New addition to the family

Our son Kevin phoned my wife a week ago, telling her he was on his way home, and asked if we wanted a new dog.  When he got home 5 minutes later, he brought home a puppy.  Of course, there was no decision to be made;  it was a done deal before he even got home.

He was at a friend’s house, when an acquaintance of his friend pulled up to the house with a dog in his car.  The acquaintance was a 19 year old living in an apartment on his own, and “couldn’t afford to feed her anymore” (or so the story goes).  We found out later that he was probably going to shoot her rather than take her to the SPCA, as there was a waiting list for dropping off dogs, and a cost as well. We also found out that she spent the majority of time in a crate.  (it’s not uncommon in this rural area for farmers to shoot a dog once it’s outlived it’s usefulness-NOT something I would ever even consider)

Kevin didn’t want to see the dog put down, so he asked if he could have her.  And that’s how we got Chloe.

She’s a Laberaner (my term); that is, a Labrador Retriever/Weimeraner mix.  You would think that she would be huge, but she’s actually very petite.  I’d say she’s about 50 lbs at most, and undernourished as well.  Her ribs are clearly visible, but we’ve had her for about 10 days now, and she eats like a horse.

The only potential problem is that we have a 3 year old male GoldenDoodle, who wasn’t neutered.  Digger went  to the vet this past Monday and that’s since been fixed (pun intended).

Digger and Chloe get along GREAT.  They play together until they’re exhausted (good for both of them); Digger LOVES his new playmate.  Our 13 year old Springer Spaniel is a different story.  She let Chloe know early on that she will not tolerate any nonsense, and Chloe steers clear of Kelsea.

We keep Chloe in a crate during the day when we are at work.  Based on experience, sporting dogs can’t be trusted (as far as chewing) until 2-3 years of age.  Chloe will be 1 year old on Halloween, so she still has another year or 2 of the crate.

Here are pics of our dogs:

Chloe

Chloe

Chloe and Shamrock

Digger after ridding our yard of a rabbit

Kelsea, our elderly Springer Spaniel

Labs, Dog Problem

Yesterday, I had my labs done. Again, I drew them myself from my fistula, so I didn’t need multiple “sticks”.

My neutropenia is resolved, as my WBC is back up to 2.67 (last week, it was 1.2).  My hemoglobin is now rising (up to 9.9), and my creatinine is rock stable at 1.2. My glucose was up, but I had eaten breakfast before, and rushed to get to work right before drawing my labs. And my Prograf is within desired range of 8-10. I did update my labs on the Vital Signs and Labs page.

I did ask the nurse about my hemoglobin, and she said that it may take a couple of months for the transplanted kidney to “kick in” with erythropoietin production. Apparently, that’s beginning to happen now.

Our “middle” dog, Kelsea (12 year old English Springer Spaniel) had another episode of geriatric vestibular syndrome . She first had this back in April, and it eventually resolved with time, although her head remained slightly tilted to the side. Now, it’s tilted almost completely sideways. We got some Bonine last night, and at least it’s keeping her from vomiting. It doesn’t seem to be as bad this time (no vomiting so far), so I’m hoping it will resolve quickly.