Update on the 'new' pooch
I realize that this will come as an enormous shock to everyone but he's staying. We were at the vets today. Dr. P checked and didn't find any micro chip or anything that indicates an owner. Blue ticks can be a pretty expensive dog so finding one stray in such bad shape is kind of rare. We found out that he has:
hookworm -------- pretty ferocious case
fibroid tumors-----harmless
infected gums------not bad
a heart murmur----never harmless but not bad
Heartworm--------dun dun duuunnnnnn (dramatic scary music)
He's also nearly deaf and about 10 years old which is getting to be an old man for this breed. I don't feel right taking him to a shelter so sick and so contagious. Fortunately, the heartworm is a "light" case. We could put him on the aggressive arsenic treatment but it's dangerous and expensive. We lost one dog that way already. Fortunately, the vet said that if we just keep on the tri-heart brand preventative heartworm pills for a year, it'll prevent adult heartworm from developing and eventually, the young and eggs may die off completely He recommended this way to go because of how light the case is and the dog's heart murmur/general health. Easier on the dog Easier on the wallet. The hookworm is highly contagious and it's the reason he poops so much and it smells so bad but we've done the right things to contain the problem and the medication we have to mix into his feed will do the rest. The heart murmur may go away with the heartworm but it's a 'we'll see' kind of thing. I'm going to change his food to something good for his teeth or at least involve treats for that but we may need to have treatment for the teeth. The tumors are harmless but Dr. P does want to take off the one that hangs funny under his chest because he's afraid it'll catch on something. The vet said to sit on the lesser things for about a month to make sure we can get the parasites under control safely first. In about two weeks, he stops being contagious and we can begin to see how he does with the rest of the pack inside. I see him as kind of an indoor/outdoor type of dog but I want to know if he can be friendly with the rest now just in case we need to bring him in because of nasty weather or hostile wild animals in the area. If he's going to be cranky or poop in the house, I want to know how to be prepared for that before something happens and we HAVE to have him in.
We've got three possible names:
Ludo... because he "smmmeellllllssss baaaaaddd" you have to see the movie "the Labyrinth" to understand that one. (or watch the clip below)
Rufus... My sister and her kids are campaigning for this one because it would mean he's introduced himself in barking ... "ROOOOOOFFFF"
Preacher... because of the way he stands with his paws on the porch railing, barking at the birds and waving a paw like he's preaching at them.
so far I think Rufus is winning the general consensus but I like Ludo.
Joel doesn't care. All he knows is that we have another freakin' dog.
hookworm -------- pretty ferocious case
fibroid tumors-----harmless
infected gums------not bad
a heart murmur----never harmless but not bad
Heartworm--------dun dun duuunnnnnn (dramatic scary music)
He's also nearly deaf and about 10 years old which is getting to be an old man for this breed. I don't feel right taking him to a shelter so sick and so contagious. Fortunately, the heartworm is a "light" case. We could put him on the aggressive arsenic treatment but it's dangerous and expensive. We lost one dog that way already. Fortunately, the vet said that if we just keep on the tri-heart brand preventative heartworm pills for a year, it'll prevent adult heartworm from developing and eventually, the young and eggs may die off completely He recommended this way to go because of how light the case is and the dog's heart murmur/general health. Easier on the dog Easier on the wallet. The hookworm is highly contagious and it's the reason he poops so much and it smells so bad but we've done the right things to contain the problem and the medication we have to mix into his feed will do the rest. The heart murmur may go away with the heartworm but it's a 'we'll see' kind of thing. I'm going to change his food to something good for his teeth or at least involve treats for that but we may need to have treatment for the teeth. The tumors are harmless but Dr. P does want to take off the one that hangs funny under his chest because he's afraid it'll catch on something. The vet said to sit on the lesser things for about a month to make sure we can get the parasites under control safely first. In about two weeks, he stops being contagious and we can begin to see how he does with the rest of the pack inside. I see him as kind of an indoor/outdoor type of dog but I want to know if he can be friendly with the rest now just in case we need to bring him in because of nasty weather or hostile wild animals in the area. If he's going to be cranky or poop in the house, I want to know how to be prepared for that before something happens and we HAVE to have him in.
We've got three possible names:
Ludo... because he "smmmeellllllssss baaaaaddd" you have to see the movie "the Labyrinth" to understand that one. (or watch the clip below)
Rufus... My sister and her kids are campaigning for this one because it would mean he's introduced himself in barking ... "ROOOOOOFFFF"
Preacher... because of the way he stands with his paws on the porch railing, barking at the birds and waving a paw like he's preaching at them.
so far I think Rufus is winning the general consensus but I like Ludo.
Joel doesn't care. All he knows is that we have another freakin' dog.
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