So, I went to the vet today for the little Bos to get fixed... it's kind of a blur now.
First off, we couldn't feed him after 8 pm yesterday, which was tough. He's a very food oriented dog, and is always fed at the same times daily, and did not seem to understand nor appreciate the fact that he was not fed before his morning walk. His frustration led to him being antsy and a little aggressive, but then he succumbed to sleeping with his sad face on. We even took him to our Japanese lesson at the community center, where he slept in a chair looking miserable.
After class and dropping Bret off at the train station I went into the clinic where about 5 vet assistant ladies took poor Bosco and started prepping him for surgery. I had to be there the whole time, and the room had huge windows so it was one of those "should I watch out of concern?" or "don't look, you don't want to see" situations. The beginning went smoothly enough, but it was so sad to see him belly-up on the table with a little oxygen mask over his face.
Anyway, I'm sitting there in horror and keep having to fill out forms and given info about antibiotics he has to take after the surgery, and someone I know walks in. I'd hung out with her before about 3 months ago but totally forgot (context is *huge* when it comes to memory sometimes). We say hi and talk a little, and then she brings in her own ADORABLE 8 week old shiba. So cute. We got Bosco at 4 months, so seeing a little baby one was awesome. I got her number so we could have a little Shiba playdate and so that I can hopefully redeem myself for not remembering her. I got some dirty looks for talking to her in the wait area from some of the nurses (I told them I didn't speak Japanese...which I don't...but I was talking with the lady in half and half and the veterinary staff looked scandalized).
After chatting with the lady for a bit, Bosco comes to. The operating room's door was open and adjacent to the waiting area, and he just starts screaming and yowling (youtube shiba scream if you want to know). It was terrible. There was nothing I could do so I just kept playing with the little shiba in the waiting room. I was trying to pet him in a reassuring way, since he hadn't seen the vet yet and I didn't want him to get a negative impression already. "Don't worry little buddy, this isn't happening to you for another 4 months..."
Bosco calmed down after 15 minutes and some sleep medicine, but was still a little frantic. He'd be woozy and wobbly, them freak out for a second, then nod to sleep, but wake up screeching....
While he was calming down, on the next table over, a lady gives her pet pigeon to the vet. I have no idea what kind of pigeon inspection this was, but all of a sudden, blood comes streaming down onto the exam table, and everyone in the vet clinic --aside from the vet-- is just looking on in shock (especially the owner of the pigeon). The pigeon itself didn't look too distraught. It didn't move for a bit, but then bobbed it's neck around. It sat comfortably upside down in the vets hand. So bizarre. Why would you take your pigeon to the vet? Why would it start hemorrhaging blood? Was something lodged? Was the pigeon stabbed? So many questions, number one being, why would you have a pet pigeon? A short while later the pigeon was put back in his carrying box (looked like a lunch box) and his owner took him home. No idea what happened.
Then one of the veterinary nurses comes over with a concerned look and holding a large white piece of cloth. She beckons and opens up the cloth to reveal what they had just extracted from Bosco. Oh what a delight. Just in case I thought this was all for naught, they show me the evidence!
After bringing Bosco home, he zoned out on his bed for a while. He'd wake up occasionally and make loud whines. I feel so terrible. When he woke up I fed him a bunch of fancy dog treats I bought today to make up for the horrors he's been subjected. He ate them, but without any of the happiness or vigor he usually exhibits when scarfing down his food. Then he whined loudly by the door to tell me he had to go to the toilet (he's COMPLETELY house trained now, how awesome is that? He learned in two weeks!) and now he's sleeping again, after sitting down, whining, sitting down in a different spot, whining, sitting down in my lap, whining, and finally sitting on the floor near the heater and still sighing and whining now and then.
It's been a strange day, but I hope he heals up fast so he can play with other dogs and run around again soon.
Update: I figured in his weakened condition I could let him out in the yard off leash for a bit so he could do his business since he was great when I let him out midday. WRONG. Sleeping all day made him really restless and he was doing the Shiba 500 nonstop around the yard and thought that I was "playing" when I tried to catch him to bring him in. I had a friend coming over and Bosco would not calm down, running all over the yard at night in the rain while I'm trying to coax him over. I ended up letting him hang out while I went inside to talk to my guest, and he stayed out there for more than an hour. I left two doors open for him, the garage and the front, because I know he can't jump the 1.5 ft raised entrance (in Japanese it's called a genkan, it separates the "outside" part of your house from the "inside" which is strictly no-shoes and in this case no-Bosco). While I was busy making tea and thinking he was outside, this delinquent jumped the genkan and was running all over the house. I did not anticipate that he would be this energetic post-surgery. I mean seriously, he's breaking his jump height records? Is this normal behavior? I really hope he doesn't mess up his stitches...ugh. It's terrible because the two things he loves best are running and eating, and we have to restrict his movement and his food quantities for the next 3-10 days. I do not see this going well. Thank goodness I work in my city this week so I can have lots of time with him during the day. When I work in other cities I have to catch the train pretty early so it cuts down his outside time.
