John the Dog Dentist

Last weekend while we were visiting some friends on the western end of the island I noticed that Ella had something stuck on her gums. At home I took a closer look and almost had a panic attack when I found a massive gray and swollen infection just below her back lower molar.

In Chicago I had Ella's teeth professionally scoured every summer. She's only missed one of these cleanings so far but I've already noticed a huge difference. Still, I wasn't anticipating what appeared to be a massive root rot that had festered to the point of rupturing through her gums.

There is a great veterinarian from the Bay Area on Utila named Loretta. She and her husband Roger are retired (he, from a career in waste management) and spend most of their time here now. I use the word "retired" loosely, since they run the only animal clinic and are on 24-hour call should any pet emergency arise. I'd heard horror stories about the vets on the coast, so knowing about Loretta put my mind at ease when I decided to bring my dog to the island.

Being a vet here is a massive job. Not only are there a lot of pets and horses, there's a whole society of street dogs. Many people dislike the way the vagabond mutts roam (and leave presents on) the streets, get into garbage, and reproduce. So they put out rat poison in tempting meaty packages to remedy the situation. This is problematic on many levels. Biggest of all, it's an utterly cruel thing to do. It is a painful and prolonged death, which I won't go into here because just thinking about it makes me tear up. Beyond that, most street dogs on Utila have one if not multiple caretakers/fans, so they're not entirely unclaimed. Finally, I'm not sure if the poisonings have made a dent in the street dog population at all. I do know, however, that it has killed lots of pets. Even those on leashes, if ignored for just a few minutes, could fall victim. I talked today to an American woman who said she'll never get another dog on Utila because two of her pets have died from poisoning and she just can't handle another loss. I am completely freaked about this when I take Ella anywhere.

Loretta and Roger's clinic is free. (Can you see their halos yet?) They only ask that you pay for medicines and make a donation if you are able. One of their main objectives is to fix the animals on the island so population control is attained without the public resorting to their own horrible means. For this they are worshiped by me.

All of this is to say that Loretta and Roger rule and can take care of any Ella infection emergency. But they are not on the island right now, I found out. They won't be back until December 15th.

I immediately began worst-case-scenario-ing, a useless activity made infinitely easier in the modern era thanks to search engines like Google. She has diabetes! The infection is going to spread, if it hasn't already, to her vital organs! We're running out of time...we're doooooooomed!

John Arne, on the other hand, went upstairs to get a dental pick.

A: "What are you doing?"

JA: "I'm going to check it out."

A, completely mortified: "What?!...You can't! I mean...You're not a vet...You, you're not a dentist...You might, you might hurt her...Don't poke it!"

But John Arne isn't confined by authority and institution like his adoring wife. He sees a problem and decides to try and solve it before calling on the Experts. This astounds me.

John Arne then asked me to hold Ella's mouth open and he went in. As he prodded I plead for him to follow the rules. Despite my desperate attempt to do nothing, a few seconds later he removed a foreign object. It wasn't a rotten tooth at all, it was part of a stick. A very big splinter that left an impressive, infected hole but was most likely not going to kill the dog. He cleaned out the wound as best he could, then, satisfied, JA looked at me and said, "I think she's going to need antibiotics."

The next day we were given Loretta's email and I told her about what happened. She replied:

"Good job, John!! Dogs that chew on wood often get splinters in their gums and all you can do is remove the piece and follow up with antibiotics. They heal really well so, thanks to John, Ella will do great! The vets in La Ceiba would not have done any better."

Add "Dog Dentist" to the resume.



*Kudos to Helena for the great picture of Ella The Dog and John Arne. xo