Aural Hematoma

Just picked my dog, Brandy, up from the vet a few hours ago. She had surgery this morning to drain blood and fluid from her right ear. Apparently in her wrestling around with the new dog, Maxine, Brandy's ear was injured. A blood vessel within the ear burst causing the ear flap to fill with blood. Her ear looked like a stuffed pillow and was heavy to the touch. I had the vet drain it even though he said that in his experience with aural hematomas they often fill right back up. The ear is back to normal for the moment.

Poor Brandy is walking around like a zombie though and has been sick since I brought her home. I'm hoping it's just the after effects of the anesthesia and the stress of her surgery.

Hedgehog Scare

Got the bathroom floor fixed over Christmas break. $860 in damages ... too bad I can't sue for that.

While the men from the carpet store were working they had to leave doors to my bedroom open and they kept going in and out of the house. With the cold winter air it didn't take long for the house to cool down. I guess it got a little too cool for one of my hedgehogs. When I went to care for them that afternoon, Pinball was curled in a ball and was nonresponsive. He didn't appear to be breathing and was making no sound whatsoever when I touched him. I didn't think he was dead because he was curled in a ball instead of having a relaxed body. In my research of hedgehogs, I had read that if they become too cool they can enter a state of hibernation. I feared that this was the problem. I quickly hooked up my heating pad and began to warm up Pinball. Within a few minutes I could see him breathing again. After about an hour he started huffing and puffing again. I monitored him throughout the night to make sure he was eating and moving around.