The more boys I meet, the more I love my dogs.

Not really.  I just wanted to keep with the song lyric blog titles.  (That's a Carrie Underwood song, for all you who hate on country.)  Since the topic of this blog is Batman (my sweet little Pomeranian), I thought I'd go in that direction.

As most of you know, Batty's had some health issues for the past month and some days.  I wanted to take an opportunity to document everything that has happened.

It all started when I brought Batman and Cooper to the vet last December.  I knew Batman's teeth were pretty bad off.  You could tell by looking at them.  I had a feeling the vet was going to suggest I have his teeth cleaned.  I'd had Malibu's (my evil/sweet kitty who lives with my mom) teeth cleaned before, and I knew it was going to cost a bit of money, so I waited until I got my tax return check so that I could afford it without having to flex my budget.  So Friday, February 10th, Batman went back to the vet to have his teeth cleaned.  For those of you who aren't aware, when a pet has their teeth cleaned at the vet, they're put under anesthesia so that the dental hygienist can really get them clean.  I dropped him off in the morning and was going to pick him up that evening.  The vet called me that afternoon to let me know that Batty had woken up and I could come to pick him up in a couple of hours.

That evening when I picked him up, he was acting really funny, almost drunk, which was to be expected due to the anesthesia.  But what was strange was that when I tried to physically pick him up to take him to the car, he yelped.  Even the vet tech thought that was strange.  But I got him home and let him rest.  He was still acting very strange the next day and the following day, but everyone assured me that he would shake it.  His tail was down, he wasn't eating (unless I gave him a chicken strip), and he rarely wanted to go outside, choosing to instead pee on my bedroom floor (gross, and REALLY odd for him).  Monday I wasn't feeling all that well, so I stayed home.  I also wanted to continue to monitor him.  He was still acting strange.  It felt like I had brought home a different dog.  It was truly upsetting me.

The next day was Valentine's Day.  I had school that day and a date with my bestie that night eating carbs and watching Titanic.  I come home and did my cooking (which included penne alla vodka and a delicious chocolate cake, all homemade), and L came over to get down to Valentine's Day business (we have a standing V-Day date).  Just as we sat down to eat, she commented on how strange he was acting as well.  I went over to him and rubbed his sides very gently and I could feel very hard patches of skin on his torso.  I immediately called my vet (who also has an emergency clinic) and the emergency vet suggested I bring him in.  I intended to wait it out until the end of the movie, but under L's instruction, I went ahead and took him then.

We got to the vet, and they took him back to get a better look at it.  They called it a vasculitis, which is a swelling of the blood vessels.  They figured that the cause was an adverse reaction to the anesthesia.  They wanted to drain them, which would take about 45 minutes, and Grease was playing in the waiting room, so I just thought I'd wait it out.  Once they began to shave the spots, though, his skin was starting to flake off, so they suggested I leave him overnight.  Seeing him sedated with all those awful spots got to me.  I left the vet sobbing the whole drive home, not knowing if my Batty was going to even live through this whole ordeal.

He ended up staying at the vet until Saturday.  I visited him every day.  The team at his vet clinic was amazing.  He was being treated by a husband and wife team who kept me COMPLETELY informed with a lengthy call every day.  They decided that he would go through a series of laser treatments.  That meant, even after I took him home, he had to go back every day and undergo another treatment.  Eventually, his spots began to ooze, so he's been covered in tank-top-looking bandages since then.  As of right now, we go every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  I drop him off in the morning and pick him up in the evening, and he LOVES being there.

Throughout this process, God has blessed me SO much.  I do not blame my vet that this happened.  They do this routine procedure all the time.  It was just an unfortunate reaction that Batman had.  As you can imagine, laser treatments, bandages, three-a-week vet visits, an emergency visit, a four-night stay and medication can get pricy.  Within the first week of this whole situation, Batman's doctor told me they would charge me nothing.  Not a penny.  And they are so dedicated to making him better, it almost brings me to tears.  It has brought me to tears.  I don't know how I could have done this without their kindness.

While we're still undergoing treatments, he is well on his way to being completely healthy again.  I'll be sure to keep everyone posted.  Sorry that this is the longest blog in the world, but I just wanted to let everyone know what we went through and how lucky I am to have an amazing vet for my pets.