Harry's Got Issues

Over the past two months, we've been making repeat trips to our vet.  In June, Harry was due for his annual - which means that yes, in June Harry has been our son for a whole year (squeal).  Along with the regular check up there were some other goings on that we needed to get checked out.  Harry had a cut on his paw pad and an oozing cut on his snout that would puff up and be pink later in the day.  We couldn't explain the injuries (which made me feel like the vet thought I was a dog fighter or something) and assumed they were from rough housing in the dog park or from Harry scratching himself with the uncontrollable talons on his feet.  Caution...graphic photos below.

As it had been a full year since Harry visited the vet, he obviously was a little unsettled being there.  The waiting room was a blast, with Harry greeting every dog and owner that walked through the door.  He was curious about what was going on around the corner and eager to go there.  

"It's really great to be here, guys"

However, once we were called to go around the corner into the examination room, Harry's legs went stiff and splayed on the linoleum as we coaxed him back.  It didn't get much better from there.  Although Harry wagged his tail and engaged with the tech, he wasn't used to the awkward poking and prodding.  And since Harry was due for a slew of immunizations, it wasn't ideal for him to be uncooperative.  The worst was that Harry's anxiety came out in the form of squirming and huge stinky farts.

So although we paid for an examination, Harry wasn't able to be fully examined.  We left with a prescription for Xanax, some anti-inflammatories for his face, antibiotics for the oozing, and an appointment to return.  Our job was to test the Xanax and see if it relaxed Harry so that he'd be more controllable on our next visit.  According to our doctor, Xanax could have different effects on different dogs.  I laughed that off since Harry is absolutely perfect and nothing is wrong with him ever.  Surely he would be high as a kite on that Xanax.  

Not the case.  Harry went apeshit on Xanax.  Barking, trotting around like a maniac until 11pm, not to mention the after effects of some nasty #2s.  We cancelled our appointment with the explanation of Harry's obverse behavior.  On our second visit we retrieved Harry's alternative doping medication - Acepromazine.

After testing the new meds on Harry, we were satisfied that it did bring him down a bit.  The vet recommended a double dosage on his appointment day so we did what we were told.  Harry received almost all of his vaccines (we still have to make our fourth visit for the Leptospirosis vaccine) and was a lot better with the techs.  Thankfully we didn't have to witness the sticking...I probably would have shrieked.  By that point, his face and paw had both healed up as well so things are looking up!

Of course, then we brought home a severely doped up dog.  Which led to us being perfect parents, setting Harry up in provocative positions, snapping pics and posting it to the internet.  Harry will never get a job now.