Tending Juno

My Sweet, Sweet Juno has an ailment that I mentioned a couple days ago. I discovered her swollen ear on Saturday, after a 1-hour trip to town. Farmer H and I were waiting for Monday, when the vets are open, to get her checked out. On Sunday, when I was looking up their phone numbers, I saw that treating a dog's ear hematoma costs an average of $500, and it's not guaranteed to keep the swelling from recurring. Heh, heh. ReCURring!

Anyhoo...The Veteran had been out helping Farmer H put some tin on his Freight Container Garage, and suggested draining it himself. I also saw the procedure mentioned on the innernets, so that's the course we took.

Farmer H picked up a big plastic syringe at the feed store on Monday morning. I'd been planning to assist Surgeon H, but he called HOS (His Oldest Son) before I got home, who arrived right after I parked T-Hoe in the garage.

That darn Farmer H didn't wait, even though I told him I was getting some treats of bite-sized meat and cheese to lure Juno to her draining. I came out on the front porch of the Mansion, and Juno ran over to greet me.

"She's done," said Farmer H, standing in the front yard, squirting liquid out of the syringe.

"She don't want nothin' to do with ME ever again," said HOS the holder.

Indeed, Juno's ear was back to normal size, though still hanging down a bit. And she still favored that side of her head, but to be fair, she'd just had a needle jammed in it twice. The best part was that even though a bit skittish and slinking, Juno appeared to feel better. The glow in her amber eyes was back. She sat down at my feet for petting, and I gave her the treats.

As Farmer H said, "You can give her the treats now. She was really good."

However...Farmer H went inside to get some Q-tips (we don't have any cotton balls) to see if Juno's inner ear needed cleaning. I warned him severely (more than once) that he could NOT poke those Q-tips into any space he could not see with his own two eyes. That he could only swab at any detritus he found inside.

Well. Juno was having none of that! She tried to squirm away from me, seeing as how I had already used up the treats. I had a good hold on her, me sitting on the front porch pew, and Farmer H standing down on the ground. THEN he had the bright idea to grab Juno's front leg and pull her towards the edge, and she got spooked and panicky. However, overall-wearing HOS stepped up, and sweet-talked her, and held her in his arms like a black sheep.

Farmer H flipped Juno's ear flap back, and we could all see that it looked perfectly normal, though a little bit swollen. It was pink and healthy, no gunk, didn't smell. The most Farmer H swiped off of it was about half a Q-tip of light dust. "That's really clean for a dog's ear!" he said. We agreed.

Of course Juno sat down again for petting. Not seeming to hold her manhandling against them at all. She didn't try to run away. She DID shake her head a couple times, and dig at the ear with her hind foot. I'm sure Farmer H must have tickled something inside with that Q-tip. We are considering getting her some ear mite medicine, just in case.

When Farmer H started up the Gator, Juno ran to follow. She DID go slower than usual, taking her time on the steps, and still holding her head tilted. Plus, she took a break from running for a minute, when she saw that he was stopping at the BARn. I'm sure she won't get over this immediately. The stuff I read said it might take four months, and the ear would need multiple drainings.

I'm just relieve that Juno feels better. You can tell by her demeanor, even though she's not back to full speed.

Farmer H rinsed out the syringe with water, squirting it through the needle. So he's ready for the next time. He said the first try didn't yield him anything, but on the second one, the fluid immediately started filling up the syringe, with the ear going back flat. The fluid had a little blood, but mostly clear stuff, not cloudy.

Juno is probably onto his tricks now, though. We'll have to get creative.