While we were out of town, Kim and Shawn taught Skelly how to shake hands. Mel and I noticed that he almost always shakes with his left paw. Being left-handed ourselves, we always suspected that since he's so very cool, smart and awesome, Skelly must be a lefty. This confirms it!!!
So, yesterday was another visit to the vet. Mel and I loaded Skells into her car and headed off. He was rather excited to be going on a car ride and wanted everybody within a 2 mile radius to hear about it!
We arrived at the vet's office and Skelly was ecstatic. We checked in and had a seat. Skells felt the need to yell and scream at every single dog he could see. I couldn't help but consider how strange this would be in a regular doctor's office... everybody else is just sitting quietly and one guy is screaming his head off....
"HEY YOU!!! HEY! HEY! HEY! OVER HERE! HI THERE!! HEY!!!"
Needless to say, some of the uptight old folk weren't as amused as we were. They were shooting daggers down their noses at us with looks that said something about how poorly we trained our dog and/or how vicious he was.
We finally decided to go wait outside so Skelly would chill out a bit.
The lady poked her head out and asked "Is that Skeletor?"
We took him into the back and walked him over to the scale. He weighed in at a big fat 54 lbs!! She directed us to a room to wait for the doc. Once inside, he was super stoked to perform some of his amazing new tricks in exchange for some of the vet's treats.
Dr. Fish arrived and took a listen to his heart and lungs. He said everything sounded good. We told him about how Skeletor chokes / coughs when he gets excited (even with no leash on). They whisked him off for some blood work and to listen for the cough we described.
When they returned, they said that he did a little bit of coughing. It's the same coughing that is characteristic of pups who have suffered a bad heartworm preventative reaction. His white cell count was within the normal range. His red cell count is still a little bit low :(
We were instructed to try and keep the stress off his throat. This means keeping his excitement levels low to avoid too much yelling and heavy breathing. Looks like it's gonna be a boring 2 weeks for Skeletor :(
Overall, it was a rather positive visit though! He gained another 4 lbs, his infection cleared up and he's "full of life" as Dr. Fish put it!
The bad news is that he has effectively destroyed his sleeping crate. I don't like him sleeping outside with the fleas, mosquitoes and other rif-raff!! We will need to get a new one of those. We're also saving up for a carpet shampooer. It's not cost effective to rent a rug doc every month. His accidents have been getting less frequent lately, but they do occur on occasion. Also, he can't seem to grasp the concept of wiping his feet when he comes inside :)
Oh wonderful, such good news over all. I am so glad to hear he is improving. Keeping such a rambunctious dog calm is a task! With it so hot there he can't really get over excited without it causing extra stress, maybe look into some of the herbal calming products? Pricey but would be a real relief for everyone in the house! xoxoxxo luv ya skells, wes and crew
ReplyDeleteI got an 'Easy Walk' collar/harness for Jack. It really helps with the pulling and it doesn't go around his throat like a collar does. You can get them at PetSmart.
ReplyDeleteThat is so great that he has gained and is doing so well! I guess the destruction of the sleeping crate at least shows that he has lots of energy? But still, it is overall a good report - except that I have no clue how you will be able to keep him calm!
ReplyDeleteAnd boy do I sympathize about the rug shampooer - with 4 cats (and 5 at one point) someone was always doing something on the carpet. We got rid of the carpet because it was just a mess, but upstairs it is so much easier to own one.
Oh, and that is so cool that he has learned to shake - it seems like he learned it very quickly!!
You are an amazing person! Skelly is an amazing pup! It makes me super dooper happy to know that I am not the only one out there that would go out of my way to help a suffering or abandoned animal...Thanks for being so awesome... Give Skelly pets and a cookie or two from some chick in RI (because I cant..lol)! Hes SOOOOOOOO handsome!!!!
ReplyDeleteSoooo does this mean your KEEPING him yet?
ReplyDeleteOh Skelly!!
ReplyDeleteYou really are a character! But I'm so glad to hear you are gaining weight and are full of the joys of being a lovely doggie with your lovely foster family!
But please you need to calm down just for two weeks to get your throat all better. After that you can go crazy - or just be your normal self again! LOL!
You really are a star, Skelly and your foster family are just fab!
Take care
x
It's great to hear he's doing so well! Knowing everything is so exciting for him, I wonder how you will keep his levels low. If Miss M even hears a voice, or someone looks at her, she nearly explodes; we had a hard time keeping her calm after her spay surgery.
ReplyDeletei agree with jackdaddy about the harness. they are great and will keep pressure off of skelly's throat. plus, another benefit is that they give you more control while walking then a collar does.
ReplyDeleteso good that skelly has put on some more weight and is feeling better! yay!
the booker man's mama
Keep up the good work evFURRYone!
ReplyDeleteHugz&Khysses,
Khyra
My dogs are very loud at the vet's office too. They went about a month ago to get their yearly shots and I was so embarassed that they barked at practically everything that moved!
ReplyDeleteFunny, I never thought about yelling at people when I go to the drs. office and have to sit in the waiting room. Maybe I'll try that next time. LOL Bet I'll get in to see the dr. a lot faster! LOL
If you ever do figure out how to get Skells to wipe his feet when he comes in, please let me know how you did it! My chi's have to go thru the kitchen to go outside. When they come back in, I always have to clean up their muddy footprints. I was thinking I'd just leave it until spring was over but I couldn't stand it and had to mop this morning.
Glad that he's doing better!
Excellent news! Just so you know, I smile each time I come here, seeing the love you have for Skelly and watching his improvement (the scary moments, not withstanding). Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt took him MAYBE 5 minutes to learn to shake!
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness he looks so great! I've been in Texas with my mom and haven't been able to get to a computer to check blogs - Skelly looks so fantastic!!!
ReplyDelete