Opie's been a little off lately. He's old, the weather has been weird, he quit sleeping with us and we just shrugged it off.
He still ate, he still drank and as far as I could tell, he wasn't in too much distress.
Early this afternoon, I was watching television and he came over to me and jumped up in my lap. Okay, it's been a few weeks, but okay, maybe he's getting over whatever was going on with him. I grab the flea comb, find some flea dirt, then a couple of tiny fleas. Note to self: time to get the Revolution out.
Then I put my hand under his tale. Dampness. What? No, dampness isn't right. I look at my hand. There's something odd on my finger. I smell it (yeah, shut up, you'd smell it too), not poop. Dunno what it is. I pat his back end with a tissue. Pink dampness. Okay, yeah, we have a problem.
I turn him over. What on earth? His penis is surround by a big hole. If you've ever seen an abscess, that's exactly where my mind went. An abscess around his penis. Definitely not good.
I tell Brian, I call the vet. They were able to squeeze us in at 3:15. A half of an hour away. I put on a bra and change my shirt. I take down my old lady bun and brush my hair out. I clip it back. Brian comes in and changes his shirt, and gets the carrier. Gets Opie and off we go.
We waited about fifteen minutes and the office manager walked us back into a examining room. She has her tech hat on today. She gave us Charlie Ahole so long ago, we've known her for quite a while. She weighs Opie and we chitchat a little. I tell her his recent history, Brian adding to it. She lifts up Opie's tail and looks puzzled. She's never seen anything like this. She's trying to find a thermometer to take his temperature, but can't find one.
Then the doctor comes in. He turns away to walk out, thinking he's intruding or something and we laugh, no, no, come on in. The tech leaves and gets a thermometer to take his temp. She takes it while we're talking to the vet. Temperature is normal. That's good.
So, Opie is just laying there. The vet listens to his heart. Opie's breathing is labored and he's drooling a little. Don't forget, Opie has light COPD. And then the vet lifts up his tail. He's never seen anything like this either. He squeezes it a little with his fingers. Pus comes out. Abscess.
They take Opes into the back and shave a little area, clean out the abscess, then bring him back. Ear swabs were also taken and examined under the scope. Opie got a shot of an antibiotic, syringes with meloxicam for his pain, and clavomox. The doctor told me to gently wash the area twice a day with cotton balls and salt water.
Before we checked out, the tech asked if we wanted his ears cleaned. Sure. So, she took him into the back, while we settled up the bill. We were told he just lay there and let them clean them out.
So, we're home and he's not a real happy camper right now, but he'll start feeling better soon.
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