Our nine year old husky mix, Mika, has been struggling with her health for years now, but we hit a really bad spell last week and were quite worried that we were finally looking at “the beginning of the end”.
Keeping in mind her challenges (ongoing bad arthritis in her back legs and hips in addition to her very upset belly for days…trust me, you don’t need/want details), while also not having found a Vet since moving out to the boonies, we asked around and learned about a mobile Vet who “sometimes” comes out this far. So we got in touch with her and scheduled an appointment asking that she look at all the (three) dogs and the (three) goats to get them updated on vaccines as well as to give us some insights on how to best care for Mika in her old, painful existence.
We figured that if we were going to pay for her travel, we’d do as much as possible in one day.
In between the scheduling and the actual appointment, Mika’s belly issues improved (of course), but we kept the appointment anyway because, despite the costs, it seemed like the best thing to do, not just for her, but to make sure all of the other creatures are doing OK, too. We do out best to keep everyone healthy, but wonder sometimes, you know? Especially with the goats! We’ve done a lot of research and googling, but are still very, very new to the care and keeping of those three ladies.
So, when the Vet got here, she wanted to start with the “easy” animals first, then check Mika last.
The other two dogs (Mr. and Akuna) were given a clean bill of health right off the bat.
Whew!
The goats were also given a good report (Kim’s doing a great job trimming their hoofs), though Ethel is a bit on the chunky side while Mama and Lucy are fine (just as we thought). We opted not to spend the extra $50 on a pregnancy test for Mama and are just holding a good thought for her that she’s got some babies in that belly of hers that we’ll get to meet in May.
Fingers crossed!
With Mika being the last to get her check up, the Vet had the opportunity to watch her run around after the other dogs and see that, while she has adapted her run, she has definite mobility issues due to her arthritis. And so, while Mika is struggling, she is actually doing remarkably well.
We were given a few basic prescriptions for her that won’t cost an arm and a leg on a monthly basis and given some pain management tools to use for her on a regular basis.
She was also given a shot for pain and we were told it might kick in in two to three days…but the old girl woke up this morning and ran around like a new puppy with the biggest smile on her face. Old girl still has a lot of life in her.
The Vet was also able to help us come up with a list to expand on our current First Aid Kit to have on hand in case of emergency with any of the animals and gave us lots of resources for birthing videos and such to watch so when Mama kids, we have a clue.
All in all, it took a couple of hours, was incredibly enlightening, and cost a pretty penny (though, truth be told, we did the math and it was *much more cost effective than carting six animals into an actual Vet Clinic).
Totally worth it to be sure all of our animals are healthy and as happy as possible…especially Mika and her old, hobbily self.
xoxo,
M
oh what great news. So pleased Mika is not hurting so much. Found my way here via Jessie and I see why she suggested we pop in.
HI Diane! Thank you so much for popping over, I’m so glad you found me via Jessie (*love her)! Thank you for your kind words about Mika! It’s such a hard thing with dogs, isn’t it? They try to be so brave for us humans <3