Rough Day for the Kids

Thank goodness I was in a good mood and feeling rested today because wow! Millie & Wyatt were miserable. Sweet Millie had her teeth cleaned today (yay! no more stinky dog breath!) and of course that involves anesthesia and time at the vet's office and a sore mouth and maybe even a sore throat from the respirator thingy. She's a little out of sorts tonight and is just feeling needy. Totally justifiable and I might even let her sleep with me. But probably not because I have a hard enough time getting a good night's sleep without four paws pushing me around.

Things I learned from the dental tech:
1. I should brush her teeth after every meal (what?!). I started asking about less time-consuming options. You know, like maybe one of those treated rawhides every once in a while? Or maybe that stuff you dump in their water? And she said those are better than nothing but not the same as brushing. She suggested I could use some gel that I squirt into her mouth after each meal. Ummm, probably not. So I tried to gently explain that, while we love our Millie very much, I have a two-year old and a baby due in five weeks so probably I won't actually be upping Millie's oral hygiene plan anytime soon. I mean, I haven't done it for eight years so now's not a likely time to start. I walked out with a bottle of the water additive stuff. We'll see how that goes.

2. Millie has funky teeth. But hey, apparently it's the fault of her breed and nothing else. Two teeth are rotated 90 degrees from where they usually are; a molar or two are simply missing; her front teeth (the cute ones that stick out) are a little loose because the bone underneath doesn't always fuse in doggies like Ms. Millie. Hmmmm. And to think we've never known any of that. The tech actually used the phrase "the teeth are all just kind of tossed in there" to explain the dental pattern of a short-nosed breed.

And Wyatt? Well, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and just never recovered. There were moments of greatness - he did such a good job paying attention at story time this morning, was quiet as we walked through the rest of the library searching for a book for me, played happily at the Y while I got in a little exercise, was remarkably patient while we waited for Millie and gave some great hugs to a golden retreiver in the waiting room - but if you encountered him during a moment not mentioned above, there was crying. Lots and lots of nonsensical crying. He totally embraced his bath being an hour early and fell asleep promptly. I certainly hope he's back to normal tomorrow.

And since that means he'll wake up bright and early, shouting, "mama! MA MA! MAAAA MAAA!" from his room and then announce that he wants to go downstairs to "pay" before breakfast (then as soon as we eat he'll want to know, "what we doin' today, mama?"), I'd better get some rest and come up with some plans for tomorrow.