The only problem with a blog is that I can't really show you how I feel.  For dogs, it's all about body language. 
Right now, I'm lying on my back, not looking in your eyes with my paws up in the air -- it's what mother would call "submissive behavior".  It's how dogs apologize.
I'm so sorry for missing my blog the past few days.  Mother says our 'net' is broken at the den; and without a net the blog just won't work.
Mother let me use some time at the clinic today to get this message out.
Mother says it's actually good timing, since Anna is out of her school for the summer, she doesn't have as much time to help me with my blog.
She says whenever something really cool comes up, we'll make sure to let everyone know, but it probably won't be every day anymore.
No worries, just more time for me to get Bea's ears completely clean!
Also here's a quick update on some of our recent cases:
Luigi did not have cancer.  I couldn't stop wagging my tail when I heard that.  His butt bump may come back though, it's something called a 'fistula' which means he may have to take pills from now on.
Sadly, Fanny's spleen did have cancer.  Dad saw it with the goo covered probe machine. 
We said good-bye to her last week.
Super licks to you all, and have a great summer!

Luigi has done well after having all of his parts removed.  He's eating all of his kibbles and is almost back to acting like himself.

Since I put Luigi's story on my blog a few days ago there's been lots of grumbling and barking on about the "stomach tacking" that Dr. Quinn did in Luigi's belly, while she was in there taking the spleen out.

I admit, I didn't know what a stomach tacking was, except that it sounded like it might hurt.

I overheard my dad explaining it to some visitors today:  "Large deep chested dogs are at risk for having their stomachs twist.  It's a condition most people know as 'bloat'.  Since Luigi fits into that category we had Dr. Quinn suture his stomach in the right place so it can never twist.  As a profession, we don't really have a handle on why some dogs get this condition -- but it's life-threatening and requires emergency surgery when it does happen.  The 'prophylactic gastropexy' that Dr. Quinn did, is one of the few ways we have of truly preventing it".

After hearing that, things started to make sense to me.  I was hoping that I wouldn't have to have my stomach tacked and now I know it's just one more reason that small dogs rule.  Dad's story also reminded me of a dog that mother had worked on last year.  His name was Lucky, and he was a yellow lab.  He came in at the end of the day, and his parents thought he was 'bloated'.  Mother confirmed their worst fears with a black and white picture.  But before Lucky could have surgery he 'crashed' as Vonnie would say, and didn't wake back up from the crash. 

It's comforting to know that bloat will never happen to Luigi.  Even more comforting to know that my stomach doesn't have to get any tacks put in it. 

NOTE:  mother says the large black hole on the x-ray is a stomach that is filled with gas, but because it's twisted the gas can't be released. She also says if you think your dog ever has this problem, to call a dog doctor right away, it's very serious.

Today I chose to dedicate my blog to claws; or nails as the humans like to call them.  This is yet another part of a dogs body -- or a cats for that matter, that the humans seem obsessed with.  Rarely does a day go by when the humans aren't working on dog or cat claws for some reason.  Big dogs get the big nail trimmers, fancy dogs get the dusty grinding treatment that smells like a cookout, and little puppies and kittens get the metal snippers.  It doesn't matter what method is used the result is still the same -- pets leave without their weapons and toenail bits abound throughout the clinic.  As an aside, toenails make a mighty tasty snack.  The best thing is that the toenails never go bad.  I can find an old toenail under one of the apartments or hiding in a corner that's been there for months, and it still tastes as good as the day it was cut.
I happen to be very attached to my own claws.  Whenever mother or one of her helpers try to take mine I usually bite at whatever tool they're using. Here I bark a word of wisdom -- the dusty grinding tool bites back.
The thing I find most surprising is that some humans will gladly shorten the long claws of their pets and yet will keep long claws for themselves.  Dancing Debbie and Vocal Vonnie are some of the people here that love to show off their long claws.  The really funny thing is that they don't use the claws for any reason I can see -- we don't have any new holes dug in the back, they don't paw at each other and they can open doors without having to scratch so I have no real idea why they would want the claws.  Mother thinks claws are dirty.  She says that no matter how much soap treatment they get, the claws trap the dirt.  Which to my thinking is just another reason to keep claws around -- you can never get enough dirt!

Mother did a little test in the clinic.  She used a white stick to take dirt samples from under Debbie's and Vonnie's claws to prove that even when you couldn't see the dirt, that it was still there.  She rubbed the white stick on some red syrup tester and a few days later, there it was.

"Ewwwwwww"  was all any of the helpers could say.  Even Dr. Quinn surgery woman saw the test and was surprised.  "That's why I cut my nails, and why we scrub so hard before surgery" she added.

Mother says "Rubber gloves anyone?" as she washed her hands for the fifth time after looking at the test.  I don't see what the big deal is about myself.  If I find something particularly good smelling outside, I love to run my claws through it -- that way I always have a snack for later!

I had a thoroughly enjoyable long weekend at the den.  Bea and I systemically rid our domain of the rabbits.  Mother tried to cheer us on, always following and wondering where we went.  She wasn't much help except that the louder she yelled our names the more she made the rabbits run.

My enjoyable weekend came to an end this morning.  I was just settling down to get ready to defend the clinic from all intruders when in came Luigi the police dog.  Sure he looked all tough -- ears forward, sniffer working, but I was not afraid at all and I let him know it.  My parents and all the helpers were really impressed that the big dog didn't get nervous or misbehave.  He was a true professional.  Even I couldn't scare him away.

He was at my clinic today to have a special procedure in the no-awake-dogs-allowed room.  It was so special that Dr. Quinn surgery woman came to work on Luigi.  She was in that room for what felt like days.  "That sure was a lot of surgery" she said tiredly "We removed his spleen, tacked his stomach and took out a perianal mass.  I guess you could say he's a new dog from stem to stern". 

My dad was particularly worried about the way Luigi's spleen looked, "Well, that's not right" was all he could say.  "I'm so glad we took this out" he added. 

Luigi didn't really smell like a new dog to me.  Other than the odor of red syrup he had his basic scent of  leather and confidence.  Everyone was so happy to see him when he woke up.  Vocal Vonnie said that she would consider being a police officer just to have a dog like that.

Now I don't have to remind anyone that dogs like that come in all sizes.  I mean you won't see a single rabbit anywhere around my house, and I didn't even go to a fancy training school.