In early Sept. Rollo began eating less hay, then he started having trouble eating other stuff. He would rub the side of his mouth with his paw and sometimes acted as if something was caught in his teeth. My car wasn't running at the time, but I called the vet and she put him on Critical Care, special food that one feeds to sick animals via a syringe. The photo above is he & I facing off as we prepare to get him to eat some. When my car got a new battery a couple days later, I was able to take him to the vet who said he was having some dental issues, but thought it might be a dental infection and gave him pain meds & an antibiotic. After a week of little progress, I called the animal clinic again & spoke to another vet who said he should be eating by then & to bring him in that afternoon so she could look at him. After I did, she said his teeth were so messed up that they are rubbing on his gums and he won't be able to eat until he has dental surgery to fix his teeth. Since that vet works mainly at another clinic far away, the earliest they could fit him in at the closer clinic was Oct. 9th, though I wasn't sure if he would last till then, since he's losing so much weight due to not having anything but the Critical Care, which I have trouble getting him to eat. She did say she could get him in sooner at the far clinic, but I don't know if my car would make it to an area that I'm thoroughly unfamiliar with.
I posted my dilemma on Facebook & a former neighbor volunteered to drive us there. So now Rollo has an appointment for Wed. Sept. 30th. We are to drop him off in the morning and then hopefully pick him up in the evening, depending on how groggy he is. There is the danger of him having an adverse affect from the anesthesia, but without the surgery, things don't look good either. It was the proverbial rock and hard place. I'm trying to stay positive and not think that this may be my last week with him. It's going to be a long drive, which I'm nervous about and then the worry about him making it through the operation. He is rather perky, for all that's wrong & our feeding sessions often feel like a wrestling match, which can be frustrating, but a good sign that he's so feisty. He loves pureed carrots, which actually came out more like carrot juice in my version and I give him applesauce every evening as well. In some ways, this time is making us closer. I'm hoping that he comes through the surgery and that allows him to resume eating normally, so that we can have some more time together. He brings such silliness to my life and has been such a good companion in this time of isolation.