Bad Puppy!

So it was a bit of a traumatic Sunday. Bentley, my pup, had been hacking and dry heaving since Friday night. We thought it was just something he swallowed and would come out eventually, one end or the other. He seemed himself otherwise.

At his Sunday morning puppy training class in West Hollywood Park, he didn't want his treats, and wouldn't pay attention. As the day went on he got more and more lethergic, and by mid afternoon, having started to puke everything up, he had to go to the emergency vet center. They pretty much disgonosed him straight away as having pneumonia: he was dehydrated, needed oxygen and 4 of his 6 lungs compartments were full of liquid. This all required him staying over night and then being transfered to another 24-hour clinic in the morning.

Now I know these vets prepare you for the worst, but I wish they wouldn't. I know they want to be thorough and get to the root of the problem, but with all the involved tests and wotnot, it's not cheap. It's worth it in the end when they get better, but it really isn't cheap! We just heard that he's doing much much better, and could possibly be home tomorrow night if he continues to improve. It looks like it is just pneumonia, bought on, most likely, by exposure to Kennel Cough.

Now here is where I get annoyed! When we recently took him to the vet for his first Californian check up and required shots, the STUPID vet was more concerned that he get the anti-rattlesnake shot and not the one which prevented Kennel Cough (we weren't intending to kennel him you see, but might, once in a blue moon, go up to the mountains).

In this land of Bob Barker, very few people seem to spay and neuter their pets. They don't get them properly vaccinated. They don't pick up after them. They let them hump to their hearts content. And yet, they are so over protective, it's ridiculous. You should see they way some people molly-coddle and pamper these yappy, spoilt, untrained dogs. It's a real shame!