We went to see the new vet at Cambridge Valley Veterinary Service today and I liked her a lot. Red did also, but then, Red likes everybody. I noticed a series of scabs, bumps and lumps on Red’s back, he was beginning to worry and chew at them, and they were tender to the touch. I took a closer look at them this morning, and called the vet. They were ugly. It took us a while to figure out that they were almost sure fly and gnat bites, Red sits absolutely still and focused in clouds of flies and gnats out in the pasture, they drive the donkeys inside the barn but Red pays no attention to them, and a few of them appeared to be swollen and infected.
Dr. Flaherty gave me a few days worth of cortison pills, some antibiotics and a special medicated shampoo, which I lathered all over him when we got home. The doctor is concerned about Red’s weight, it has dropped to 47 pounds, his ribs show a bit. We are testing him for Ghiardia and parasites, he is around livestock and like Lenore, is not above scarfing down some chicken or sheep droppings. She is impressive, sharp and confident and with a good and dry sense of humor.
Dr. Flaherty does veterinary acupuncture, and I am fascinated by it, I will sign Red up when we get back from California. The doctor and I talked about it, and I think Red could benefit from acupuncture, he does a lot of intense work in the pasture and also in therapy, and he is an intense animal. I remember it was about the only thing that helped calm Orson down a bit from his hyper-arousal, it didn’t ultimately alter Orson’s sad fate, but it did help him more than many of the things I tried.
I’d like to try it and photograph this and write about it, I have this instinct Red could benefit from it, he is moving on seven years old and I remember the beating Rose’s body took with all of the work she did, and Red is not only herding sheep, he is doing very intense therapy work. I’d like to see him have the dog equivalent of a spiritual life, if such a thing is possible.I think it’s an important thing to try and to help people understand, I’d like to understand it better myself.
Tomorrow I’m speaking to the volunteers at Bennington Hospice and Red is coming along, we’ll do a dog therapy training demo. I’ll monitor him closely to see his back heals and then make an appointment for our first acupuncture visit.