Hobie's fine. Today.

Hobie managed to get through the night without needing to go to the vet. I'm still sort of surprised. I'm not kidding when I say he's NEVER spontaneously stopped on his own – without the help of tranquilizers!! (Yes, he's 60 pounds, so it's always a *race* to get him back to the house before he passed out totally and I have to carry him!)

If he had gone to the vet, it would be his second trip in a month. His last visit was July 3. That came about after he'd been shaking his head excessively for a while. Both my neighbor dogs have gotten burst blood vessels in their ears doing that, so I kept telling him to stop it. Hematomas are messy, not to mention expensive to fix! Then I got a letter from a friend who said her dog was shaking her head, so they went to the vet and the dog (Lucy) had a yeast infection in her ears.

Ick, I know, but I thought, "Hmm...perhaps I should get Hobie checked out." Since I was facing a long holiday weekend I didn't want the poor baby to suffer any longer, so when I left work I loaded him up in the car and took him to the vet as a "walk in." It's not a walk-in clinic, but I am a regular customer, and it's not like I was asking for minor surgery. Anyway, sure enough, "raging yeast infection." Vet's words. 

I felt SO BAD for not taking him sooner. Can you imagine – all that itch and no opposable thumbs!! But after a week of twice a day "flushes" which he hated, and subsequent ear massages (which he loves) he quit shaking his head. I suppose he's forgiven me.