I may never get in the car again
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me fifty times, well, I guess I have to accept all of the shame. But I’ve had it now. I am never getting in that car again! Can you believe it took me all the way out to College Station to go to the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine? Do I look like the kind of capybara who wants to go to a college of veterinary medicine? No, I do NOT.
In case you didn’t guess it already, it is my teeth again. Last time the vet had a very negative prognosis about my teeth so I guess we all knew that I would have to go back. My teeth were starting to hurt me and I had a little foam in my mouth so Melly and Rick decided it was time to take me in. I think I could have stood it a little longer, given the alternative.
They seem so nice.
The vets and students all seem so nice but really they are into capybara torture. In the photo above they are trying to figure out the most painful way to give me a shot of anesthesia. I put up a pretty good struggle. I broke one syringe and I refused to go into those cages.
I'm going bald.
During the struggle, I lost quite a bit of fur. This is some of it lying on the floor.
My bald spot
I hope my hair grows back quickly, I don’t like having a bald spot. Note to capybara wranglers worldwide: Do not grab a capybara’s fur to hold onto it.
Save me!
I begged Rick to save me from the vets but he and Melly were colluding with them. They all kept talking about how it was for my own good.
Eventually the vets kicked Melly and Rick out of the room and while I was watching them through the window in the door and pleading with them to come back, a vet sneaked up behind me and hit me in the butt with a pneumatic syringe!
Headed down to xray
In the photo above, I am completely unconscious. They are getting me prepped to go down to xray. I got to go in my own bed, which is nice.
Going under the drill.
After xray, they moved me onto another table to do their dental tortures…I mean “procedures.” I am very glad that I was not awake for any of this and have to take Rick and Melly’s word for it. I’m scared just looking at the pictures. Poor little me!
My cute little mouth
Even though my eyes are open, I am asleep. They had to put goop in my eyes to keep them from drying out. Later, that made it hard to see. I think my mouth looks pretty cute in this photo.
The parts of my mouth
Don’t forget that you can click on the image to see a higher resolution version. You might want to do that to get a good view of the inside of my mouth. Melly said I had a huge point on one tooth and they had to dig a long trench through it with a drill and then break it off. Underneath the point, a bunch of old food had gotten stuck and was rotting in there. Once they got the point off the tooth, they could get that old food and bacteria out too.
The point
That’s the point of my tooth that they cut off. It was pretty big!
The good news is that it seems like I only have one really bad tooth. After the last time when they worked on my teeth at the beginning of November, my teeth have actually straightened out a lot. The bad news is that this one tooth is pretty bad. I am going to have to go back for another trimming in just four weeks! I seriously don’t want to. At all. But the vet says once they do that they will be able to “get ahead” of this bad tooth and I won’t ever have such a bad problem again. The worst news is that I will have to have my tooth trimmed every few months for the rest of my life. You can imagine how much I’m looking forward to that!
Do you have to?
It’s bad enough that I get a rectal probe while I’m helplessly unconscious, but does Melly have to post a photo of it for the whole world to see?
I am miserable
This is right after we got home. Capys always like to be in the water when something is wrong but Melly and Rick wouldn’t let me go outside so I had to just sit in my two poop bowls. I felt so horrible! My butt hurt from the shot, my teeth from the drill and my neck from holding my head in that uncomfortable position while I was being worked over. I would sit in one bowl for a couple of minutes and then move to the other, then come back. Over and over. And over and over. And over and over.
The pillow helped a little
Melly gave me a little pillow so I could lie down with my butt still in my poop bowl. That helped some. I didn’t get any sleep at all last night and I didn’t eat anything either. Who can sleep or eat when you are in so much pain?
My green pool moves indoors.
Having my green pool in the house today really helped. I can lie all the way down in my green pool. And it was a lot warmer in the house than outside, or so Melly says, she wouldn’t let me check for myself.
I am still very miserable tonight but I have eaten some today, a head of endive and a head of lettuce plus some treats. My butt still really, really hurts from that shot. My teeth hurt too.
My advice to any pets reading this blog is: DON’T GET IN THE CAR! IT IS A TRAP!
If I’ve spared even one other pet the misery I’ve suffered, I will consider it worthwhile…
Wait, no I won’t. I don’t ever want to go through this again. The only way it could be worthwhile is if I never had to go to the vet again. I so, so, so, so hope it is worthwhile!
you poor baby..I hate you have to suffer so much…come visit me and I will protect you from those people and Mickki would love to meet you..the two of you would have a good time.
Feel Better, Gari. Sounds like they took very good care of you.
Poor Gari. But it all sonds much better this time, compared to the last one. I hope you’ll get cured finally.
We’re both going to need toupees! I lost hair on my hip at the vet clinic in 2011 (when they stole my manly parts) and I still have 2 kind-of-bare spots there. I’m losing confidence that my fur is going to grow back, though I just went through a minor shedding. D’oh! So STUPID, with winter coming! Maybe we should try Rogaine!
I hope you feel better soon, Gari. 🙁 Even people hate going to the doctor.
I LOVE YOU Gari, Please dont be mad at your Mommy, she wants you to get better and not worse
Gari, so sorry you had to go through all of that. I hope you feel better real fast!
Don’t feel so scared Gari, the vets are only trying to help you and I hope you get well soon.
