Poor Millie Gets Spayed

"I do not like the cone of shame."

Yesterday was a big day for Millie. She has reached the age where it was time to get spayed. So we set up an appointment to take her over to Smoky's Spay / Neuter Clinic at the Richmond SPCA. The SPCA in Richmond is one of the best in the country, so while I trusted them to take care of Miss Millie, I was still very nervous to leave her there, all alone with strangers in a scary unfamiliar place. But alas, I had to go, leaving her there early in the morning, quivering with the vet tech to be picked up late in the day. I'm pretty sure Millie will never get in the car with me again, because every time she does, in her mind, something bad or scary happens. It's hard to get your dog to trust you again once they have one of these "traumatic" experiences, but to make matters worse, to keep Millie from licking her sutures, she was forced to wear the cone of shame when she got home. And may have to wear it up to 10 days until recovery is complete. But while she may not like the cone of shame, I have to admit that it makes for a great time for puppy parents! Not only is she adorably hilarious with it on, she also is much, much calmer. We may have to enlist the help of the cone shame for behavioral rather than medical reasons in the future.

But back to Millie's spaying. We picked her up from the clinic to find her still coming out of anesthesia, staggering like she may have had more than one too many drinks. And it just happened to be the night we hosted Supper Club in which about 15 of our friends come over for dinner and drinks. This is typically one of Millie's absolute favorite things, to have tons of people around to fawn over her and rub her tummy while inevitably talking to her in high-pitched baby talk. This attitude isn't unique to Millie. The shih tzu breed is notorious for being the star of the show, always the center of attention. They were historically bred for Chinese royalty, to be their constant companion quite literally in the lap of luxury. But poor Mildred spent the evening under the couch, out of view but right in the middle of the action. All in all, it was a tough day for Millie, and though I feel terrible that she was scared by herself at the SPCA, felt lousy from the surgery, humiliated by the cone, and left out of the party, it has resulted in a day or two of calm in the Banjo and Millie household.