Medical Adventure Log (Part 1): Vet Care Made Fun

This week we’re undertaking some health/care related adventures. The Girls need to stay healthy for many more years and we’re privileged to have a wonderful team of caring professionals to help make that a reality. Health is certainly an everyday adventure and one that I (the Driver/Adventure Guide) am honored to be entrusted with for these beautiful souls. I’m much better at taking care of them than I am of myself…but that’s a topic for a different day!

The Upfront: Not all dogs love going to the vet. The Everyday Adventure Girls come with their own separate experiences, sets of baggage (just as we humans do), and own preferences. Our family has been fortunate to have the same trusted veterinarian for 15+ years (maybe 20 but at some point, we stopped counting) and even so – as you’ll note in this adventure – everyone has a ‘no, thanks’ moment, but it doesn’t have to color the whole day.

Full disclosure, we drive 2+ hours each way to go to the vet. We’re not full-time in NYC anymore but Dr. Dan and his team at Murray Hill Pet Hospital are…and we just can’t give them up! Why am I so intense about this whole vet relationship? First, I’m a Cornell University Alum and dreamt of being a Cornell trained veterinarian from the age of 9. Seriously, 9 years old – I wrote an essay about it! While I didn’t fulfill that very specific dream – I was pre-vet at Cornell, did train as a vet tech, did become a dog trainer (more on that another time) – I’m a Cornell-trained vet devotee. Dr. Dan embodies the skill, expertise and kindness of the Cornell vet program and he can’t escape us. I told him years ago that he can’t retire (ever) and so far, so good.

Yesterday our trip exceeded 3 hours just to arrive. Add a highway closure (thanks, sink hole) and a transit strike (now resolved via a deal) to the mix and our speed spent a lot of time in the single digits. Don’t worry, Liesl wasn’t driving but she was navigating safely from the back seat.

This trip was for the annual wellness visit for both girls (exams, bloodwork, etc.) and they both needed some vaccine boosters. They always go in together (except for the blood draw segment) and I’m in the room as well.

Ruthie with Dr. Dan Lauridia and team at Murray Hill Pet Hospital (New York, NY)

Ruthie was up first for her exam. She decided that she wanted to lay down and let everyone else literally work around her. At 120lbs of major fluff with doe eyes…Ruthie did what Ruthie wanted! Even though we have no information on Ruthie’s formative years (reminder: she was found as a stray), we’re incredibly fortunate that she is very tolerant, patient and stoic (sometimes to a fault). She’s unfazed by needles, new environments and new people. She prefers that you don’t pull her collar and wonders why people always want to look in her ears, but she really likes to be accommodating in most situations. When it was time for her to go to the back (read: another room away from me) I was pretty sure I could hear her say, ‘later!’ as she walked nicely out the door. My independent girl.

Liesl was up second and wasn’t really in the mood. She was perfectly happy to watch Ruthie and even insert herself for some pets during her sister’s exam. But she didn’t feel that she needed one herself. When she was invited to the middle of the room for her turn, she smiled sweetly and promptly skittered under my chair. Have you ever seen a 95lb dog skitter like a lizard? It’s adorable until you have to get them to come out again.

Liesl, as a rule, is eager to please. She is highly trainable, motivated by food and affection, and she has always loved (yes, loved) visiting the vet. She was just having a ‘no, thanks’ moment and that’s 100% allowed, for all of us. We gave her a few minutes and some gentle coaxing, and she acquiesced into her standard ‘do all of the medical things to me’ position within reach of doc and tech. She wasn’t super happy about any of it, but she didn’t complain and she had her exam and required shots without further protest.

Liesl patiently waiting for Ruthie to return from having her blood taken to use for science. :)

Then it was time for her blood draw, in the other room. This required putting a leash on (no issue) and being led out the back door of the exam room (no, thanks). Liesl had put up with enough of our nonsense and she wasn’t about to go somewhere else for another such episode. Thanks for asking – she’ll pass. The tech was lovely not to want to pull her and Liesl took full advantage and anchored her muscular body against any shenanigans. Nope. Not today, tech lady. You’re nice but I’m not interested.

Did Liesl get her bloodwork done? Of course she did. Did I have to walk her to the door, assure her that we’d be there when she got back, and send her off with a furry rump pat like we were basketball teammates? Of course I did. And when she returned, she was no worse for the wear and life went from ‘no, thanks’ to ‘yes, please’ once more – until…

So, I missed asking one question during Liesl’s exam and when I brought it to the doctor’s attention, it required another small physical exam of her back. She anticipated this and headed for the door. What more could we possible need from her?! Again, nope. She wasn’t scared. She simply wasn’t in the mood and would have liked to go to the reception desk and see what those nice people were working on.

This time, Ruthie picked up the vibe and thought that Liesl could use some back up. Ruthie is one of those sisters who asks no questions and just shows up at a moment’s notice with a gallon of water, duct tape, a shovel and bail money, uh, just in case. Seeing that Liesl was done with this situation and the humans in the room weren’t taking the hint, she barked and inserted her LGD frame in front of Liesl. She wasn’t showing aggression, but she was asking everyone to kindly back off. And this is why we stick with the same vet practice for YEARS: everyone did. Everyone except me just stood still and waited. No one worried or was afraid. Everyone got Ruthie’s message.

I gently reassured Ruthie that Liesl was okay. Liesl helped by taking a neutral stance. Ruthie moved aside, the final quick exam was completed (her back was fine) and all was right again in the exam room.

An everyday adventure? I’d say so.

After a water break, we loaded back into the car, stopped at a rest area for a human break (and some chicken nuggets for The Girls) and then re-discovered a park that we hadn’t visited in over a year. We try to build some decompression time into even mini road trips. Even if we end up with some ‘no, thanks’ moments the whole adventure is remembered as a big ‘yes, please’.

Next Adventure: A trip to Ruthie’s leg brace technician and the story of her pink camo braces. See you out there!