All is well…

But a trip to Dr. Russell’s was necessary for Ben.

He had developed a mysterious/crusty “something” on the crown of his head and then another “something” on the top of his muzzle.

My go-to is always…………………………SNAKE BITE!!!

…..but there were no swelling/weeping puncture wounds anywhere…..

Phew…

Then after a closer look…..it looked like he might have aggravated one of the girls outside (not surprising…..most days he is a phenomenal twit)…..and the girl hound had her final say with a growl and a snap.

…..Okay, we can treat for that…….

…..scrub it up…clean it out…first-aid ointment…ta! da!

But it wouldn’t heal…….

…..and this went on for several weeks…..

…..even with the addition of my trusty colloidal silver spray…..(which is anti-biotic/anti-viral/anti-microbial/& anti-fungal)…….

…..in hindsight, I think the spray was working…..I just wasn’t consistent enough in its application.

But the crusty/oozy/nastiness continued.

I considered the potential of Ben getting bitten by a brown recluse spider, or something equally tropical and icky (I’ve already had that happen to myself)-(don’t you just love rural Florida?)

So my daughters and I hefted the fuzzy Gumby into my truck, and away we went down the road to Dr. Russell’s………….(why is it that my daughter’s Jack Russell (Drogo) can easily jump into my truck with his stubby/short legs but Ben (with his Daddy Long Legs) has to be lifted?)

Ben thought his outing was the BEST social event that we could ever have organized for him.

He personally greeted ALL of the parking lot, the waiting room, ALL of the kitties, and ALL of the dogs…….whether or not any of them wanted ANY attention from his large-ness & his sloppy tongue.

My older daughter had wisely suggested putting on a large harness along with his choke collar (and yes, I choked him out repeatedly)………….I’m so glad I had that extra handle to pull on and keep him off balanced.

I’d like to point out that I wrangle Clydesdales on a daily basis………….but Ben was a handful to keep in check…….(!?!)

Dr. Russell’s staff wisely put us quickly into a holding cell (examination room).

The good doctor took a look, gave Ben his annual shots & rabies vaccinations for good measure…….

…..we pinned Ben’s head and muzzle while Dr. Russell took a scraping for the microscope…….

…..Ben didn’t resist at all…….he watched the entire procedure cross-eyed…..down his nose…….

The good news is…..it’s NOT a spider bite, or a snake bite, or a lizard bite, or any bite whatsoever…

…..it’s not mites or scabies…….so that’s good too…

It is however a fungus…

…….well, Oakey Dokey then…….

Eeeewwwwwww…

Apparently due to all of the recent hot weather, and an unusually warm winter…….(we’ve gotten into the high 80’s F already in January)…….this sort of dermatological fungus is becoming fairly common…

Eeeewwwwwww…

Well, that’s good………….I guess…………..(?)

After that we winched and heaved and hoisted a gangly Ben back into the truck and headed home with instructions for chlorhexidine scrub, a different topical ointment, and oral anti-fungal & antibiotic medicine…