They're home.

The vet had a couple of difficult cases earlier today, so he was running behind schedule. Then there was Sam, who was no trouble and whose teeth cleaned up very nicely. But the vet wanted to give the boy time to wake up slowly on his own, since hurrying dogs sometimes leads to the hound flailing around and perhaps getting hurt. So while Sam slept off the drugs, the vet got going on Jacey.

Jacey's back teeth were far worse than the vet realized. The girl won't chew--anything. Sam at least gnaws on a durable Nylabone every now and then. Jacey won't touch the thing. She got off with no extractions this time, but the vet said if she continues at this rate she's going to need more than one dental a year.

Yeah, I know. And I do brush her teeth. But she's got a mouthful of plaque magnets. So she had a rough time, and she probably has no idea why her mouth aches so much. Her gums bled quite a bit, and while she was waking up I think she probably licked at her front legs. The fur on her legs is pink from bleeding gums, and her face looks pretty nasty, and the rest of her doesn't look so lovely, either. (The perils of owning a dog with lots of white on her.) Much of her fur looks like it got wet , got mushed out of place, and then dried that way (which is probably exactly what happened).

So I picked up the dogs about 6:30. They aren't happy that the vet is still limiting their food and water tonight. They're quite sure they aren't going to get sick from the anesthesia (and they're probably right). So far, Sam's had his small bowl of water--and Jacey's, too--and both dogs have had less than half a cup of their kibble. If all goes well, I'll give them another half cup before bedtime.

I've got a couple of furry zombies for my bed tonight. Hurray! (And if someone breathes in my face, I won't gag.)

My vet's bills are quite reasonable. $135/dog for the cleaning, and he didn't send them home with pain pills since he didn't have to pull anything. (The pain meds would have run $40/dog.) But I also needed Interceptor (heartworm meds) for them, which runs $106+ for a six-month supply for two dogs. This is on top of their annual check-up, heartworm tests, and vaccinations two weeks ago. I think they need to get a job.