Winsor

So by now you're hoping to catch a few more glimpses of our boy Winsor.  I took a few initial pictures but as all initial pictures go, most were pretty cruddy.  I can tell you what we know about him so far.

When I first met Winsor, we're calling him Finn (been watching a lot of Glee lately), he was at the daycare waiting for a foster.  He had pretty atrocious breath.  Whoa doggie, get a breath mint.  Sweet and cuddly and really good dog, but wow what a breath problem.

Last week, I took him and Jacques over to HAWS for their heartworm treatment. Lisa reminded me to ask the vet to look at his teeth as his breath hadn't improved.  No problem.  We weren't in the car three minutes, with the windows rolled up, when it became blindingingly apparent that we needed to talk to the vet about it.

Imagine the smelliest, worst, putrid garbage you've ever smelled... ok?  Now, mulitiply by a factor of... oh, ten and put in a car with rolled up windows and the heat on with you.  Yeah, I almost lost it too.  Blech.  Poor guy.  Kiera and I put on hats and gloves and opened all the window, including the moon roof.

When we arrived at HAWS, we took him in first.  I asked the clinic manager if they could just take a quick peek as his teeth to evaluate the situation.  She sat him down, he sits very nicely, and flipped his flaps and said, "His teeth and gums look nice... buuuuut... I do agree with you about the smell."

Doc finished up his spay he was working on in the other room and came in to give Finn his first heartworm treatment shot.  Cassie asked him to have a look in Finn's mouth.  What he found amazed us all.

"Well, he's got a stick stuck between his upper molars and it's become ulcerated and infected under there.  We'll send him home with some antibiotics."

The stick he pulled out was about three inches long and sadly had been there a while.

I am happy to report that with the removal of the stick and the round of anti-biotics with a few more days to go, our boy smells pretty darn good.  Only now, he's really begun to feel the effects of the heartworm treatment.

I know I've mentioned it before but the process of killing heartworms can take one of two paths.  One, which is better for your dog, involves two years of Heartgard.  It kills off the worms slowly and they can live normal lives.  The second path, which is painful and requires a month of down time, involves two big needles inserted into the large muscles in front of the hip bones, a day apart. 

Some dogs are "tougher" than others and bounce back a little more quickly.  Axel was one of those.  Our boy Finney is not quite so tough.  Which is not to say he's a strong dog because I think in his short little life he's been through a lot.  My theory is that when he started to smell, he got kicked out of the house instead of taken in for veterinary care. 

He's been in a house before - he's not afraid of stairs and he's pretty comfy on the couch and bed... hmmm. But somebody wanted him gone pretty badly.  See, he's got "shot" or bb's in his ear flaps.  But it doesnt stop him from being the most amazing dog.  He's sweet, gentle, doesn't chase the kitties, loves the kids and is housetrained.

But then so is Carlos.