Jamie Garrett’s ‘Thunder Buddy’ Goes Under the Knife For Minor Surgery

You've heard me talk a lot about my Thunder Buddy, Lexi, in the past.  On the air.  Online.  I've talked about Lexi and shared many stories in the past, but her most recent story involves going under the knife for a self-induced injury.

She's done damage in the past to house, home and her own cage.  Loud noises do bad things to her insides.  This time around, it was her ears that betrayed HER, not the house.  After noticing Lexi doing the patented "I've got an ear infection" dog head shake a few dozen times Lexi busted a blood vessel in her left ear that left her ear the size of a tennis ball.

That sight was enough to freak me out and take her to the vet.  A few hundred dollars later, and she's well on the way to fully healing.  I heard from the vet at Belton Veterinary Clinic that permanent damage and/or deformation to the ear can happen if not properly cared for.

After staying overnight on the first night after the surgery, we brought Lexi home and it's been a comedy of errors since.  Not only is she bumping into every corner and piece of furniture, but she's also been trapped several times, unable to figure out the sorcery that's keeping her prisoner.  In actuality if she would just lift her head a little higher she wouldn't be trapped in between the recliner and the fireplace.

She's also figured out how to get at her ears despite the cone of shame.  It's amazing what dogs will unknowingly do to themselves.  If I could just explain to her the stupidity of digging her claws into her stitches, I'm sure she'd understand and stop doing it.  Maybe not.

They say dogs look like the owners.  This dog also takes after me.  About eight years ago I had to have a tube put into my left ear because of pressure built up underneath that sucked the covering to the eardrum inward.  My injury was self-induced on a water slide I underestimated at a hotel in Canada as we drove from Alaska to Texas.

Much like me, Lexi now has two tubes in her left ear to assist in the drainage post-op.  We're tube buddies AND Thunder Buddies.  That's actually the one positive to all this.  She has medicine packed into both ears and can't hear much of anything.  That includes thunder.  She can't hear a thing, which saved us a lot of worry during the weekend's occasional thunder.

Lexi will back back on her feet and ready to cause more damage to herself very soon.  Last year we dropped money when Lexi snuck out of the backyard and went for a romp that included a flea infestation.  This year it's a bloody ear.  I have no interest whatsoever in asking, "What next?", because I don't want to know the answer.