Today we have new eyes, new cars, and new states to talk about. As you may remember, Nelson had eye surgery for his eversion of the third eyelid. It was yesterday morning. He had to be there at 7:15 and bring a cone or they would charge you through the nose for a new one. In this photo, the poor guy had no idea what was about to happen even though Mom explained it all to him.
Emma was the vet tech who was assigned to him. Mom believes in signs and she believes our Emma was making it known that she would make sure Nelson’s surgery went well. It went great, and he got to come back home mid-afternoon. Both eyes had the surgery where they go in and cut the extra portion off the third eyelid and sew it back together. He needs to be quiet and wear a cone for ten full days. The stitches will dissolve by thirty days. No playing with us or anything. Mom built up the playpen to keep him in, and he can also be in a kennel, but the cone is on 24/7. Thankfully, they gave us pills to make him drowsy most of the time.
Next up the travel situation. As you read yesterday, the first rental had the tire blow out. We got a second car finally and were able to head to Wilson, NC where we needed to be the next morning early. The second rental didn’t work well. Most of the things in the instrument panel didn’t work, and every time Mom stepped on the brakes the whole car shook. Nevertheless, we made it to Wilson at 12:30 am.
Olivia had her Elite Trial Saturday. They had to be there at 8 am, so the night was short. She will post about her trial next week on Tuesday. After the trial Mom and our navigator went to get some dinner. Guess what? Unbelievable! The low tire pressure light went on. They found out the front right tire only was at 20 psi, not 36. The gas station has air, so they filled all the tires to 36 and went to dinner. Mom figured out how to make the tire pressure work in the dash and at my trial on Sunday the front right tire had only 33. After the trial she filled it up to 36 again.
Monday morning we were leaving for Indiana. Mom checked the tire pressure and it was down several pounds again. There was no way we were going to risk going all the way home with a bad tire. We had to go out of our way about an hour to the Raleigh airport to switch cars, AGAIN! We got switched and headed out for Indiana and the next day towards home. Three cars is just crazy, and not one person at Avis apologized or cared about our troubles with their lousy cars. Moral of the story, NEVER RENT FROM AVIS!
Now for the new states, one of the fun parts of the trip. West Virginia is a new state for all three of us. They didn’t have a sign for us to pose with along the interstate we traveled on, so we snapped this shot. It was wild as it is where the tire blew, but we also found it wonderful. The people were all very nice too.
Next we hit Virginia. We didn’t get to take a photo by this state sign either, but we will have a fun photo from the Welcome Center next Wednesday. Instead, I got this sticker. Since we all are lovers according to our Mom, we fit right in!
Finally, we made it to North Carolina the third new state for all of us. Unfortunately, with all the car trouble, it was dark and late at night. Mom wanted us tied to the sign so we would not take off. Before I could get out and find my spot, a loose dog started wandering around us. Mom snapped this photo of Olivia and Nelson and then ran them to the car as fast as she could. We were the only ones at the rest stop, so we think the dog was just left there or lived there. Either way, we didn’t need more trouble with a strange dog.
Nelson has not been to Kentucky before, so on the way home, we stopped there for him. We are doing great when it comes to collecting new states. Bailie has twenty four and that will be it for her since she isn’t traveling anymore. I have twenty five, Olivia, of course is in the lead, with twenty six, and our baby Nelson has seventeen already!
Have a Grand weekend! We just hope Mom can handle Nelson for ten days in the cone. It is going to be a challenge!
oooh now you came to the states with the best food… enjoy… we cross all fingers for the car, there is not always a chris who can help out… please dear rides stay strong and bring the mama and her hounds home over da country roads… and a BIG hug to nelson and lots of potp
I think we all need more help than Nelson as we have to live with him in a cone for ten days, Help!
We send you lots and lots of healing vibes, Nelson. Your eyes look red and sore. That’s awful about your rental car. Shame on Avis!
Avis is not customer friendly for sure! My eyes are doing alright. We expected them to look bad right after surgery. I need to rest them now so they heal.
Happy that surgery went well. Good luck keeping him quite for 10 days.
Did you write to Avis. If you have it on a credit card I would dispute the charges
Mom is already out of ideas for Nelson. He isn’t wanting to rest at all, but he has to. His meds haven’t helped a whole lot either, but we will all survive this. As for the car, we will see how it all plays out. They were just terrible to work with.
