Beagle blood

Tonight, I almost killed Molly. At least that's how it felt. Molly is my almost-4-month-old beagle I got for a birthday/Christmas/anniversary/honey,i'msorryyourotherdogdied present. She is a delightful creature, and she almost died at my hands.

At her last checkup, I commented to the vet tech about how mildly Molly was taking her nail-clipping. My min-pin, Minuette, had always hated that and needed to be muzzled, no matter who was doing it or how much they tried to bribe her with canine cookies. Molly, being a beagle, adored her cookies and hardly noticed the nail clipping. The vet tech assured me that I could do this at home. "But what if I clip one too short, and it bleeds?" Not to worry, vet tech said. Just apply pressure. "I saw some stuff at the pet store to stop the bleeding. I could get some of that." Oh, no, vet tech said, just make a paste of flour and water; that'll work just as well. So tonight, after getting home from a long day of work, I took the brand-new and ever so sharp clippers and gingerly clipped Molly's forepaws (front feet). This went well! Wow, I thought, vet tech was right! This is a breeze! Even her duclaws were easy to do. Molly got just a little restless when I started on her hind paws (hind paws? back feet? the ones she jumps on when she scratches me with her forepaws, when they need trimming). The first nail and Molly moved. And she yelped. And bled. And because she knows that I'm a licensed medical professional, only for humans, she bled some more. I asked husband to make the flour-paste, but steady pressure stopped the bleeding. (Remember! All bleeding stops! Eventually. Don't think too much about that or you'll have trouble sleeping.) Needless to say, nail clipping was done for the night. Molly ran around with her slightly older sister, our new min-pin named Honey. And then she started to bleed again. Her blood taunted me, "Oh, sure, you know what to do when your patients come in bleeding! Let's see you fix this with hormones!!!" I applied pressure again, and made a paste of flour and water. Not only did this not work, but Honey began to eat the paste. Hey, maybe she won't crap all over the floor for a few days!!!! Molly kept bleeding, looking up at me with those soulful, beagle eyes. I tried pressure for several more minutes, and the bleeding stopped. I was picturing a looong bath (since I now looked like "Blood Beach" had been filmed all over my lap, floor, and couch cover) and Girl Scout cookies!!!! But noooooo! The blood started again!!!! I woke my husband (it was only 7:40, but it's the Olympics, and he took the gold for "sleeps anytime") and we bundled up Molly and took her to the new emergency vet clinic near our house. Note the descriptive, "new." The vet, who didn't even introduce himself, used a silver nitrate stick to stop the bleeding, said this happens all the time, and she should have stopped bleeding at home after five minutes. Duh! After saying this, Molly started bleeding again. He took a closer look and said, "Oh, this is down to the bone!" The bone!!! I cut my puppy's toenail to the bone!!!! I am an unfit mother!!! I teared up. My husband was trying to be reassuring by telling me that she would be fine and wasn't dead. Maybe that soulful look on Molly's face was really saying, "Do I HAVE to go home with HER again?" The vet applied pressure dressing and pretty pink tape. Molly also has an elizabethan collar to keep her from chewing off the dressing. The bill?
emergency exam before 11pm 78.76
bandage minor 31.50
elizabethan collar 21.00
Do the math.........$131.26!!! Wonder how many nail clippings I could have had done at PetSmart for that price? You can bet we're gonna find out!