Big Brown Dog aka Bear visited the vet this morning for his full exam, shots and tests. The consensus is that he's 6-7 years old, leaning more towards the latter. He was a champ, even letting us put him on a table for his bloodwork and was stoic throughout. He has some stiffness in his back end and need to just keep an eye on it for onset of arthritis issues. His coat should improve with a better diet and Vit E which leads me to his other issue...I am sad to report that he tested positive for heartworms. :( I didn't start him on treatment today, because he's been cooped up I wanted to give him a little time for activity and socializing before starting. Soo, I guess next week will be his first treatment and then he'll be on "rest" for the next couple of months. I feel so badly for him since he's finally in an environment he can relax and have some fun in and now he'll be confined for 2 months. Such a waste since this is totally preventable. Ugh.
Since it looks like Bear will be residing with the Pack for some time now I'm sure Tucker will be teaching him to blog before long. ;) He's got the "all-clear" to play with the others (until treatment anyway) so hopefully they will all get along.
15 comments:
Aww... poor Chocolate Bear. I'm glad he gets to play a little this week with the rest of you, though!
How much does he weigh, by the way?!
Do you live in a big blue house? Because that would be funny. He could be Bear in the Big Blue House!!! HAHAHAHA.
Kat
(I'm just a puppy, so my jokes are silly.)
PS. I'm glad Bear can play with the rest of the pack for a while!
Poor baby. Those nasty old heartworms are awful.
I don't know much about heartworms (or dogs!), but why does he have to be quarantined during treatment? Is it because they come out? Ewwwwww.
Oh Lord, I just went to the link for the heartworms in your post and now I understand why the confinement/quarantine - it's too keep him calm so those things don't break off in mass numbers and go into his lungs. Makes me skin crawl just thinking about it. God bless him. I hope he continues to be a champ as you treat him for this horrible disease.
Whoo Hoo Some PLAY time for the Tucker-doodle! I hate that Bear has to be confined for 2 months, poor thing :( I am sure he can get some hooman love??
Hugs, Sitka
Big Bear is with the best mom in the world...she will take such good care of him, he's so lucky to get to stay with the Brat Pack for awhile. I know Bear will get the best care in the whole wide doggie world.
Poor Bear, I'm sure with your loving care he will get back on his feet really soon.
PS : It's hard to take pictures of darker dogs eh..my Mom says it's tough to get a pic of me at times.
Poor bear. It makes me so mad that people let their dogs get heartworm. Thank you for taking care of him!
Poor ol' Bear. I hope you get his ticker back into good shape.
wally.
Oh jeez...that's a shame. What a lucky boy he is to have you & the crew.
I forgot to mention...coconut oil will improve his coat tremendously. It has to be Extra Virgin, unrefined & in a glass jar. I originally bought it after reading a Whole Dog Journal article about it's weight loss propreties. Sherman has actually gained 2 lbs...but his coat has never been more luxurious!
Ferndoggle
Good luck with the heartworm treatment. It really isn't too bad. Mom had three fosters and they all had to be treated for heartworms. She didn't relax about it but everyone came out just fine. The hard part is keeping a happy dog quiet until all of the worm parts have been absorbed. We think Bear is in good hands.
Roxie, Sammy & Andy (a heartworm survivor)
Tadpole - He only weighs 75 pounds, he's supposed to put on a few more!
Kat - I like that joke, I'm going to have to use it for sure.
Thanks for all the tips - Mom is going to get some Coconut Oil for sure.
:)
Poor Bear and someone needs to hurt those humans who had him before.
Hope he has fun playing while he can.
I hate people that don't take care of their animals!! He looks liek such a nice dog. I know the Pack withh take good care of him though. when he's all healthy, he'll be even more fun to play with cuz labs are sooo much fun!!
Kaos
Those nasty heartworms!!! And they are so easy to prevent! How sad. We will keep our paws crossed that he comes through his treatment!
Holly
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