In defense of my too-many-dog-having ways.

Despite copious antibiotics and my best white-trash, steaming-in-the-shower efforts, Lady Doodle still sounds like Darth Vader and a vacuum cleaner had a baby.

She's a bit congested.

My Guy and I have gone back and forth ... she sounds better. No, she sounds worse. She's waaaay better! She kept me awake last night!

This morning, I took her back to the vet. We didn't have an appointment, but sat and waited for them to work us in.

The vet identified an abscess on the roof of the baby girl's mouth.

We moved on to the emergency / trauma vet.

I sat in that waiting room from 1:50 until My Guy came to take me to dinner at 6:20. During that time, I made friends with an 18-year-old dachshund and got French kissed by a gorgeous lab-pit mix.

After a quick getaway for sustenance, My Guy and I sat in that familiar waiting room until our girl was ready to go home around 8.

She has an Oreo-sized mass in the tissue between her palate and her nasal passages. Her distinctive snorgle comes from the fact that 80% of the passage from her sinuses to her throat is blocked.

The mass didn't break up easily. We are waiting a few days for pathology, but the vet feels the signs point to cancer.

Having her muzzle all messed with has left Lady Doodle with a Rolly Fingers-esque curled mustache. It's a distinctive look, really.

She's currently asleep with her head on my foot. I've lost feeling in that appendage.

I feel rather numb all over, actually. Except I want to take back every time I've ever said that 4 dogs is too many. Four dogs is perfect. Any fewer than 4 dogs is inadequate.