Trauma in the Martinzoo
Look at our Peatsy! Can you see the redness and puffiness in his ear? It’s a hematoma of the ear. It’s swelling in the outer ear due to a ruptured blood vessel in the ear. The vet told us it could have been caused by excessive itching or flapping his ears too hard. Can you believe that?
You would think that you could just drain it and close it back up. But no, you have to have it fixed surgically. They have to cut along the edge, go in and stitch it back together and leave a little tube in place for drainage. Then his ear is folded up, on top of his head, and bandaged tightly to the head. He looks a little like Jacob Marley in Scrooge….LOL!
About half of the ear flap was affected. And it never gets better. It just gets harder and can possibly weigh his head down on one side. Wouldn’t that be pathetic?
So Peatsy had surgery this morning. I’m such a wuss. I’ve been worried about it the whole weekend. It’s not that it’s such a big surgery, but he’s such an old dog. He’s 13, and I worried that his age would cause complications. All day I’ve been staring at the clock, waiting to go back and get him. Our house just doesn’t feel right without good old Peatsy. 
He’ll have to wear his little ‘hat’ for 10-14 days. Hopefully, I can keep him from tearing it off. Ever since I brought him home, he’s been sleeping under my computer chair. I think he’s SO happy to be home. It was a tough day for him.
He was extremely happy to see GB at the vet’s office, when we went to pick him up. He practically tried to climb up GB’s body….LOL!
If you’re not too grossed out by surgeries, you can see pictures of the same type of surgery here, or here.
“Don’t I look pathetic?”
Glad he is back home with you. And of course you worry; he’s one of the family/pack.
Comment by
mtpleasant — January 14, 2008 @ 8:33 pm
Oh - poor little doggie! Glad he’s home, safe and sound. And, I hope his recovery goes smoothly. Our homes just aren’t the same without our pets, are they?
Comment by Dana — January 14, 2008 @ 10:59 pm