That night as we went to bed, Elsa curled up next to Mama and Gryphon and I wanted to stay dry, so we snuggled against Papa. About 11:00 Mama realized that the bed was wet and she uncovered Elsa to take a look. Elsa was lying in a pool of drool (yuck). Her ruff was soaked, her tail was soaked, in fact the tail was so wet, it could be rung out. Mama didn’t like seeing the drool pouring out of the corners of Elsa’s mouth.

She woke Papa up, which took a few minutes because he tries to pretend that he can’t hear anything so he doesn’t have to get up. Then grabbed the laptop to look up what could possibly be wrong with Elsa. It turns out, according to the internet, the most common cause of excessive drooling in dogs, other than being a St. Bernard, is that something, like a stick, is caught in the mouth. With Elsa that could be a distinct possibility, because she does like to pick up sticks and carry them around outside. I choose not to pick up anything nasty like that off the ground.

Mama checked her mouth out, but didn’t find anything, so it was time for the usual call to the vet to see what he had to say. Unfortunately, our vet had his phone on the message machine (something that occurs only a few times a year), so all patients were being referred to the Emergency Animal Hospital, and so Elsa’s first midnight vet run began.

While Mitzi was alive, midnight runs to the vet were not uncommon as she had heart problems in her later years, and Mama said she thought they were done with those for awhile. But, the kid was sick, so something had to be done. The vet couldn’t find anything in her mouth either and recommended a course of antibiotics, nausea medicine and allergy medicine, in addition to an IV to replace the fluids. Plus, he wanted to keep her overnight for observation, give her some X-rays and do some blood work.

Fortunately, Papa decided that Elsa was better off coming home to us, because Gryphon and I would have missed her. The next morning it was off to the vet again to see our regular vet. Elsa was diagnosed with an infection of the salivary glands which was causing the excessive drooling. He put her on a course of antibiotics, and she is now much, much better.

What a confused pup she is . . .first trying to be a Shar Pei, and now a St. Bernard. ‘Til next time, Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix

The post Elsa – the St. Bernard appeared first on Be the Cat.

This story starts with Elsa getting her operation so that Mama and Papa could register her and get her license. Well, apparently Mama thought Elsa already had her rabies, but she didn’t, so she had to go back to the vet to get the rabies shot. Gryphon and I went with because Mama also decided that we all needed baths. So, Papa packed all of us up and carted us off to the vet’s office so Elsa could get her shot and we could all get sweet and clean. Elsa ended up having to have 3 shots because she was due for two others in addition to the rabies.

Anyway, Mama wasn’t feeling all that well and stayed home from work, so when Papa brought us home, she was home too. Elsa was pretty well knocked out from her shots, and Mama kept fussing about her. She thought her nose looked puffy and that something wasn’t quite right. Then she noticed that Elsa was getting dark circles under her eyes and she kept telling Papa that something wasn’t right with her.

Elsa continued to sleep and Mama kept a close watch on her. Papa kept saying that Elsa was fine and he didn’t see anything the matter. Then all of a sudden, Mama scooped her up and wanted to know if she hit her face on the cage because it was definitely swelling.

She then asked for the phone because in front of our very eyes, Elsa was turning from a dachshund puppy into a little Shar Pei. Her face was getting wrinkly and her eyes could barely be seen. After talking to the vet’s office Mama told Papa that they were going back because Elsa was having an allergic reaction to the shots.

Gryphon and I went into the cage and Mama and Papa hurried out of the house with Elsa. I can tell you I was a little nervous. As much as I dislike going to the vet and think that Elsa can be a pain sometimes, I didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. Neither Gryphon or I have had any problems with getting shots (other than not liking them), so this was a big surprise to everyone. I’ve never seen a reaction like that before.

After they returned, Elsa told me she had to have 2 more shots but she was starting to feel better. She said she really didn’t feel well before going to the vet, and I thought she was being a drama queen. Oh wait, that’s my job.

Anyway, things are now back to normal and Elsa has given up looking like a Shar Pei and returned to looking like a long-haired dachshund (which is a much finer looking dog if you ask me).

All for now. ‘Til next time. Paws Up!

Copyright 2008 © Phoenix with a helping paw from Gryphon

About the Author:
“Just call me Your Highness” ~ Phoenix
_____________________________________________________________________

Here’s information about my Mama’s stuff:
Visit us at Griffie World
To buy Misfit McCabe, visit my store at Lulu.com or purchase at Amazon.com
To track Misfit McCabe across the country, visit:
Where in the World is Misfit McCabe?
Own a Kindle? Download Misfit McCabe in an instant.
For other ebook formats, visit Smashwords.com
To read book reviews by LK Griffie, visit: The Lulu Book Review

The post Elsa the Shar Pei Puppy appeared first on Be the Cat.