Monday, May 30, 2005

Our dog the celebrity



Jasmine is rarely nippy... so when we tried to check her injured foot and she objected, we took her to the vet.

Despite planning to do so, we never got around to taking her on any "going someplace fun" rides. So now she sees them all (rightfully) as "going to the vet" rides, which she was quick to figure out that she dislikes.

The vets' office was overstuffed with people worried that they'd better get something looked at before the long holiday weekend. Other than the horse and a nervous German Shepherd, none of them looked like the two-person job that getting Jasmine to the vet has become.

In a room full of cats and lap dogs, a Great Pyrenees is a celebrity. I think she knew it, too.

When it was finally our turn to muscle her onto the scale, people oohed and ahhed at her 100 pounds. A young boy was properly impressed: "Wow! What kind of dog is that?!"

I was tempted to say, "The kind that likes to run through mud and tall grass and get things stuck in her foot."

It was a long grass seed that had gotten embedded and then a little infected. She got a "take a nap" shot (that she bore quite bravely thank you). The foot was clipped and prodded and balmed, and I was able to brush some mats out of her coat while she was in no position to object.

She woke up slowly, a little scared and unsure. Then she played me like a fiddle, lying on the cool floor pretending that her back legs still wouldn't function. My "poor baby" was apparently just enjoying the air conditioning. Hmmph.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wait a second! My 20-year-old son is playing this same game with me. A little knee surgery and he has me fetching for him. Okay. I'm wise to him now!

robin andrea said...

Jasmine is a beauty. There's a white Great Pyrenees here in our little neck of the woods. They are such impressive looking dogs.
I've been thinking we're going to have to give our cat Bonsai some "take a nap" medicine so he'll let us brush out his fur. He's a longhair, and lately he's gotten a bit Rastafarian in his style. He really doesn't like us to brush those dreadlocks.

Niobium said...

None of my pets like to be brushed either, althouth I don't give them a "nap pill." I used a "rake" to brush them (it gets that thick undercoat better than a shedder) and when I'm done, each gets a fab treat that I don't usually give-- like brie or deli meat.

Karen said...

Hee hee! My dog isn't old enough to be that manipulative yet. And he puts up with brushings, nail clippings, ear cleanings... I poked and prodded him a LOT as a little puppy.

My vet has a treat bowl every twenty feet or so. Root Beer loves it there because the staff oohs and aahs over him (he's kind of an unusual breed, too) and gets crammed full of doggie biscuits, etc.

Give your Jasmine a hug from me! Hope she gets better soon!

Marie said...

Awww...jasmine is gorgeous. Now you should take her on some more fun rides...w/air conditioning :-)

Maktaaq said...

Phew! I am glad she is ok!

A friend watched yesterday morning as a coyote attacked her cat. I thought it was going to be that sort of story. Except that maybe a yeti was doing the attacking.

Phew again!

Rurality said...

Pablo, give them an inch and they'll take a mile!

RD I had not been brushing Jasmine like I should have, and the mats got a little out of hand. She will let me brush her, but not for too long. I was getting the mats out, but at the rate I was going, it would've been the end of summer before I was finished.

NB, I just discovered the "rake" at the vet's office! Wish I'd known about it all along. It does work wonders. We went and bought one that afternoon. I'm going to work on the rest of Jasmine's mats after it stops raining... if it ever does. :)

Karen I wish we'd done that too. She is actually pretty good natured about that sort of thing, but only to a point.

Shannon I'd hate to give Jasmine a biscuit at the vet's, the way she drools... they'd be mopping the floor for weeks. :)

Thanks Marie, we just need to figure out somewhere to take her besides the vet. Part of the problem is not enough doggy-friendly public areas. The other thing is, if she ever got free it would be trouble since she will not come when you call her unless she feels like it. Pyrs are like that.

Maktaaq, oh no! Well Jasmine could hold her own against a coyote for sure. She was trying to chase them even as a puppy! Too hot here for a yeti, but bigfoot....

Happy and Blue 2 said...

Your dog is just the coolest..

Karen Schmautz said...

I think I've mentioned before that my dog, Jazz the Wonderdog, is a German Shepherd mix. I've always believed the "mix" was great Pyrenees and after seeing your Jasmine, I am even more convinced. Their faces (and their weight)are very similar. You have a real beauty there.

Rurality said...

Yep she's a sweetie!

Hick I think I brushed 20 pounds of hair off of her!