Neutered, at Last

Yippee!  I stuck to my guns and waited til Thor had passed the 14-month mark.  We ended up going to Northampton Veterinary Clinic to a vet who is involved in the agility world and agreed with me that it was right to wait for growth to be complete.  On October 18, I took Thor in for pre-neuter blood work and urinalysis.  All good.   I had been worried about his blood sugar as Thor seems to drink and pee A Lot!  Turns out, nothing to worry about.  In the message left on my machine, vet tech Jen (my sister) said Thor's blood work was "pristine."  I laughed at her use of that word; that anything about Thor would be pristine is too funny!  Thor behaved better than I'd expected, walking nicely with Jen into the exam room.  And sitting when asked. 

After our appointment, we stopped at my mother's house.  She has a little gully in back, and I took Thor there.  I stood at the bottom and sent Thor running up both sides.  My sister (who hadn't known we were coming) saw Thor out the window and thought, at first, he was a deer!  She was impressed by his speed and his quick responses to come back to me when I called.

On October 26, I took Thor in at 8:45.  We had to wait for about 1/2 an hour for the vet, Leeanne, to see us.  Thor was very good, even lying down during the time that we were alone in the exam room.  Jen scanned for his microchip which was hard to find.  She had to use a second scanner and, it turns out, he has an international chip that is not universally read by all scanners.  That news made me irritated with my original vet who had implanted the chip.  In the past, they had used Home Again (which all my previous chipped dogs have had) and didn't tell me until AFTER the implant that they had switched to a different brand.  And they never did tell me it was an international chip or that some scanners cannot read it!

Leanne commented on how good Thor's coat looked.  I think she was also impressed that he sat for her.  I was displeased that he kept jumping up on the counter but, I have to admit, there were dog treats up there.  Counter surfing is a problem at home, too, probably due to my poor housekeeping!

I asked if I could leave a stuffed toy for Thor to have when he woke up.  I expected to be told no.  Most vets don't want anything left (often not even a leash or collar!) because they are afraid of losing things.  But I was told I could leave the toy, his harness, a collar, his leash.  Wow. 

Thor was ready for pick-up by 3:30pm. On the Discharge Instruction sheet are two photos of Thor:  a head shot taken on arrival and the second in recovery.  In the recovery shot, Thor is lying with his head on a large stuffed dog; he's covered by a blanket and his own toy is on the blanket.  He looks so sweet!

In addition to neutering Thor, they scaled his teeth, cleaned out his ears, and attempted (no luck) to flush his tear ducts.  It turns out that what I had identified as cherry eye is something else.  It is an inherited disorder called everted nictitans.  Basically, the cartilage inside the third eyelid curls inward.  Because the cartilage is encased in the 3rd eyelid which is soft, is causes no damage to the eye and no discomfort.  Leanne says she'll do surgery if it worsens but for now she wants to leave it alone.  Heartworm and Lyme tests were negative.  Thor weighs 59 pounds, my little baby. 

Keeping Thor quiet for two weeks was challenging.  But it was also a bonding experience.  I had mixed feelings about the neutering, wondering if I should have waited longer.  Or x-rayed growth plates.  Or both.  In my self-questioning, I was sympathetic to Thor.  And that was a good thing for us.