Itzl is a Chihuahua, and they famously have bad teeth. Even with the best care, they have bad teeth. Until the car accident, where the airbag smashed poor Itzl (ruptured ear drum, concussion, lost 2 teeth and broke a third that had to be pulled), he had decent teeth.
Since the accident, though, we've been battling a persistent gum infection, loosened teeth, and a major plaque build-up.
Worse, we've also been battling the vets. Or rather the vet techs who assist the vets.
Shortly after the accident, when I brought Itzl in to be checked up, one of the techs smacked him with a handful of papers to "teach him manners" because "all small dogs are vicious" and "need discipline". After I snatched Itzl from the exam table and picked my jaw up off the ground, I marched out to the desk and told them I would not be returning as long as she worked there because no one, no one, disciplines my dogs but me. And I don't hit them.
Itzl decided he would never return there, either. He didn't care if that particular vet tech was gone or not. He could be utterly relaxed in his car seat and I can even drive through the parking lot of that vet's office and he won't stir. But the moment I pull into a parking space and turn the engine off, all 4 paws dig into the seat and he Will. Not. Let. Go. If I pry him out anyway, he clings to me with his head buried in my shoulder and his entire body shaking so hard his hair starts falling out.
He doesn't react this way at other vet offices, so I took him to his former vet whose office is in another city. He was just fine there, calm, glaring at the barking dogs, half-napping until it was his turn. But that vet doesn't do canine dental care, so we've been hunting a vet for a couple of years who will do the special dental work he needs.
There are groomers who will do it, but I don't trust a groomer with anesthesia on a small dog. And none of the vets I've interviewed other than the one Itzl refuses to see anymore does dental work - they all refer it off to a groomer.
What's up with that? Groomers aren't trained vets. Here, at least, they don't even need a license or training of any sort to set up a shingle as a dog groomer. How can I hand Itzl over to someone who isn't trained? Especially since the groomers all want me to drop him off early in hte morning and pick him up late in the day - I could go all day without him, but I'm leery of leaving him somewhere with people I don't trust. And I just don't trust groomers to use the proper sterile techniques he needs with his gum infection.
If he were a pet, I might not be so particular.
Oh, who am I kidding? Of course I would.