Ysobel and Belle get spayed and I find out about the Big Tick Project

Ysobel and Belle

Ysobel and her daughter Belle went to the vets this morning to be spayed.
Belle chipped her radius as an eight week puppy and then at twelve weeks old because the trauma to the radius had caused the growth plate to close, she had to have an operation on her radius to open the growth plate to keep it growing at the same speed as the ulna, to stop dislocation of the elbow. The operation was a success, but the stress of going to the vets in pain and being left at the vets has left Belle with a very negative association with the vets and this morning was not an enjoyable experience dropping her off. She is not naughty or either noisy, but she sat on my lap in the waiting room very quiet but shaking slightly, her Mum Ysobel on the other hand happily sat on the floor beside me waiting seemingly unconcerned by the surroundings. 
When I picked them up the nurse told me that Belle and Ysobel had been good girls. Belle had eaten and had a drink but apart from that, had stayed curled up in a ball at the back of her kennel. Both are home now and for the next few days will be crated to stop them being overactive after being spayed. Belle has had a good cuddle and is comfortable with her Mother Ysobel now fast asleep. When you pick them up after being spayed, often you can feel a twang of guilt, as you pick them up drowsy and lack luster, but give them 24 hours to get over the anesthetic and you will start wondering if they have had surgery, as they return to their normal bouncy self. 

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Belle and Ysobel back from the vets

Just adding this bit on after publishing, as forgot to mention earlier that the vet had a good listen to Ysobel's heart. Ysobel at five was examined by a cardiologist vet and he heard a very subtle heart murmur, so subtle that three years later the murmur is barely audible to my GP vet, so that was good news and Belle at three and a half years old, he could not hear anything wrong with her heart.
The really interesting thing I found out today though when picking them up from the vets, was from the nurse.  She had found a small tick on Ysobel and asked if she could send it off to the Big Tick Project, which I found out from her is looking at why we are seeing more ticks and seeing them out of what is considered the tick season, the tick season being the warmer months of the year and also why they seem more aggressive. You might like me think that seeing ticks outside the tick season is down to milder weather, but it is thought that ticks are evolving to cope with colder conditions. 
It also seems that many people do not know the potential danger of a tick bite and that some ticks in the UK can give dogs the condition known as Lyme Disease (Borrelia) which if treated to late, can be fatal. 
Here is the link to to Bristol University and details of the Big Tick Project :

http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2015/april/big-tick-project.html

If your vet is helping with this project. If you find a tick on your dog and remove it. Don't bin it, bag it and take it to your vets, to help in the research. You will have to fill in a little questionnaire about where you walk your dog, like woodland, farmland etc.