Gari – we love you sweetheart!
Melly – what about pulling the bad tooth? Would that just cause more problems or would it prevent having to do the monthly trimming?
Feel better sweet capy baby … and Melly, I feel so bad … I can’t imagine how emotionally and financially stressful this is for you 🙁
Humans get very scared when our pet friends have to go for surgery. You don’t want old food stuck in your teeth – leads to BAD breath and other problems. Rick and Melly are very caring humans, feel better soon
Ps: I am sorry to hear about the bald spot
Lily has a bald spot too but no pain so far. Hang in there. Good to read the info and see that you will be getting relief. 🙂
You poor, sweet ROUS!! Feel better soon.
Gari thank you for the update. Been thinking about you daily. Good to hear you’re feeling better even though you are a little sore.Take care of yourself and listen to Melly and Rick, they love you so much.
I would like to send a check for $10. it’s not much but I know it can help a bit. I need a PO BOX #. PS hope Gari feels better love Fatima.
So sorry you are having to undergo such torture. I’m glad you are home and have your green pool in the house. We all love you so much and never want you to suffer. Please feel better soon.
I am glad that it wasn’t as bad as they thought it might be and that your teeth are straightening out. Remember that Melly and Rick love you and are doing what is best for you! Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers still though.
Going back every month doesn’t sound very pleasant at all!!
That was so nice of melly to bring in your little pool.
She loves you so much <3
Poor Gari 🙁 I know it hurt, and your tooth is better now, so the pain doesn’t need to hang around. Pain is like that 🙁 The Pigloo City 3 thank you for the advice about not getting in the car, and are trying to figure out how to know, when I put them in their carrier, that they’re going in the car. I think You may have started something, and I will have a revolt on my hands next time I try to put them in the carrier to go outside to graze 🙂
That’s a nasty chunk of tooth the vets removed, and I know it was no fun getting it removed, but you will be so much better off without that nasty tooth. That rotting food would have caused even more problems, if the vets hadn’t removed it, and you really wouldn’t have wanted to have those complications.
Enjoy your indoor pool. It’s mighty cold outside here, too. Way too cold to get wet. You would become a capycicle, and that would not be good 🙂 Lots of hugs 🙂 🙂 🙂
HALLO,dear GARI,-
I was thinking n Friday to you and yesterday.
I HOPE YOU FEEL BETTER NOW;-while taking a BATH in your nice green pool,
in MELLIE`s kitchen. I have watched the photos of your tooth-operation.
Very interesting,-but GARI, I can understand that you DISLIKE such treatment.
GARI,-in a few days you`ll feel really good ! YOU ARE BRAVE CAPYBARA !
ANTJE
Well, that all sounds very unpleasant & I can see why it would put you off getting into the car for a good long while. And no wonder you are hurting at both ends, my goodness, all they did. But that tooth looks nasty, so I’m glad they got that out & maybe the trimmings will get easier over time?
Hope you feel better very soon & can get some more sleep & enjoy eating again. Healing hugs to you.
Poor Garibara!! And Poor Melly and Rick!! I hope this is IT for a long time, and more surgery is avoided.
awwwwe… *hugs Gari*
Oh Gari, vets are scary. I hope in a few days your mouth feels better and you can eat pain free for months. Imagine them trying to hang onto your precious fur and pulling it out! That was terrible.
Poor Gari:( I feel so bad for you, but you will feel so much better soon and with your tooth taken care of, you will be able to eat yummy food again…. Thinking of you Gari-bear…
Poor kiddo! Dentists are awful for sure. I just had to have some teeth drilled myself and it was no fun. Megan the dog also says she suffered recently because the vet trimmed her nails. She is a big chicken about nail trimming, but they just don’t get short on their own. She agrees with you about cars being traps, but they are always nice and pet her a lot at the vet’s and tell her how pretty she is, which minimizes the shame somewhat. We hope your butt feels better soon and you’re able to eat! <3
Gari – so glad the vets were able to help. I’m with you – I can’t believe they posted a picture of you having your temperature taken!! Hope you feel better soon.
Feel better Gari. I know it is tough but Melli and Rick are doing what is best for you. Melli, I agree with Kathryn above-could the vet just pull the tooth to prevent having it trimmed every few minths. This may be less stressful for Gari in the long run esp if he has to undergo anesthesia each time it has to be done. Wouldn’t hurt to ask the vet next time you go.
Gari, you old Rous, you know just what you’re doing, you clever capy! Since when was a capy loved my so many. Y0U my friend, are the ultimate puppetmaster, and rightly so being the superior being that you are. But you know you little fox, oops, I mean cap!, you don’t have to try so hard. You will be loved to the highest degree by many without even trying. I know you must maintain your suspician of the questionable humans, however, you draw only the best of the human species. Those pesky teeth don’t have a chance. You will remove yourself from the Earth ONLY when YOU decide! In the meantime the attention is just heavenly, isn’t it? That hair will grow back, probably is already.I know you aren’nt like some hairless cousins, and don’t fret . You never will be. Be well ,you fabulous treasure and let your humans not worry.Kisses on that handsome proboscis!
I’m so sorry Gari! Please feel better soon.
I have Guinea pigs and I always wanted a cabybara because their like giant guinea pigs which sounds awesome
Feel better soon!
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