No, I Do Not Brush My Dog's Teeth

My dog, Buddy, just had his teeth cleaned yesterday and thankfully, he is still alive and well after the procedure. But, he did need 7 extractions!

Am I the worst dog owner in the world or what?!?!!?

The vet showed me the pictures of his rotting teeth, handed me some doggy teeth maintenance paste and instructed me how to put this on my dog's little bitty teeth. (he weighs only 6 pounds). Of course, she also told me how this could have been avoided all together had I been

A. Brushing them on a regular basis

B. Paid every couple of years (to the tune of several hundred dollars) for him to have his teeth cleaned.

Now, before you call the SPCA on me, I want to state, here and now, how much I love this dog. And prior to having my 2 children, I actually did brush his teeth every day. Peanut butter flavored toothpaste - every day. He was my only baby and I had the time and energy to do this.

Yeah, so then I had two real babies and keeping them alive and entertained took priority over brushing my little dog's teeth. Imagine, that.

I tried to explain this to her. You know, mother to mother. She has one child. I thought she would understand.

She looked at me and nodded. And I might add that her expression and nod were a little condescending. "Of course, I understand." , she says.

Not really, she doesn't because she. is. a. VETERINARIAN!

She told me she puts that doggy teeth maintenance goo on her dogs teeth every week (her big dog) and she has a child AND runs a full-time vet practice. Well, she didn't say those last couple things, but I am sure she was thinking this.

I am sure she was also thinking, "You must be busy! Why you still have your workout clothes on and haven't showered, yet." Well, at least I worked out twice this week! I guess I should have been skipping the work outs and spending time brushing my dog's teeth. Again, she did not actually say this, but I really think she was thinking it.

Okay, as a side note here: I completely blame any blemishes in my appearance or any tardiness this week on the fact that I have one less hour. Say what you want, but that time change thing really messes with me.

Anyway, today he is healing nicely and I am feeding him his painkillers like a good mommy would. He was already on an antibiotic for a UTI. So, I am rolling all his meds in a little piece of chicken to make sure he eats them, is comfortable and heals nicely. I have a week to start the tooth maintenance project. But with all this guilt - I will happily add it to my list of things to do.

To check out a photo of Buddy, look at this post . I am not at my desktop computer - remember Computer Woes? So, I can't actually download his picture in this post.

Speaking of pets, you should read my new bloggy friend's post on her cat Oliver - it will make you laugh and the loss of her other cat, Chloe. I am so sorry for your loss, Queen B. I know you will DEFINITELY enjoy reading her blog.