Finally!

Norbert and I were out of the house by 10:15 this morning. He had his last check-up for his ear to go through. He's finally clear of bacterial and viral bugs. Dr. Yung was happy because she could see down into his ear. That's the good news.

The bad news is that he doesn't currently have an ear drum, but she says it can grow back. Further bad news is that he has gunk in his middle ear that she would like to see flushed. They don't do that there so he would be referred out. I called to get a ballpark idea of what it would cost - $113 just for office visit to see status of ear and discuss further options. $300 - $1200 to do the flush (higher end I think includes the CT or CAT Scan the doctor may think needed).

The point of this would be to clean out the area that may be a rampant breeding ground for future infections. Norbert has a history of ear infections. I've narrowed it down to an allergy to things like - chicken, and turkey, or animals that have been fed a lot of corn. Yup! Corns on the list too as well as flax seed. I used to try to feed him a raw diet but ran into the issue of trying to find him something that wouldn't cause issues with his ears. So I found a nice high quality kibble that has no grains and has either beef or venison has the main protein source, he also likes the salmon. This can be surprisingly difficult to do because manufacturers slip in various forms of chicken (liver, vitamin E delivered via chicken fat are a couple) narrowing down my choices severely. Yes, I do a thorough reading of the entire contents list. We've settled on the Merrick beef and venison brands. It comes with dried apples, peas and carrots and I can add hot water to make a gravy and soft version to change things up.

If Norbert starts getting more than two or three ear infections in a year, Dr. Yung is going to suggest a TECA (they call it something that sounds like 'teekaboo') surgery. The surgeon was in today and she checked what the cost of that would be - ~$2500. After a little research, I'd check to see if a Lateral, would work for him. Though they don't consider it an option for cocker spaniels (his mother's side of his gene pool).

I received my dishcloth swap partner today. I have until the end of the month to come up with a gift package for someone in Texas, and a $15 suggested limit. Not including postage. Texas is going to be a heck of a lot cheaper to send to than Denmark! I'm looking forward to this, it should be fun. I have a few patterns in mind, need to search for one more and luckily has the same color tastes as I do.

I also found a source for the little devil rubber ducky and pencil toppers that I can make some dpn protectors with. Sure I could go the whole Home Depot route with the wire end cap version, but why not have some fun with the devil ducks? I did find that the Oriental Trading Company has these "Vinyl Neon Monkeys With Putty Eyes. Give ’em a squeeze to make their eyes bulge!" A dozen for only $5.99. Then I did a search on their site with just the word 'vinyl' and the first page has the same kind of thing except with hamburgers....or soccer cows, sailor pigs, bears - beanie wearing or rangers, carnival ducks or dentist ducks...clearly an untapped area of weirdness. I really do like the devil ducks, so will have to get a few of those.

Must get away from computer and get some knitting done. Well that and folding laundry, doing dishes, etc....