‘d’ as in dental-cleaning-and-surgery day. I knew he’d need at least one tooth extracted, and that he showed signs of some periodontal disease. Unfortunately, Dr. Hoover, the good Dr. Hoover of Westside Animal Hospital, whom I highly recommend, had to remove nine teeth. Dr. Hoover was Aremid’s first veterinarian back in 1996, and he came highly recommended to me in 2008 for his expertise in doggy dentistry. Herman would’ve lost ten teeth, but Dr. Hoover was able to put in some sort of dental implant to try to save one tooth.
Herman’s mouth has been in pretty bad shape. He’s probably been in pain for who-knows-how-long. Now, he’s a got a Frankenstein mouth, all bloodied and stitched up everywhere, and he’s moaning in pain. I’m not suppose to open his mouth, yet I was supposed to give him a pain pill; I’m not sure if Herman actually swallowed the one I just gave him. Poor guy.
But his mouth should be good-as-new in a couple of weeks. The good news is that dogs usually have 42 teeth, so losing 9 isn’t the end of the world.

(September 2006)