Happy as a ham!

Just as happy as a ham, Skelly's spirits are high in the days following his castration.

Next week, I think he'll be ready to meet his new lady friend! My buddy Jared is the proud owner of Shay. She is a fellow pit bull, and an absolutely sweet pup. She loves to play and meet new friends. Hopefully she and Jared can come visit next week! Stay tuned for doggie antics :)

Completely unaware of the impending castration

Skeletor isn't allowed to eat this morning. We are about to load up and head to the vet!

Update: We dropped the boy off with Dr. Chick. They are going to hook him up to an EKG, examine his echocardiogram results, insert a catheter, and take extra special care to make sure all goes well.

*gulp!* sounds like it's going to be expensive!

Update: Skeletor did it! His good pal, Claudia up at San Juan sent me this photo haha! He's just waking up :)

Attn: Jacksonville property managers and owners

I thought I'd try casting a net in hopes of doubling up our efforts...

Please send this link to your property owning buddies in Jacksonville, FL :)

http://skeletor.fuelmm.net/

Skeletor is scheduled to be neutered!

I would like to thank you all for your feedback, input, and suggestions regarding the challenge of finding a pit-bull friendly home to rent. We have not yet found one, but we are looking and there is hope!

It's become obvious that we can absolutely NOT rent an apartment. Large complexes have racist, breed-specific rules and they make no exceptions! With apartment complexes out of the question, we'll have to expand our coverage area and look for situations where we can appeal directly to the property owner. (houses, townhouses, and maybe condos)

Lately, Mel and I have been taking Skeletor on more regular walks around the neighborhood. Skeletor gets very, very excited when it's time for a walk. Once we get outside, he gets rather preoccupied! He forgets every command he ever learned. He is completely driven by the urge to smell things. Anything and everything must be smelled! 

Hmmm... Skeletor is usually a joy to train.. and I've been wracking my brain. Why does he have such a mental block when it comes to walking on the leash? Then it hit me... all those dog scents must be causing him to go mad with hormones! 

That brings me to our decision that it's time to have Skelly neutered. (Not that we had not planned on doing it since day one, as it's definitely the right thing to do!) We were waiting until his heartworm treatment was done with. We were hoping to have the procedure done when it presented minimal risk to his well-being.

Dr. Chick says that he's been doing fine, and that he is now willing to perform the castration. Skeletor is scheduled this Friday! Dr. Chick also said that they want to take extra precautions with Skelly, as he is a special case. They are going to put a catheter in, and take a second look at his echocardiogram results before performing the procedure.

Some landlords and property managers require a pet application and/or a pet interview. I'm hoping that the castration will help Skeletor with his manners. The more well-behaved he is during the "pet interview," the better our chances of finding a new place to live!

Breed Specific Rules for Renters

We're going to be moving across town in about 2 months. We have started looking around at places to rent. We are getting more and more nervous about finding a place that will even consider allowing a pit bull like Skeletor.

It looks like we've got a lot of homework to do.

I'm wondering if it would help if I were able to get renter's insurance before moving or not.
I'm wondering if I could even get renter's insurance with him.
I'm wondering if there's another breed that Skelly looks like that I can tell prospective landlords he is.
I'm wondering if there's a waiver I can sign that makes him my responsibility and not the apartment complex.

Ugh... as if moving isn't a big enough ball of stress as it is :(

It's so very silly... this dog is the biggest pansy on the planet! A 2 minute interview and anybody would see that he's a complete softy!

Not a single sign of human or dog agression in over a year... seems pretty conclusive to me!

Poor pitties... lousy dog racism!

The notorious Skeletor!

Followup visit to the vet, springtime walks

Melanie took Skelly to the vet on Friday. He has been doing his share of coughing in the mornings, but aside from that he's been doing very well!  Dr. Chick said that his heart sounded good. I bought him another bottle of Vetmedin.

I was hoping that Dr. Chick would let us take him off Prednisone, but he didn't mention anything about it. I heard that it's hard on a dog's liver (or was it kidneys?)... anyways I'll ask him about it when I speak to him next.

Skeletor's gums are a nice and rich pink, which indicates that he's not anemic.  His appetite for food and destruction is nice and healthy. :)

Dr. Chick said to keep his walks to a minimum. Skeletor insists that we keep them to a maximum! We'll have to find a happy medium.

He's scheduled for a checkup in about 3 months. I've got to drop by and pick up his heartworm preventative today or tomorrow.

This whopper of a pooch weighed in at nearly 67 lbs on Friday! I think he's been sneakin many bites of delicious cat food! I believe that 65 is an ideal weight for him... we're going to try and keep him around there.

We'll be moving across town soon... about 2 months to go. Mel and I are nervous about landlords and breed specific prejudice. I have asked Dr. Chick to write a letter of reference for Skelly. Just something explaining that he's got his shots and has not shown any people or animal related agression.

Skeletor doesn't know it yet, but I'm planning on taking him for a walk today during my lunch break.