Category: Dogs

Welcome Scooby

Scooby shelter picture

I have a new fur baby. On November 8th, the day after a huge snow storm, I brought Scooby home from the animal shelter. I totally fell in love with him on the internet – it was his eyes. (See internet picture on the right. That was my first look at Scooby.) We had been looking for an animal that needed some extra love and Scooby was having problems adjusting to life in the shelter. Yes, he was a little bit younger than what I was looking for, but they said he needed a low energy and quiet home. Sounded perfect.

Scooby with earphones because of shelter noise.

Once we got to the shelter we met with another dog that looked interesting but there just wasn’t a connection. He was much more interested in what was going on in the hall instead of me sitting on the floor wanting to snuggle. So then we were taken to see Scooby. He was in a separate area where he could get more 1:1 attention. He did appear timid and didn’t really come to me until the handler gave me a can of whipped cream. That was Scooby’s kryptonite. He wormed his way into my heart one lick at a time. Welcome to my heart Scooby.

Scooby heading to his new home.

I did have some concerns about how he would fit with my other dogs, so we agreed to a one-week trial adoption. In all honesty I was totally smitten but felt I needed to do the responsible thing with this trial adoption. A week later I made it official. That was the day Scooby showed his true colors after I got home. Goofy. Rambunctious. Energetic. Curious. Not the dog I met in the shelter.

Scooby is the first of many dogs I’ve rescued that I didn’t change his name. He knows his name very well and, it fits him. And yes, we often call him Scooby Doo, or Scoobs, or even Scoobsters.

Scooby with first vet visit

Several weeks later he does intermittently show some timid characteristics and is easily frightened by things outside of the house. I’m hoping that he can learn to relax when we go places in the car or walk outside. For now, we are working on basic behaviors like sit, stop, down, and no. I think it will take a while. Did I mention that he also has a stubborn streak? Should fit in well in this house. Welcome to my pack Scooby.

Scooby making himself at home.

Saving Seamus

Sick dogs can be scary. In mid-October I woke in the morning to find that my black lab, Seamus, was very very sick. He was unable to stand up, lift his head, or anything. I was very scared. He had been fine when we went to bed the night before. I didn’t want to panic, and had a full day of clients scheduled so I just checked on him every hour. He kept getting worse. I was giving him water by syringe every hour just to keep him somewhat hydrated until I could get him to the vet the next day. The next week was entirely devoted to saving Seamus.

He had blood work, x-rays, and ultrasound. The ultrasound confirmed that he had a mass on his spleen that was bleeding. There was no way to know if it was malignant or not without surgery. So, I took him back home to continue intensive nursing care until Monday. I continued to provide fluids every hour during the day and every 2-3 hours at night. He was scheduled for surgery on Monday. Surviving the procedure was uncertain. Even then we would have to wait to find out whether or not he would have a normal lifespan or if cancer would take him.

My vet and her team are wonderful. He made it through surgery like a champ. That afternoon he went for an overnight stay at a local animal emergency clinic for constant monitoring. He made it through that as well and we got to bring him home the next morning.

A word about dog cones. He’s a big dog. The cone was huge. He couldn’t be left unsupervised with the cone on. He couldn’t turn around in small spaces. He also couldn’t get through the door to go outside to the bathroom. Fortunately he’s a really good boy and I put a t-shirt on him to keep him from licking during the day. We only used the cone at night when I was sleeping.

It took another week to get the pathology report back. NO CANCER! The surgery was considered curative. He has recovered well. I’m so happy to have my sweet boy back. It took a team to save Seamus.

Seamus is a relatively young dog. I got him from the shelter when he was about 2 (they say) and I’ve had him for 4 years. He’s so incredibly mellow that he seems much older than that. I know he won’t live forever, but every additional year I get to spend with him will be treasured. Saving Seamus was a stressful, expensive, and scary time, but was definitely worth it.