The good news

Bernie is going to be okay. On the recommendation of our dog trainer, we took Bernie to see our vet a couple of weeks ago. The trainer said he through Bernie had a cavity in a tooth. The vet took a look and asked if Bernie had ever been exposed to distemper. We told her that his litter of eight puppies had been born at a facility in Marion County that had had a problem, but they had all been vaccinated soon after birth.

She recommended that we have Bernie seen by a dental specialist. We couldn’t get an appointment until today. After his examination the doctor recommended a series of x-rays and the cleaning of Bernie’s teeth. After that we had a long conversation. Bernie has serious problems with his teeth, probably the result of exposure to distemper. Later today, the specialist put him to sleep, pulled three of his teeth, and put dental bonding on the rest of them.

We have an appointment with the doctor for another check up in six months, but we think we caught it in time – hopefully.

Bernie’s a little groggy this evening, but at least I know how he feels.