Sitting in the parking lot of my local veterinary clinic this morning was an acceptable hazard given my schedule and the popularity of my chosen vet clinic. Probably brought on by the pandemic, keeping patients (and their people) out of the clinic for social distancing practices, means parking spaces are now arrival call-in and waiting stalls. Over the few others locally that I tried and found less empathetic than money-motivated treadmills, these folks have been my go-to for twenty years. While I have friends who have devoted thousands elsewhere to cancer therapies and other medical procedures, we have been fortunate that all have lead healthy long lives. Not that I would really afford Gucci therapy. Today, however, I want to get Comet looked over because of tender paws, a touch of arthritis, and continual licking his paws. That aggravating slurping has been going on for a few months but I thought it was a boredom thing not an allergy or possible nervous issue.
no-licking shoes for dogs?
In the parking lot for two hours waiting on access to the vet (we were on a wait-list) the lady next to me and I got to talking why we brought our dogs in to get treated. Her dog was having arthritic pain, but her vet was not available today. We got to talking about Comet’s symptoms. We got onto the subject of diet. That he might have an allergy to the grain meal or chicken ingredients in the food did not occur to me. Dog-people do have valuable experience to share. Dog-lore, if you can filter out some of the more extravagant aspects of acupuncture, or prepared to order-food, is very educational. When the vet discussed Comet’s health, we discussed diet allergies in this regard, but he observes that most allergy-like symptoms like Comet are more likely environmental. He’s going on an allergy pill daily for the next month. In the meantime, I probably will go get some chow that seemed to be better absorbed. If his slurping decreases along with the nasal drip, and his paws get less sensitive, I will listen more to lore at the veterinary lot.
It's a Dog's Life 