Saturday, June 13, 2009

A trip to the vet


My Nigerian Dwarf goat, Pete, has a cough. It's not debilitating, but it's a nagging one. It's concerning because he's had the cough for almost as long as I've had him, which is six weeks now. That's a long time to have a cough.

After consulting with my local vet on the phone a few weeks ago and giving an antibiotic shot of Tetradure to both Pete and Reggie, Pete's cough still has not gone away.

Activity seems to aggravate it. When he jumps down from things, runs down a hill or I give him a good pat on the side of his chest, he makes this croupy sounding, hacking cough. Definitely time for a vet visit. Chronic pneumonia can be a slow killer. It creates abscesses in the lungs and is very resistant to antibiotic treatment. I decided to take my other goat, Reggie, along, to the vet, too, for comparison purposes. Reggie is four days younger than Pete, but is significantly larger (fatter) and more robust than Pete.

Knowing how much I hate going to the doctor, my friend Marcee, a.k.a. frugalmom, flew in from Illinois to help me:

Not really. I mean, she did help, but she was already here and I was glad. Getting two teenage goats into a carrier, out of a carrier and into an unfamiliar place is quite a task:

Once inside, though, Pete was quick to investigate his surroundings. The reading material immediately caught his eye:

Reggie was a bit shyer. But, after a quick kiss from Marcee for luck:

Reggie set off to explore, too:

Everything needed a sniffing:

Then Reggie decided to piddle on the waiting room floor:

No problem. The barefoot vet assistant cheerfully cleaned it right up:

The vet listened to Pete's heart and lungs. He (Pete) was such a good boy:

The diagnosis: not chronic pneumonia. This is a very good thing. Pete does, however, have some lung congestion. Reggie, who also received a "once over" from the vet sounds a bit "nasally":

The vet felt that a course of a different antibiotic was in order. The treatment: 1 cc of Baytril every other day for the next three days:

When we got back outside, the sun was shining:

It was a successful first trip to the vet. Pete and Reggie made some new friends and I feel better knowing that Pete doesn't have anything chronic:

I wonder if these boys will learn to love the car as much as Roxy:

Roxy doesn't think so:

25 comments:

  1. Good vet visit and good that they didn't have chronic problems.

    Say "hi" to Marcee for me!

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  2. Peace of mind is definitely worth a vet visit. Just think how good you're going to get at the shot thing. Did Reggie ever step up on that scale? And what's up with that barefoot vet assistant?

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  3. I don't think Reggie and Pete know that they are goats. They may not even know WHAT they are. All they know is that they are loved, kissed, cuddled, fed, housed, taken for car rides, taken to the vet, walked on a leash, checked on every 2 1/2 minutes....
    Roxy still appears to be top dog, but I think she needs a weekend at Omi's house. '...over the hill, over the dale, to grandmother's house we go......'

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  4. I'm so glad to hear that the boys will be fine. Smiles all around!
    Kelly

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  5. Awwwww,
    Hope all better really soon.
    I love the casual,shoe less vet assistant!

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  6. I'm glad they didn't find anything serious wrong! I hope his cough will be gone soon!

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  7. Our goats still don't like riding in the car. Not that they've done it a lot. I keep meaning to bring Orion more places to get him used to it, but he such a pain now in the car I don't want to. I'm glad the goats are healthy.

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  8. Glad to hear your boys don't have any chronic problems. Hopefully, this round of medicine will fix them right up. They look so cute in their carrier. . . and Roxy ALWAYs looks cute.

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  9. Glad they were such good boys at the vets office...and great news that he does not have pneumonia!!
    They are so cute!!
    Tracey

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  10. Hope they are on the mend now and that vet assistant? Where is her shoes? Oh well what's a little pee on your toes?

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  11. Congrats to the "kids"! Now you wont be able to keep them from wanting to go for a ride. Move over Roxy! Just kidding sweetie! I'm so glad to hear all is well, I don't want any sad news from critter farm.

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  12. Oooh, I am so glad that everything is OK - or getting better anyway. I am not sure I would like to go in the car. I am not a modern goat.

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  13. Forgot to mention the bird bath at the top of your page. What a fantastic photo of that little bird. Of course, I don't know what kind he/she is, but she is stunningly beautiful. What an eye you have for such beauty!

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  14. Yes, I meant to comment yesterday about your new header photo. It's really beautiful. Love that birdie.

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  15. I think it was a good thing to get them checked out. Better to know, right? Now, you can breath a sigh of relief and hopefully, Pete will be doing the same shortly.

    I really love that shot of Reggie giving Marcie a kiss. How sweet is that.

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  16. I have to say that the vet visit went really well. The goats are such good boys. Im so glad that I was here to help. I love helping.

    AND I LOVE goat kisses.

    I personally dont think that I would want to go barefoot in the vets office, but hey, she seemed to have it all worked out.

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  17. Oh. Wait. One more thing....HIIIIII Farmer JEN!

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  18. By now, hope the shots are working. Did you go to a farm vet or regular dog/cat vet? just curious?

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  19. Well it sounds like everyone is okay, that's good. By the way, love the new header, nice Evening Grosbeak and birdbath (remember, we have the same bath!).

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  20. Dani, love your new header. Glad to hear the babies are going to be okay. Roxy, Winslow wants to know where your seatbelt is.

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  21. I think you have a goat that's been hanging around the rough side of the barnyard...probably hanging around out back with the older goats...smoking cigarettes and heaven knows what else! Time to step up and know who your goat is hanging around with!

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  22. Warren's pretty funny...I agree with him.
    No really they look really good Danni. Now can you imagine that same post about the trip to the vet...with Nubian/Boer crosses on the end of a leash?
    I'm just say'n

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  23. just found your blog from dog trot...love it when bloggers list other blogs! your babies are so sweet! so glad all will be cured. but that bare footed assistant...eeeoohhh! gross!

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  24. I'm glad the baby doesn't have anything too serious...enjoyed the post. It made me glad I've never had to take the camel to the vet...they wouldn't be nearly as nice about an accident on the floor from the big guy! Kim

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  25. Really, you have to stop posting pictures of your boys being so darned cute. It's torture for me!
    Glad they got a fairly clean bill of health. Nothing chronic is always good news.

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