The tail tale

Remind me never, ever to take two beagles who are both high on Valium to the vet by myself again. Picture twin children, age two, raised by wolves. Give them some speed. Confine yourself with them in a small examining room for two hours.

For some reason, Valium highly increases the appetite of beagles. They bounce off walls. They jump up, down, up, down...sideways. They are happy, not stressed, but they need their batteries to run down.

Usually Molly gets the Valium only, and Baby just comes along for the ride and is pretty much invisible. Not today. They were both extremely active.

According to the vet, Baby has a broken wag. Her tail isn't broken, it's "hurt," and she can't wag it. She still won't pee. Squatting is exquisitely painful for her. Her anal glands were expressed, and there was no problem "in there." As soon as we got home, she wanted to go outside. It's very cold, windy, and raining. We walked around and around. We went back in, took off my coat, my shoes, her collar, her leash, Molly's collar, Molly's leash. I sat down. Ten seconds later, she wanted to go back out. Molly decided to come along. We put everything back on, walked around and around. She sort of squatted about an inch a few times, then changed her mind.

Finally, she squatted maybe an inch, screamed something awful, and dropped the biggest load of poop I have ever seen a small dog do. It happened so fast that I didn't even see it at first. No pee. )The vet was not concerned over a possible bladder infection.)

We came back in the house, and both dogs are sleeping off the Valium. Baby got a shot of Rimadyl and I have to give her two Rimadyl tablets every day for five days, and then she is supposed to be cured. I have to trust my vet, but I am not so sure about this.

I also gave Molly her Percorten-V shot, the one that keeps her alive. The vet and the tech drew the Rx, held her for me, and I stuck the needle in. I then tried to push the plunger. I found that I had to work very, very hard to do that. Thanks, doctor, you really did a job on my hand when you killed that nerve and I lost the use of a major muscle.

Molly made one little squeak, and when I was done, she turned around and thanked me for giving her the medication that has saved her life. She then thanked the tech and the vet.

Before I gave her the shot, I was holding the syringe. She jumped up for it, like it was a treat. Don't tell me Molly is a dumb animal. Baby maybe isn't too bright, but Molly knows the score.

No seizures. Not one. No indication of one pending. Molly can again go inside the vet's office.

Of course, she still needs the Valium to go.

What do I get? Oh yeah, the bill. Or should I say, The Bill?