On Vox: Never a dull day with the dog.

Don't read this post if you're in the middle of a meal! Yesterday we took Sumsum for his yearly vaccination and checkup with the vet. The doc asked if he was acting normally: eating, playing, sleeping, etc, and we said he was just fine. There was just one thing: every once in a while the dog would seat himself firmly on his ass, and drag himself with his front paws across the rug in the living room. The vet said he knew exactly what it meant. The scent glands in his ass were filled up. What?! Yes, there is such a thing, and those things need to be emptied from time to time, comme ça. If you think that cleaning your dog's shit is disgusting, you have another thing coming. The fluid that comes out of the dog smells like a thousand rotten eggs concentrated in 2 cc's. I thought I was gonna faint right there in the examining room, but the vet says this is something that just has to be done. The dog didn't seem to mind. He got sprayed with some special dog deodorant, and was sent to his way. I hope I never have to be present at this procedure again. Bllah, disgusting!

Originally posted on wildernesscat.vox.com