A Trip to the Dentist for the Corgis

We were visiting my friend, Carol Braunstein, with the two Corgi girls for a scheduled bath and grooming. Carol, also a Welsh Corgi breeder who shows Corgis as well, suggested that I get Merri’s teeth checked. I must admit, I had been putting off a trip to the vet’s for this purpose.  Merri is ten and Rhonda is almost thirteen. I did not like to put the girls under to do dental work, but I had no choice. Their Corgi breath was absolutely awful!  I knew teeth were going to be pulled, not just cleaned.

Two weeks later, Merri and Rhonda had a car ride to the vet’s. They love car rides, and I felt pretty bad that their anticipation and excitement was soon going to turn to dread. Although they willingly went inside the building, they did not want to be left behind. I could feel their panic – it was written in their eyes. We went home, and I was feeling guilty…..very guilty.

At 2:30 p.m.  we called the vet, and my husband and I were the first to arrive when the office reopened at 3:00 p.m. We quickly strode inside and were told the girls did just fine, but we would need to talk to the attending vet first and the medications would be explained. The girls each received pain meds for four days and antibiotics for ten days. The attending vet said the girls’ chem scans were very good and they were in good weight. Both girls had back teeth pulled – Merrill had a grand total of seven.  When we went back into the waiting room, a member of the office staff called the kennel manager to bring the girls to the waiting room. By this time, there were many men, women, children, and pets waiting to drop off, pick up, or see a veterinarian.

Merri cam up first. Although my husband and I eagerly and lovingly called her name, she would not look at either of us. She walked straight past us to a total stranger who was sitting to my left. Her eyes looked up at him as if to say, “Please take me home with you. I am disowning my parents.”  It was so embarrassing. I felt all these eyes upon me. Were they thinking that I was not a good doggy parent?  Did they think I was mean to her? I almost could see the fingers wagging and hear the tongues clucking. My face turned a hot shade of red. Rhonda was more agreeable.

We left rather quickly. I lifted Merri and placed her in her crate for the ride home. I leaned in to whisper “Good girl” and “I love you, Merri” but Merri would not turn around in her crate to face me. My words of love were met with stony silence. Even when I stroked her back, she would not turn around. It took most of the evening to be forgiven. I was a wreck until I knew we were almost back to normal!

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