OMDs that was a road trip from he double hockey sticks. Car trouble in your own city is bad enough but on the road in new places with precious cargo. RDU is huge and busy. GUESS what I live about 20 miles from RDU as the crow flies.
Nelson (and Mom) good luck with your healing. Maybe all the ladies in your life will take turns being your nurse and a constant source of calm entertainment.
Hugs Cecilia
I guess we were right in your neighborhood. Another blog follower found out we were in Wilson and came to watch my nose work searches on Sunday. That was fun despite the cold and driving rain. The Raleigh airport was the only place the car rental seemed more normal, but they didn’t give a hoot about our troubles, just here is the new car, get your stuff switched and get out of here, basically. Life is all about learning and we learned not to rent from Avis. It’s better to pay more and work with a better company.
Oh the cone!!! There are some other options out there IF you ever need one again. Some are more like a donut and some are like a stiff wrap. Heal well Nelson.
Because it is eye surgery I can only use the big plastic cone of shame, no donuts or soft cones. If I get my paws on my eyes, I may have to have more surgery to correct damage. I’m not being very cooperative about the whole thing but Mom says 1 day down, 9 to go. We will survive.
Nelson, has your mom tried CBD chews? We get them from Medterra (online), but I think a lot of places now have pet chews of this stuff. It sure helps us calm down from storm anxiety, maybe it will help you feel more comfortable??
I have relaxation pills but they are not doing much. Mom will keep working on it.
I feel soooooooo bad for Nelson! I remember when Levi was neutered he had to wear a cone (on and off though) every day for 14 days. It was awful!! I feel so bad for him. Lucky you have that playpen, he doesn’t try to knock it over or anything? I also believe in signs and that WAS your Emma (in a different form)……she definitely was on hand to make sure all went well! I am so sorry about the car trouble too and that’s disgusting that Avis gave you such poor customer service. You should tweet about it too (if you haven’t)…..companies REALLY tend to respond to tweets!!! Sending lots of POTP to poor Nelson!
I have to wear the cone every minute of every day for ten days and it is not easy. I don’t knock over the pen, but I have stood up and put my paws on the top of it. Being quiet is not my thing at all. We might tweet about our car issues. Mom is still trying to process our whole trip. It was a bit stressful.
We all HATE the cone! We are sending purrayers for Nelson. Cinnamon is a high energy dog. When she had her surgery last year Mom took her for extra (and longer) walks, and bought her some bully sticks to chew to keep her from bouncing around. But the last week was not fun! Cinnie felt terrific and did not understand she was NOT ALLOWED to do things. We are also sending you strength and patience.
That was quite the adventurous trip you guys had to North Carolina and back! May the future ones be uneventful! Purrs Marvelous Marv
Funny thing is that this was planned as a big go out with a bang road trip, the end of our stretch when we will now just travel now and then. Well, we accomplished all we set out to do, but the troubles that plagued us were something not even on our radar! As for my cone, it is not good. We will need a new one next week at this rate. I’m only one and I am not up for settling down all day and my pills are not working very well to make me tired. We will get through it but it will be trying for my mom.
You sure were all over the place and what a pain those problem rental cars were. I’m glad you made it there and back. We all send purrs and power of the paw to sweet Nelson. Ten days sure is a long time for all of you.
It is not going real well with Nelson. He destroyed his cone this morning, so we have to go get another one.
Whew, what a week! Travel, car problems, surgery….you all sure were busy!
xoxo,
Rosy and Sunny
It has been busy and the post op is turning out to be a real nightmare!
Mercy, i hate to read about your rental car troubles. We had a different problem with Avis overcharging us by almost double and taking a very long time to refund the money.
I’m glad you had fun on the trip in spite of the car difficulties and i am hoping Nelson stays mostly calm (as much as he can) and heals very quickly.
Avis is not a good rental company, that is for sure! We achieved all our trip goals, but with so many issues. It all ended well and we are safe at home.
So sorry you had so much rental car trouble. Jeez, what a cluster. Glad you got home safely and Nelson’s surgery went well. Here’s hoping this next week is much easier for all of you.
Today we are finally starting to relax from it all. It has been a crazy, stressful ten days.
Sending healing thoughts for Nelson. It was definitely a good thing getting Emma as Nelson’s nurse. 🙂
It was one of those signs for sure.