Bella's Haircut, a Few Stitches and Some Unfit Parents

Bella, our lively 3 1/2 year old Wheaten Terrier, survived a horrific accident last week. Since we are too cheap to take her to the groomer, we have taken it upon ourselves to trim her ourselves. She has the kind of coat which requires brushing daily so that she does not acquire mats. Because we are horribly irresponsible, we do not brush her even weekly, aghast...even monthly! Her mats were thick and her hair long, so it was time. Typically, I cut out the mats and then my husband uses the razor to even her up. Imagine my horror when I cut into her skin! She yelped and when I saw the damage, I was guilt-ridden. I dabbed it, figured it was probably okay (using my medical expertise with pets) and continued finishing the haircut. After all, I really wanted her to look beautiful for her vet appointment on Monday to get her long overdue shots. Allow me to also mention that Bella has also had an extremely smelly, waxy ear for several months which we have been treating with some sort of over-the-counter medication which has not been helping at all.

Monday I walk into the vet with Miss Bella in tow. She's excited just to get out of the house. We don't let her out much except to frolic in the backyard. Bella takes her shots like a man; however, when the vet examines her, she begins to interrogate me. "When and how did this happen?" I felt like a neglectful parent. Apparently, she actually needed sutures to close up this flap I created with the scissors, otherwise, it wouldn't heal properly. Bad mom, bad mom! In addition, the vet was shocked at the very bad ear infection she had. "What have you been treating her with?" I stammered, "Uh, some stuff we bought at the pet store." Not a good answer for the vet to hear. I knew that she wanted to report me to pet services for Bella's obviously abusive home life. I did tell the vet in all honesty that I had asked for Bella's forgiveness for the cutting incident. The assistant felt assured that she had forgiven me.

What was going to be a 10 minute shot appointment turned out to be a leave-your-pet-at-the-vet's-office, she's going to be anesthetized and sutured. Sadly, I left Bella behind to return later to pay the $357 bill. Next time I'll be a bit more careful when using the scissors. Poor Bella!