Scout goes to the Dr. & A Taste of Germany

Last summer while in Oklahoma Scout developed an issue where his eye's were leaking (like crying) and it was leaving stains on his nose out of the corner of his eyes. At first the Vet suggested it might by allergies because we had been changing locations, and I'm sure there are different pollens, spores, and such it made sense. We left Oklahoma and went up to Red River NM, during our time there we were giving him eye drops, and then allergy medicine, but neither seemed to make any difference. Luckily it doesn't seem to bother him. When we got back to Oklahoma in the fall, we took him back to the Vet for his annual checkup and immunizations. We also had them check out his eyes. They told us that his tear ducts were possibly blocked, but they couldn't get them flushed with the equipment they had and that we'd have to see an ophthalmologist vet. Once we got to North Carolina we started looking for one. We found a great place up in Asheville NC, so we made an appointment. There was a chance of inclement weather so we decided to leave the day before the appointment so we could be there rather than trying to drive in bad conditions. Well the weather was fine but the vet had bronchitis, so she postponed the appointment until the next day, which gave us some time to check out some of Asheville.

We didn't make it to the Biltmore, but maybe next time. We did go to the National Gingerbread House competition, which was held at the Omni at Grove Park. What a cool hotel, and the gingerbread "houses" were absolutely amazing. They had categories for child, youth, teen's, and adults. I don't remember the difference between child and youth, so use your imagination. Everything other than the base was editable on these amazing "houses". The pictures below are only a fraction of what was there. We also went to a couple parks with dog area's which was nice, but it was a bit cold while we were there.

With much reluctance from Scout ,it was time to go to the vet. He wasn't real happy about it, but he never is. He did a pretty good job, but he was a bit "grumpy" with the vet and techs so he had to be muzzled just to be safe. They did all the tests, and got the flushing fluid through his tear ducts, without any complications. So his ducts don't seem to be blocked. The vet said we could do a MRI/CT scan, but most likely wouldn't reveal anything so it wasn't really worth the expense. She gave us some different eye drops, and a couple medications for us to give him for a couple weeks. As of writing this several weeks have passed and we finished all the meds. His eyes seem to be much better, but they still don't quite drain properly. It doesn't seem to bother him, and the tears aren't as dark as they were. I think we'll leave it as it is for a while.

We also got to check out the Basilica of Saint Lawrence also in Asheville, it is a very beautiful and, would like to go back and actually take a guided tour rather than the lesser self guided one, plus, it's an active church, so you have to work around church activities.

So a couple weeks after we went to Asheville, we got another break in the rain and made a road trip down to Helen Ga. Helen is a small German town, we had some very good wiener schnitzel for lunch, and other treats from one of the candy stores and bakeries. It's a neat little town, all decorated in that Bavarian style that we think of when we say a German alpine town. We also went into one of the larger curio shops that I have been in, and there was all kinds of things to look at. For what ever reason Jen wouldn't let me get the scantily dressed Valkyrie riding on a dragon sculpture. I'm pretty sure it would have matched the décor in the bus just fine. Nor would she let me buy a broadsword, you know for home defense! We really did have a good time there, and maybe we'll make it back over there before we leave.