Waiting

We took the dog to the vet this morning because he woke me up with his head shaking, constant head shaking. Ugh. And I looked in his ear and it was bright, bright red.

The vet said it’s not infected, but it is unnaturally full of crap. He’s got a little yeast in there, but the vet says that’s likely from the crap, not the cause of the crap.

Then there’s the fact that we’ve had him on a diet since March and he’s gained ten more pounds.

Apparently, the vet says, that when your thyroid goes wonky, it causes all kinds of issues in dogs–ear problems, eye problems, skin problems, weight gain.

So, we’re checking the dog for thyroid problems.

But what I thought was most remarkable is that the vet didn’t fat shame the dog at all. He just treated his weight like a symptom and looked at it in concert with his other symptoms.

I guess maybe there will be time for fat shaming if the tests come back negative. But I was like “Man, I wish I’d had a series of doctors’ appointments like this in my 20s when I was gaining weight.” I mean, it kind of blew my mind that the doctor didn’t insinuate we were lying about how much we fed him.

So, yeah, vets. Dogs. Etc.