RAIN, RAIN, RAIN

I'm always amazed when the weatherman gets it right.  They said rain & we actually got 3/4 of an inch of rain overnight. 

Needed the rain, BUT, the vet was suppose to come out this morning to check Jenny, pull blood on Cisco & Rusty, & probably removed a growth from Buddy Brat's sheath.  They called & cancelled, can't use x-ray, etc when it's raining.  Besides wet donkeys aren't going to be the most pleasant patients. If there is anything a donkey hates worse than being wet, it's being touched when they are wet.  Really puts them in a cranky mood........!!!   

Cisco actually choked yesterday morning on a piece of carrot.  I sure hope we can find out what is wrong with him.  So for now, he will be getting animal crackers as a treat, rather than carrots.  

Also have a problem with the ACTH test for Cushings for Rusty.  It seems right now they are not manufacturing the testing material according to the vet.  It can be compounded, but of course compounded medicine is usually more expensive.  She suggested trying Rusty on a low dosage of pergolide & see if it helps with his exuberant hair growth. 

Both Pepper & Daisy are on 3mg of pergolide a day, which I get in 1.5 capsules.  Too high a dosage to start out on, so she was going to figure out a good starting dosage & let me know.  

We talked about the fact that Jenny seems to be walking a little more comfortable & the drainage from the foot is almost gone.  I haven't put a sugar/dyne poultice on for over a week, & am only soaking her foot twice a week in epsom salts & betadyne.  She thinks it might be time to see how much proud flesh we can get off & use a pressure bandage.  She was also pleased that the hoof wall growing in at the coronary band looks to be good growth.  She said because of where the proud flesh is, the new hoof growth will basically push the proud flesh off the foot as it grows.   Not sure I want to see that.  

Ruthie is still bagging up, as they say, but no other changes.  I keep remembering with Mocha, that she didn't even look pregnant, but Tucker showed up anyway.  Ruthie usually hangs around the house & pen area, but this morning when John went out, she wasn't to be seen.  He took off frantically to find her.  She was down below the house vacuuming up mesquite leaves that blew off in the horrible wind that accompanied the rain last night. 

YIKES.........I'm really getting behind.  This time of year is when I do a newsletter for Christmas.  I know, a lot of people HATE newsletters at Christmas, but that's the best I can do.  Besides I don't talk about who is at the top of their class, or has a new job  that pays twice what the old one did.  Like that's going to happen in our economy right now.....!!!  Or talk about people that unless you know them, really doesn't make a lot of sense.  I look at John he looks at me, & we ask, "who are they talking about"?  Anyway I talk about the animals & what they did this year it's usually more interesting than than what people do anyway.  So far I haven't gotten started.  But I have good intentions & nothing planned tomorrow, sooooooo.......!!!!!

The vet is coming out next Friday to test Rusty the mule for Cushings.  He is getting hairy & I don't remember him doing that before.  I have all my information printed out to back up my request for an ACTH test rather than the Dex test for Cushings.  Some vets are coming around to the idea of one blood draw & no threat of laminitis & using the ACTH test.  But it is vital that it be handled properly.  The last one I had done, had to be done over...........the lab didn't do it right.........!!!!!   Hmmmmm........as I recall we had a discussion over why in the world I wanted that rather than the gold standard Dex test..........!!!

While she's out, I'll have her draw a CBC on Cisco.  He's just not right.  We had his teeth done, but he still eats like he's got something going on.  We were going to haul him in for an endoscope, but since the vet was coming out for other animals, decided to get a CBC & see if it tells us anything, then we can do the endoscope later.  Buddy Brat has a small sarcoid on his sheath. I've been putting Equaide on it & it is holding it's own or getting smaller, but won't hurt to have it looked at.

And last but certainly not least is Jenny big girl needs to be re-evaluated for her foot.  We're still soaking, & poulticing, & fighting proud flesh.  I don't think it's any worse, but have no clue if it is getting better.  The proud flesh drives me crazy, which is actually a pretty short drive..........but the vet says we can always take care of it later, we need to try to take care of the oozing.  I don't see how the hoof wall can grow correctly, if it's got this blob of "stuff" in the way.  It does look like we are getting some hoof growth at the coronet, but below that what happens, when the growth reaches the proud flesh? 

So if I don't update for a few days, don't be surprised.  Patti left me with a "dummy" blog to play with.  I got into it a couple of nights ago, & I think it will be easier to set up another dummy blog than to try to straighten that one out.  It's amazing how much damage one person that doesn't know what they are doing, can do........!!!!!!  LOL

Just got a call from Mocha & Tucker's Mom.  You might recall that they also took in Missy the Great Dane someone dumped in our area.

It seems that during the night Missy knocked down the fence & attacked Tucker.  He's OK, but has a gash on his side, his ears have been chewed & he has some bites on his hind quarters, poor little guy.  She also killed the ducks & geese.  Missy's been there for a couple of months & none of us have any idea what happened to set her off.  Like January said we don't know her history, so we'll never know, but obviously she shouldn't be around other species, don't know about dogs.  January said she got into a fight with one of their other dogs, over food, but that's different.

She's already checked with a Great Dane rescue in El Paso & they will take Missy.   I feel terrible about this happening since I was responsible for putting Missy into that home.  As they say, no good deed goes unpunished, & in this case the ducks, geese, & poor little Tucker pay the price.