3/30/07---The Cone of Shame

Today was a big day for my "other boy".  Oh sure, I've come on here before and told you about Midnight the Wonder Dog.  He's smart as a whip...probably the smartest dog I've ever had...but I don't say as much as I should about my other boy....Midnight's brother.....Beezer.  Now, I like to say that Beezer is a great dog...and he totally is.
He's very handsome....great personality...the ladies love my Beedalee....but there's just one little thing:
He's dumb as a rock.
Which is totally okay.  Its part of what makes him so lovable.  He's a full blooded mix.
Mom was a full blooded Yellow Lab, Dad was a full blooded Golden Retriever.  Hence a full blooded mix---that's my boy!  Anyway, today was a big day for Beezer.
He was going in for some minor surgery--well, it was "minor" to the doctor.  I'm not really sure if Beezer thought it was minor.  The Beez, like a lot of older retrievers, has had a problem with hemotomas in his ears.  Because he's got floppy ears, he has a tendency for water to get in them, which leads him to shake his head (and ears) pretty violently...which causes tiny blood vessels in his ears to burst...which causes blood to leak into the bottom of his ears...which equals:  hemotomas.  He's had them drained twice now...and this time the doctor was recommending surgery to correct the problem.
Essentially what was going to be done was that the doctor was going to cauliflower the ear by "cross-stiching" it.  This would prevent the blood from flowing to the bottom of his ear, and this way no hemotomas could form. 
Still, I was a little nervous for my boy.
I dropped him off about 8am.  He wasn't allowed any food or water in prepartion for his surgery.  This totally threw off his routine as well as the other two dogs.  Kim said it was hilarious watching the dogs as they would follow her around, trying to figure out why she wasn't putting any food into their dishes.  Talk about your Pavlov's dogs!

Finally, about 1:30pm I got the call from the dog's vet, Dr. Sullivan.  He happily informed me that Beezer was out of surgery and on the way to a speedy recovery.
He also informed me that the Beez seemed to be enjoying his medication "a little too much", as according to the doc Beez was "zonked out of his mind".  I told the doc to throw some Pink Floyd on the sound system....or maybe some Allman Bros...and that he would be just fine with that.
Dark Side of the Moon....Beezer's favorite album of alltime.

Anyway, we went and picked him up around 4:30pm, and he is currently wearing....
"the cone of shame".  Some people call it a satellite dish...its to prevent him from being able to scratch his ear.  He hates it though...and keeps bumping into things in the living room.  He looks miserable.

But, if it makes his ears better....a little minor misery is better than a lifetime of ear problems.  I've told him that the ladies in the neighborhood won't see him with his cone of shame.....and when he gets it taken off....he'll have his tough looking cauliflowered ear...and he'll look like one of those oldtime boxers or wrestlers....and his new name?

Lil Bruiser

The chicks...they love a tough guy.

Later,
Jeff