[Gpdd] [HEALTH] - Update on The Prince

[Annette Kobus]

Hi Everyone,

Once again, condolences to those who have lost their furry companions. It's happening way too much lately.

Last night we gave Prince a sudsy bath so he'd be all pretty for the lady vet this afternoon. We also did that fun thing - evacuating the grease gland.. (we were already in the bathroom, after all) surprisingly, once he got all cleaned up and his mom Mindy used the blow dryer on him, he actually started walking around a little bit. 

We took a carrot and some parsley to the vet in a Ziploc bag so if she wanted to see him walk, we'd have something for him to walk toward. We got him weighed, teeth checked (they're OK! Can't believe it, he's never had them trimmed!) heart & lungs listened to, palpated all over, eyes & ears checked (he has pretty cloudy eyes, one vet told me he was blind but I didn't worry because I know many of you have had blind piggies who got along fine).

The vet told us she wanted to take x-rays and I mentioned that we were concerned he might have a bladder stone or something and she said that would show up on the x-ray. So, they took him away !!(We said, please take good care of him!) for his x-rays. Eventually the vet came back in the room (Without Prince) and showed us the little guy's "knees" are in sad shape, as is part of his spine. They look "moth-eaten", she said, but at nine years old, it's expected. He also has a small bladder stone, it looks pretty small but then he's pretty small too. Obviously his age makes it too risky for surgery. The Vet said the stone had probably been there a while, and could develop infection, if it hasn't already. 

The Vet gave us Baytril (0.3 ml twice daily) and Metacam (.09 ml daily), and said the metacam should help him feel a little better. 

The Brave Pig Prince took everything in stride. He only shrieked once when they had to hold him to look at his molars. We'd never heard him make THAT noise before! 

Thanks for all your healing thoughts and kind words. I'll post updates to let you know how he's doing.

Annette, Mindy and The Prince


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