Poor Furry Baby

Six years ago, right before R.K. and I got married, I rescued and immediately fell in love with this yellow lab/Siberian husky pound puppy. Before I knew it, I had convinced my soon-to-be spouse that this furry baby was all we needed to complete our little family. I don't know how I got him to agree. In retrospect, it was a pretty dumb decision to keep him but I'm so glad we were stupid together and brought "Ajax" home.

To say we completely humanize our dog is an understatement. Ajax leads a charmed life with us, but in all honesty, he is a really great dog and is very easy to love. I think if you're a pet owner, dogs especially, you know exactly what I'm talking about when I say that some dogs just have personality. We'll say that this guy is full of it!

He is so sweet and loving. The ultimate cuddle bug. Our family, and most that come into contact with him, love him so much!

He's even a hugger. Yeah, he's that precious.

So, Friday afternoon I leave work to pick him up from the vet's office. R.K. dropped him off early that morning and Jax was scheduled to get a good grooming, haircut (we call it his summer 'do), nails trimmed, anal glands squeezed, (Too much info? Just part of the routine, baby. He'll be so embarrassed that I told you.) and vaccinations. You know...the works.

When I arrived to pick him up, I was surprised to find out that he only ended up getting a bath that day...no haircut. Interesting. Here was the receptionist's exact words: "I'm not really sure how the groomer missed him but she says she just didn't see him and forgot about the haircut." 

Awesome. I should probably "forget" that I need to pay her. I mean reeeaaaallllyyyy, how in the world did she just not see him? (My dog being the size of a small pony and all) I was told to bring him back the next morning and that we would get a discount on his haircut. I was a little annoyed but thought no big deal. At least, we'll save some money.

So then yesterday morning, R.K. and I loaded up the baby and the dog. We were going to drop Jax off for his day of beauty at the vet and then run our other errands. I decided to walk him in and while waiting in line to check in, I see that he starts to visibly get a little nervous. Nothing new. R.K. said he acted pretty skittish the day before.

I try to calm him down, and then all of a sudden, Jax started to really panic. He began some head twitching business, drops to the ground and has a full-blown seizure. We're talking eyes rolled back, convulsing, using the bathroom all over himself, foaming at the mouth...it was terrifying to say the least. 

Of course you all know that Mommy McCoy hit serious freak out mode. Jax had never done anything like this before. I was afraid of him and for him and stood there yelling for help. Luckily, at this point one of the vets runs over and tries to stabilize him. The seizure ended after lasting a good few minutes and he came to. I decided there was no way I could leave him after an episode like that. We make our way out to the car and he seemed okay other than just being completely freaked out.

Oh, just wait. It gets better.

So, the hubby and I are pretty concerned about him and are positive that the seizure was stress-induced. I mention that I hope he was given his shots the previous day just so we don't have to fool with going back. He needs his vaccinations in order to be boarded while we go on vacation soon. I make a call back to the vet's office and she immediately transfers me to his doctor. 

Here's what the Dr. says: "Hi Mrs. McCoy. Just wanted to let you know that Ajax didn't get his shots yesterday. He seemed a little shaken after your husband left. We decided to let him play in the runner for a few minutes to calm down, and when we got him out to do the vaccinations, he started to have a significant seizure. We decided at that point to give him a dose of Valium and to put him on an IV. I didn't feel right about giving him his shots. So, I kept him here because I wanted to monitor him throughout the day. I'm not sure how I missed you yesterday to tell you all of this."

Wow.

I wonder if at any point yesterday she thought  "I should probably call this dog's owner." Or "Hey, poor guy is obviously very worked up about being here. Without talking to his owner, let's drug him up with anxiety meds and leave him in a kennel alone while I check facebook." (Cause you all know that's exactly what she did.) There's no way she was keeping an eye on him. Hello! If she was, don't you think she would have noticed when the 80 lb. lab was being escorted out to go home?!

Talk about being ticked. I can promise you, had I known that my dog spent the day before having seizures in that office, that we wouldn't have brought him back to relive the nightmare the very next day.  Let's just say that I wasn't nearly as forgiving with the Doc as I was with the groomer the day before.

And now doesn't the poor groomer's story make complete sense? Of course you missed the small pony, groomer lady! He was in the back doped up on Valium and an IV shivering in a kennel probably fit for a chihuahua. While their story still feels like there are lots of holes in it, (I still wonder how the bath fit in there) I swore up and down to Jax that we won't be taking him back there ever again. I just dare them to send me a bill.

Now we're in search of a new vet and some serious puppy therapy for my poor furry baby.