Ginger, on a bad day, is hyperactive, especially around people. If you want to see her really bouncing off the walls, watch her when I ask her if she wants to go in the car for a ride. A couple of weeks ago, we got up around 4 am, had breakfast, and left the house less than an hour later. It was still dark, but Ginger loves to put her head out the back window to see and smell the world. She knows that when I can feel her next to the back of my head, I’ll open the back window enough to get her head outside. We were still in our driveway when she signaled me to open the window.

Little did Ginger know that we had an hour and a half drive before we reached our destination, the Veterinary Dental Center. It’s located not far from I-88 at 345 Sullivan Road, in Aurora, IL. It is secluded in a large, wooded area.

As I drove into the center, the building and the surrounding trees reminded me of a smaller version of Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater, absent the water.

Fallingwater

While I was pleasantly surprised by the center from the outside, once we got inside, I never saw Ginger more excited. Ginger just celebrated her 9^th birthday and has been hyperactive all her life. Nonetheless, she ran around the center waiting room, smelling every nook and cranny. It was as if she were looking for some treasure. When we went into the exam room, she continued her canine quest for Eldorado. Dr. Hassan sat down with us and explained that due to taking cyclosporin for her inflammatory bowel disease, there are some negative side effects, such as gingival hyperplasia. Gingival hyperplasia causes her gums to become enlarged and red. Many of Ginger’s teeth could hardly be seen due to her enlarged gums.

Dr. Hassan said that Dr Jurica would surgically cut the excessive gum around all the teeth, which is called gingival hyperplasia. Once that is completed, he would clean and polish each tooth. This short video is of Dr. Jurica cleaning Ginger’s teeth.

After the procedure, Ginger was taken to the surgical recovery area to allow the anesthesia to wear off.

Two hours later, Ginger was released to go home. I was surprised by how quickly Ginger seemed to return to normal. However, as we drove back to Crown Point, she wasn’t in the back seat with her head out of the window. Rather, she sat in the back seat with her head on the area between the two front seats. She wanted the ability to touch me, which assured her that I was still there for her. It was another bonding moment.

These are the before and after photos.