Doggie dentistry

Well, haven't my chickens come home to roost! Having prided myself on saving vet's bills over the years by allowing my cats and dogs to lick themselves better and hope for the best (it's always worked out so far), I now find that they need dentistry. I can't say I look inside the dogs' mouths very often and it's just a cursory pulling up of the lip by tugging on the hairs on the side of the jaw, but the last time I looked, Monty's teeth were a rather disgusting shade of brown. So I took Monty and Susie to the vet for a general look-over to assure myself that they were in good health, thinking there might be some magic biscuit I could clean his teeth with.

The vet blanched when he looked inside their mouths and the words 'gum disease', 'inflammation', 'decay', 'anaesthetic' and 'extractions' sent dollar signs racing around inside my head. The mention of 'pus' settled the matter instantly. There was no doubt that my doggies had to have the dental hygienist treatment. Having had this myself, I am well aware that the scratching, digging and poking that goes on is far worse than any root canal treatment, so it was no surprise to hear that an anaesthetic would be necessary to prevent the vet from being savaged by an irate little fluffy white dog.

I asked for a quote and braced myself by clutching onto the examination table while Monty sniffed around looking for a suitable place to lift his leg (a briefcase was fortunately just out of reach) - only kidding - he did wait till we got outside, and Susie waited patiently as ever. The damage will come to R1 300 per dog plus R200 for unlimited extractions (I think we'll take all the back teeth out for this bargain price - after all, Susie never chews anything).

So just when you can see the light at the end of the tunnel, yes, it's the overhead light in the vet's theatre and it's waiting for your dog!