Balancing Corporate & Homesteading Lifestyles
My Story: Getting Vet Care During Covid
Meet Nova! My sweet rescue dog of 7 years. She was found in Louisiana living on the streets with her mom and three litter mates. Nova was "adopted" for about 12 hours and then returned because the family said she was aggressive. Let's just say, I have NEVER seen one bit of aggression in this sweet girl in all our years together and that 12 hour fail was my SUCCESS and a huge blessing in my life.
In our years together, Nova has never been sick. Although I had a vet with my previous dogs, I took Nova to the local clinics at Tractor Supply for her shots and all was good ... until this year. In January Nova developed a small lump on her foot. It looked like a small hematoma (her big brother can get a little rowdy when they are playing) and I wasn't too concerned.
The lump remained small with no changes, then recently started to grow. In January and February, I had reached out to a local "house call" vet but she never called me back. Then about a month ago the mass got larger and Nova started licking it. I found another "house call" vet in a neighboring town and set up an appointment (2 weeks out). She was FANTASTIC, she gave Nova her rabies shot but informed me the mass was would need to be surgically removed. After she left, I called multiple vets and none were taking new patients. Finally, I found one and was able to get an appointment in 4 weeks. I thought I was lucky and took it.
The next day, the mass got worse and the skin opened up and looked terrible. Although Nova wanted to lick it, she was running around, showed no signs of pain, and definitely no change in appetite or attitude.
Keeping Nova from licking her foot started to become difficult. A sock worked as long as she sat still, but it fell off as soon as she walked and didn't work for nights.
So, I came up with another idea ... my grandson sleeps in a sleeper sack, so I borrowed one. Nova was not too excited the first time I zipped it on her but it worked! (Photo is the first time wearing it.) So, I starting using this at night.
I also bought an inflatable cone but that didn't work. Tricky little girl could still reach her foot with that one. Great in theory, poor in practice.
I was hoping we could hold out the 4 weeks until the vet appointment, but things don't always work the way you hope.
By Monday, I knew that I couldn't wait 4 weeks to get her into the vet so I called 5 more vets. Many were not accepting new patients. The best I could get was 2 weeks and I knew that was still not good enough so we went to the local Puppy ER. Nova spent the day in the ER and luckily I was able to get her scheduled for surgery 3 days later. 8 hours in the ER and $1,100 later, I was able to bring her home. That was on a Tuesday, surgery was scheduled for Friday. I received a call Wednesday that there was a cancellation so surgery was rescheduled for Thursday.
I do not know the affects elsewhere, but in MA, Covid has changed the way our animals get medical care. It's not a good feeling when you just drop your dog off and cannot be there for the examination and treatment.
I dropped Nova off at 7am for her surgery. I called to check in about 1pm and she was just going in for surgery. Around 2 the surgeon called and said everything went well and to check back around 5 and if she was doing well, she could come home but she may need to spend the night.
Nova did well and I was able to pick her up at 6pm. I pulled into the only empty spot, called the number and said I was there and was told she would be out soon.
So, we need to wait a week to get Nova's test results to find out if her mass is benign or malignant. We go back next week to get the bandage changed and then the following week it can be removed.
Although emergency care isn't the most practical (financially) way to go, I am very happy with everyone who helped care for Nova. The surgeon was amazing and caring and explained everything very clearly. We were very lucky that all has turned out well and Nova has received such good care in a short time!
It's one of the truths of life ... all is well until it is not well.
If you have a healthy dog and don't have a designated vet, it's a good idea to have someone in cases of emergency especially if local vets are not taking new patients.
House call vets are a good option but they do not do surgery. I loved having the vet come to my house. It was a great experience and I was able to be with Nova the whole time in the comfort of my house which was less stressful for her (and me).
Anyway, we have a new E Collar coming - the cone the vet sent her home with is okay but very upsetting to Nova because it hits everything when she tries walking and Nova just sits and won't move. Luckily, I am working remotely so she spends the day in her bed under my desk where I can watch her. We also have a little boot she wears outside to keep her bandage dry and that's working well! My biggest challenge is keeping big brother Finn from stepping on Nova. He's trying hard!
