Stupid question

On Sun, 3 Dec 2006 12:21:57 -0500, montana wildhack
wrote:

We made the appointment to spay Neo, but we're also still not convinced
she isn't pregnant.

Would it be better to wait for spay day & ask for a blood test or get
the blood test so we don't waste the vet's time in case she is pregnant?

(Wish I didn't have these questions on off hours...)

I'm betting the vet won't need a blood test. I'd call the vet's
office, explain your suspicions, and see what they tell you.

Mustang Sally

On Sun, 3 Dec 2006 17:49:22 -0500, montana wildhack
wrote:

On 2006-12-03 13:50:48 -0500, sighthounds & siberians said:

I'm betting the vet won't need a blood test. I'd call the vet's
office, explain your suspicions, and see what they tell you.

She's going to a walk-in clinic rather than our regular vet because the
spay is less expensive - which complicates things.

And I don't want, if she is pregnant, to be responsible for more
unwanted dogs. Convincing DH of this - even though he knows better - is
another matter.

But I didn't know how badly this complicates things for the spay. I do
have a clue about how badly things would be complicated if she has
puppies. And "adorable and sweet-natured" isn't a reason to bring more
puppies into the world.

Very true. Can you have your vet or another vet just take a look at
her and see if s/he can palpate pups or otherwise diagnose pregnancy
by exam? Then if she's not pregnant, she can be spayed at the walk-in
clinic, and if she is, maybe your vet can spay her.

Mustang Sally

On Mon, 4 Dec 2006 00:10:01 -0500, montana wildhack
wrote:

On 2006-12-03 19:20:30 -0500, sighthounds & siberians said:

Can you have your vet or another vet just take a look at
her and see if s/he can palpate pups or otherwise diagnose pregnancy
by exam? Then if she's not pregnant, she can be spayed at the walk-in
clinic, and if she is, maybe your vet can spay her.

We're taking her to the clinic tomorrow morning. Something's going on with her.

The clinic can handle any situation that doesn't require a
specialists's care and I'm ok with them. I just can't call them with
questions in the same way I'd call our regular vet.

Ah. What clinic is this, BTW?

I'm going to be really embarassed if it turns out that she's in heat
now, although I don't see any physical evidence of it. I haven't been
anywhere near an intact dog for 25+ years and that dog was a pregnant
Staffy. But I hope they'll answer our questions and I hope that DH
won't have to make a decision he doesn't want to make.

Ditto those hopes. Don't be embarassed, though. The only way I know
a bitch is in heat is if I see blood. When I took the dear departed
Anna to be spayed, it was actually an acquaintance's intact Leonberger
that told me she was in heat. *That* was embarassing.

Mustang Sally

On Mon, 4 Dec 2006 10:55:53 -0500, montana wildhack
wrote:

On 2006-12-04 10:45:59 -0500, sighthounds & siberians said:

On Mon, 4 Dec 2006 00:10:01 -0500, montana wildhack
wrote:

On 2006-12-03 19:20:30 -0500, sighthounds & siberians said:

The clinic can handle any situation that doesn't require a
specialists's care and I'm ok with them. I just can't call them with
questions in the same way I'd call our regular vet.

Ah. What clinic is this, BTW?

Gateway Clinic in Tremont (Cleveland, right up the street from the APL).

Ditto those hopes. Don't be embarassed, though. The only way I know
a bitch is in heat is if I see blood. When I took the dear departed
Anna to be spayed, it was actually an acquaintance's intact Leonberger
that told me she was in heat. *That* was embarassing.

Mustang Sally

That would be typical of me, and I would only be embarassed in front of
the vet, I guess. It's obvious that she's fastidious or her former
family might have noticed. But probably not...

And the answer is in the Rut Ro thread... but they counted (at
least) 5 puppies. I wish DH had been there for the discussion of the
birthing process, how long between puppies you should wait before you
go to the vet or emergency clinic, where to buy preemie bottles and
puppy formula, how frequently baby puppies have to be fed...

He has changed his mind, especially because we have such a short time
before puppies arrive... (pre Xmas puppies). And because he knows in
his heart that (at least) 5 new puppies would be darned hard to place.
We wanted to save Neo from the shelter, but suddenly there's a
population explosion that would have to be worried about.

And when our friend took in the pregnant cat, he was all over her to
spay the cat and not let her have kittens.

I'm glad that he changed his mind. At least it's a bit easier if
you're on the same page. And I'm sorry that taking Neo is presenting
you with such painful decisions. Not that it's her fault, of course;
it's never the dog's fault.

Mustang Sally

On Mon, 4 Dec 2006 11:24:51 -0500, montana wildhack
wrote:

On 2006-12-04 11:17:26 -0500, sighthounds & siberians said:

I'm glad that he changed his mind.

The pendulum swings...

Uh-oh.

Mustang Sally

"montana wildhack" wrote in message:

The pendulum swings...

Just make sure that DH is perfectly aware of the amount of commitment
required. It is entirely possible that she'd need surgery anyway (emergency
C), you could lose Neo, the puppies or both, would need to take time off to
be with the dogs 24 x 7, bottle feed the puppies every two hours, stimulate
them so they can eliminate, start crate/potty training, and make absolutely
positively sure that these pups don't become part of the stats, which is
that 60% of all puppies end up losing their first home by the time they are
2 years old.

Suja

On Mon, 4 Dec 2006 11:24:51 -0500, montana wildhack
wrote:

On 2006-12-04 11:17:26 -0500, sighthounds & siberians said:

I'm glad that he changed his mind.

The pendulum swings...

Just remember that there is no really wrong answer here. The same
love of dogs and life that can compel him to want to save the mom
could make it very hard to think of being the direct cause of the
death of the babies. But on the other hand, it's hard to take on
responsibility for six dogs instead of just one and to realize that it
still is causing deaths because there are other dogs in the shelter
that need the homes these pups might go to. It's hard to make
decisions like that. As frustrating as the whole thing is, it's more
important to be in whatever this ends up being together than it is to
make one decision or the other, the way I see it. I wish you had got
her before these kinds of choices had to be made, but that's not your
fault or your husband's.

Good luck in finding the best solution for both of you and bless you
for accepting this as your problem even though it was not your fault!

--
Paula
"Anyway, other people are weird, but sometimes they have candy,
so it's best to try to get along with them." Joe Bay