I made a joke at the vet once that “she also answers to ‘Princess’ or ‘General’” and now one of the vet techs keeps calling her “General.” But it was a joke. She doesn’t really answer to those. So now she’s just confused that the vet tech keeps calling her general.

I suspect the same thing with Leia. I think her previous human loved her. It’s awful that she ended up in a shelter, but I don’t think she was unloved. Makes you think about how important it is to have a plan for them in case something happens to you.

I got her when she was 9 years old. She had 19 teeth pulled by the rescue I got her from. She’s 13 now and her teeth were terrible despite regular vet visits, yearly dental cleanings, and a healthy diet. She also has a pretty bad heart murmur, which makes anesthesia dangerous.

Shortly before she was due for her next cleaning, her mouth got badly infected. (I won’t go into details, but it was pretty gruesome.) I talked it over with the vet and we decided it would be best to remove them all, so she wouldn’t have to go under anesthesia again.

After the procedure, the vet said she only had 9 teeth left and her gums were almost too infected to stitch closed. She said removing them was the right call.