Wednesday, February 24, 2010

February 24th 2010

Snow, Snow, Snow!  We've been so lucky all winter...we are getting hammered right now!  It started yesterday late in the afternoon and has been snowing ever since.  I was on call last night for SANE but had a problem with my 4 wheel drive on my truck so I cancelled my call.  The phone still rang at 10:20 pm (from the hospital).  They didn't leave a message, so not sure what it was about.  Anyway glad I didn't have to drive in this mess!  John got home this morning and immediately started to plow.  I'll post some pictures...at 8am we had 15 inches.  It's noon now and I bet there is another 3 inches and still coming down hard.  I guess it's supposed to warm up and rain tomorrow which will be a mess!


Austin has another lick granuloma on his opposite hind leg :( .  Now he has both legs wrapped and this one spot ended up getting infected.  It all stemmed from a weekend when it was too cold to walk and John left with his gun to go coyote hunting and Molly and I went to breakfast.  He was upset at being left behind.  Needless to say we've been to the vet's twice and the second time they recommended a new vet in rutland to try some acupuncture on him.  He's 13 and pretty stiff and lame in the back end.  At first I was skeptical and figured it was just another "money pit"  They also said it can help with anxiety and perhaps would help with the lick granulomas.  We had our first visit the other day.  (Mind you we are on 2 weeks of antibiotics for $107) but I found this vet fascinating.  She spent an hour with us.  Very relaxed and laid back.  (Austin usually is shaking so much that his teeth chatter)  She has an office in an old house so it wasn't like the other vets with dog's barking and people coming and going.  She did a thorough history of his behavior and then examined him very well.  She found that he has right sided neck pain and that his back is very sore.  She said his hips are amazing and strong for a dog of his age.  She had a small bag of liver treats that she fed him (usually he's so nervous that he won't take a treat at the vet's).  She then did a treatment of both lick granulomas in which she injects healthy blood (his) into both the areas and wraps each.  They look much better!  She put a dog bed on the floor and placed about 14 acupuncture needles along both sides of his back and neck.  She had me just sit with him and pat him for about 20 minutes.  He was very relaxed and actually seemed to enjoy it.  We are going back in a week for another treatment.  He definitely seems more comfortable and is walking, trotting and running around a lot more.  Here's some pictures.


How old is this man??