently. Noise pollution. Ridiculous.
Oh my gosh what an awful day for Charlie and you too. Maybe the Cbd oil would be good for him. My Morkie is a pain in the butt in the car. I dread having to take him anywhere. Almost makes me cry. Charlie just needs to stay home with his mama and get some love and be pampered. Not looking forward to the 4th either. Lots of shotguns here. Crazy people.
He likes to go out if it’s just in the car with me. He has his soft bed in the passenger seat and enjoys it.
Brenda, do you think that Charlie’s sessions are doing him more harm than good, given his level of stress? Hate to see the little guy uncomfortable.
I awful with names. I forget them as soon as I hear them sometimes.
My dog’s temperature always goes up when we take her to the vet even though she loves them. She gets so excited in the car. They put that in her records as it always happens. Even in winter. We hate to take her anywhere in the summer.
I know what you mean by having an older dog. We lost our corgi in late May. He was 12 1/2.
Brenda,
I found myself holding my breath, reading about Charlie. I’m wishing for peaceful quiet time for both of you.
Brenda, I hope that you and Charlie can have a few days of relaxing. I don’t like fire works either. When I was young, there was only fireworks at the park and it was fun to watch the show. Now, people set them off in their back yards or on their driveways and you can’t get away from the sound. The best experience with fireworks that I’ve ever had was a few years ago when my husband and I drove to a state park on July Fourth, and when we drove home in the evening on the interstate highway we could see fireworks going off in different towns but we didn’t have to hear the noise since we were too far away. It was such a fun drive!
As for last names, I took my first husband’s last name when we married, even though he told me he couldn’t understand why because he would never change his name for anyone. But I wanted us and future kids to have the same last name. So when we separated years later, I got an apartment and called to get a phone line, and the clerk said the phone number I once had before I got married was available. She asked if I wanted it again and I said sure, but I don’t think I caught on that she kept the listing in my maiden name. I told my then-husband what the number was, he must have misplaced it, so he had to call the operator and he asked for the number in my married name. They didn’t have it, so he thought to ask for it in my maiden name and got it. So he called and proceeded to chew me out for using my maiden name, saying it proved I was wanting to be single and was not going to be serious about going to the marriage counselor and working on our marriage. This from the man who didn’t even want me to take the name in the first place, and who treated me like crap for eight years. Oh well. I tried to explain that I didn’t realize it was in my maiden name, but, he wouldn’t listen and kept acting like he had been victimized. I did indeed take my maiden name back when we got divorced because I didn’t want to have his last name after that and other uncooperative things he did during the marriage counseling. But, I did take my second husband’s name when I remarried years later. I like his last name and think it goes better with my first name! I’m sticking with this last name for here on out.
I’ve always considered acupuncture to have benefits. I wonder if Charlie feels any benefit from the procedures at all given his distress suffered from the time he leaves the house until he returns and can calm himself. Do they offer home therapy visits? Other options? This is good information for pet parents. Thanks for sharing your experience. Good luck.
When my mother would say all three of our names, we called that a roll call and all laughed. I read that saying all the names of family members at once means you love them. Family and love are processed in the same part of the brain.
Oh,Brenda, our lives seem to mirror one another at times.
Except it’s one cat or another to the vet with me,my 2 grown kids ask if they’ve completed the Bella and Buddy wing on the vet’s office yet,smarty pants that they are.
I’ve been going to the same doctor’s office in the same place for coming on 10 years,I started a conversation with the office manager awhile back and stood chatting while I realized I had no clue what her name is… yesterday I was on the phone with a good friend of 26 years and I started a topic,got 1/2 way through it and had to confess I had know clue where I was going with it, fortunately she knows me well!
I remember laughing and teasing my grandma when she would go through every grand before she got to me,lol.
Old age ain’t for sissies.
Ivy looks quite cozy wrapped around the table?
Oh what a tangled web we weave !
I understand this post fully !
Poor Charlie too much stress just taking him out for you and for him !
Get him on CBD OIL and just forget it all he will thank you for it !
Take care and be brave thru it all we are baby boomers and we will make it somehow !
It is too hot in Tennessee too to be out staying in for the fourth !!
Awww poor sweet Charlie!! Molly gets upset when her routine is disturbed, also – and I can’t take her any distance in the car or she gets so anxious she throws up. Good thing she’s happy at home, and playing in the garden!