Pulling Teeth!

Literally! For poor Adrian.

The little guy had a lump under his eye when I came down to let him out last Saturday morning. We knew from the initial vet visits when we adopted him in December 2012 that he had a tooth problem. His left carnassial tooth was in the beginning stages of rotting. Since then, I have brushed his teeth whenever I could but that probably wasn't often enough or helpful enough. I took him to the pet clinic and according to the vet, the damage had already been done way back in December. So I made the appointment to have his tooth extracted. (Note: it's very, very expensive -- I shelled out $800 --  to do canine teeth extractions in the US and possibly, more so in California! Try to prevent it if you can!)

Poor little guy looking miserable in this shot. His cheek swelled up to golf ball size the next day and he was obviously in pain from the abscess and swollen glands in the neck area. He could barely open that left eye. We administered the medicines religiously and hoped for the best. I was particularly worried as I had read that because of the facial structure of small dogs, tooth abscesses can sometimes lead to blindness. It was an anxious time for all three of us. I know it's just teeth but we are so used to him being frisky and bouncy and crazy. It was hard to see him feeling quiet and sad, and worse, unable to tell us how to make him feel better. Luckily, the meds kicked in and his swelling reduced considerably the next day and even more the next. The extraction appointment was for yesterday, Wednesday the 21st, so I had to just wait and hope he would feel well enough for it.


Wednesday came and he had his extraction. He was still quiet and sad when I picked him up. All woozy too from the anesthesia. Towards the evening he started perking up a little.

And this morning (snapshot on the right)...he is back to his usual crazy self. Phew...you really had us worried there, buddy. He has a follow up appointment next week so here's hoping his gums heal well. They had to open up his gums, cut the tooth up into pieces to remove it, make sure the bone wasn't damaged too, then suture it all up.

Incidentally, he smells a lot better now after the procedure. Vet cleaned his teeth as well, hence the higher price tag. I guess at least 80% of his halitosis must have been from the rotting tooth and the rest of it is just, well, dog, lol.

I've had dogs before and they basically took care of themselves. This little guy is so much more of a baby lol. But he makes up for it by being the lovely fella he is. We love you so much Adrian boy! Welcome back!