The Vet's Verdict: A Rotting Dog, a Dirty Goat & a Bloodshot Sheep

After my visit to the barn this morning to put medicine in Violet's eye, I decided it was time to call in reinforcements. Her eye was still very cloudy but had started to bulge and a nasty red patch was developing along the rim. It was looking worse, not better. What the heck Polysporin?!

Luckily our vet, Dr. Clarke, was able to come by the farm this afternoon and he had lots to say about the various health "issues" of our farmyard family members.

I asked him to look at Emily's teeth.  Her mouth is super smelly and her teeth look terrible in comparison to Charlotte's pearly whites.  Dr. Clarke agreed that it is time to take drastic measures regarding Emily's mouth.  We have booked her in for a dental cleaning next week.  Emily will be put to sleep, her teeth cleaned, and a few likely extracted.  This is going to cost a fortune.

I was also concerned about Mellie's scabby tummy.  I wondered if she has some sort of infection.  Dr. Clarke ruled that Mellie is just a dirty goat, though he diplomatically called it “bad coat hygiene”.  He suggested that we give her a bath (I can just imagine how a goat bath is going to go) and brush the scabs out of her fur.  This should be interesting.

Alice’s wool loss was as much a mystery to Dr. Clarke as it is to me. He checked her for lice and keds and found none. He also said that she is not likely scratching off her wool because she still has lots on her sides, just her back and bum are bare. Her body is in good condition, though, so he was not worried about her unusual wool loss even though we cannot figure out what is triggering it.

Last, but not least, the reason for the visit - Violet's sore eye.  It turns out that Violet’s eye is healing, which is actually why it looks so bad. Counter-intuitive.  Dr. Clarke explained that tears are the eye’s first line of defence. When tears are not sufficient to repair the damage, the eye then grows new blood vessels to supply it with what it needs to complete the repair work. This blood vessel growth is the angry red area I noticed this morning. The vet confirmed that Violet does indeed have an ulcer on her eye due to injury (the bulge) and lots of swelling (the grey cloudy part), but her eye is also showing signs that it is growing a network of blood vessels in order to repair the damage.  Despite looking really bad, Violet's eye is not infected and is actually doing what it needs to do in order to heal.  I am so relieved.

Since Dr. Clarke was here I also had him give everyone their annual vaccinations, drop off heart worm medication for the dogs, and check the ewes and doelings for possible pregnancies (he could not feel anything in anyone yet).   Getting our annual vet visit out of the way is one more thing to check off my farm to-do list for spring.  Besides, healthy animals means a happy farmer.