Ethel got fleas, and we aren't talking Red Hot Chili Peppers here, we are talking the pesky, disgusting things that bite and lay eggs on poor little doggies! Imagine my freak out when I discovered one while I was giving her love scratches behind the ear, now take this freak out and trap me in a car in this situation for eight of the longest hours of my life! I was beside my self with panic and trying so hard not to vomit; this isn't an ideal situation for anyone, especially a clean freak! The discovery was made on the drive from San Antonio to New Orleans, trapped inside a moving vehicle with a dog that had fleas and me with nowhere to go! My first reaction, was to wrap her in a plastic bag, but how would she breath? Needless to say, I was somewhat rational and didn't go with my first and or second response of holding her outside of the car, because I love her and I really felt bad for her and I was mostly pissed at my naivety for not even thinking this, that these fleas would ever be part of our lives!
We were about thirty minutes out of Houston when I made the unfortunate discovery, so I pull out the phone immediately and Yelp dog groomers that were close by to see if anyone can get us in; at this time it is almost two, I get a hold of PetSmart and awesome they can get her in at 3:00; we will wait it out and get her bathed before heading back down the road to New Orleans. We arrive at PetSmart, I start checking her in and Tom is off to search for flea control products; as I am checking her in I ask how long they will need her for, I'm thinking thirty to forty-five minutes, and then they tell me four fucking hours. Seriously, what the hell, why would I even bother to make an appointment if you aren't going to get my dog washed and cleaned anywhere close to the appointment time? The first thought in my head, besides wanting to punch the lady in front of me, was what the hell am I going to do in Houston for four hours and second, that this isn't going to put us into New Orleans until after one in the morning, yeah, not going to work! So I take my poor pitiful dog, find Tom and we are back on the road, fleas and all!
Four and half more hours in a car and every inch of me is itching, I can't even begin to imagine what poor Ethel feels like and now I hate Texas because it gave Ethel fleas! On a positive note, we have a pretty amazing vet in Salt Lake, so I call and they approve a medication for her so that I can order it from PetMeds and have it mailed overnight; now why couldn't they send it to me, well because they don't carry it, because Utah is awesome, unlike Texas, and poor little dogs don't have to worry about fleas there! We also got awesome news while talking to the vet, the last time I was in, in November getting Ethel's teeth cleaned and checked out before we left on our journey, our vet switched out her heart worm medicine to Sentinel, why because Dr. Silkman was thinking ahead, unlike me. So what does this mean, Ethel can still get adult fleas, but it breaks the cycle by destroying eggs, so really she just had a few adult fleas to deal with and I was beyond relieved to find out that we didn't have to worry about a total outbreak of baby fleas everywhere! Woo Hoo!
Upon arrival at the New Orleans house, Ethel went straight to the bath, the laundry commenced and the washing machine did not see any reprieve for an entire week! Everything laundered and then repeated! Not to mention poor Ethel got a bath everyday until the flea medication, that kills adult fleas within thirty minutes of landing on her came! Yay Comfortis and mixed with the Sentinel, Ethel now has a magic flea fighting cocktail once a month!
So lesson learned, the South, regardless of how clean you are, will give your pet fleas. Don't pull a Bonnie and plan ahead! And huge thank you to Dr. Silkman and the crew at Jordan River Animal Hospital for planning ahead for me when I told you what we were doing, because I was oblivious and didn't even think about it! Truly saved my skin and good Lord, I don't even want to think of the nightmare that might've existed had you not changed her medication in advance!
The fleas are just one of many fun things that areas other than Utah and AZ have. They also have to REALLY watch as you go more up north for ticks. They are very nasty and can make not only little granddoggies sick but also YOU. The things I do not like about back east are bugs, high humidity, and, okay, I will leave it to those things I already mentioned. But poor Ethel and poor YOU and TOM. I do have to say I was about on the floor laughing while reading what you wrote. I could just see you jiggling around in the car while trying not to imagine how those buggers were getting into all your car and clothes. You are like me that way. So I'm glad you were able to get meds for her and yup, I soooo would have been doing laundry all week too. You are so cute. :) Have fun the rest of your time there. Hugs!
ReplyDeleteI know, I was so ill prepared and didn't even think about it.. Seriously a post on fleas, I never would've guessed! Thank God this place has it's own washing machine, I would've died if I had to spend an entire week at a laundry mat! :) Her medicine covers fleas too, so we're golden and now prepared for whatever pests may come our way! Woo hoo!
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