Dolce is a Star.....

Felicia was going to wait until Friday to bring Dolce to get her cast changed, two days after it was due, but she just couldn't wait that long.


Dolce seemed so miserable all the time. So Felicia brought her to Cascade Hospital for Animals, where Dr. Greg Paplawski removed her old pink cast and put on a new one. His veterinary assistant, Darcy, helped him.


He was kind enough to let Felicia take pictures of the big event!


So with the help of his assistant, he cut....


...and cut....


...and cut...


...and cut....


...and cut...


...and voila! The metal splint came off. "This is an improvement," said Dr. Paplawski. "The metal end of it was rubbing on her skin and she has a little sore there." He showed Felicia the sore, which made her sad. "So we're going to put some ointment on it to help it heal."


Whew! thought Felicia. What else would they find? Now they unraveled the gauze UNDER the metal splint. And unraveled...


..and unraveled. Now came the last bit of gauze, right on her skin.


Dr. Paplawski reached for the last bit of gauze on her skin and started to pull. Dolce was not happy. In fact, Dolce went crazy.


Her yelps and screams could be heard in New York City. Felicia put down her camera and looked at the doctor in alarm! "She's such a drama queen!" said Felicia. What was wrong with Dolce?

Dr. Paplawsky brought her to another room to put ointment on the gauze to remove it more easily. When he came back, he looked concerned. "We found out why she was making such a fuss!" he said. "There is a piece of wire sticking out of her suture." Felicia was shocked. Apparently, her little bones were too small for enough screws, so to keep the plate in place, the original vets at the Oakland Veterinary Referral Service put wire around the plate to hold it and somehow the wire went through her skin. The doctor thought that her skin would probably grow over it. I feel so sorry for poor Dolce. I think it took a lot out of her to get the new cast on, and she's tired. As I write this, she's laying in her cage. She looks defeated.

Tomorrow I'll show you photos of her new Teal Star cast, as well as Sacha greeting her newly repaired little sister. But for now, you can appreciate that poor Dolce finally got her cast removed and replaced after these two long weeks!