When Sammy hears the car he runs to the couch, leans over the back and looks through the screen until you go to the door. Sometimes he crosses his legs while he hangs out there and waits. It's enough to make your heart melt and make you to say things like, "How's mama's baby boy??" in a ridiculously babyish voice that the neighbors can probably hear. . .
This dog is a train wreck. Seriously.
He has a grade III-IV heart murmur. He has demodex which is just a fancy vet name for mange that will never go away. He has scabby, scaly skin that stinks three days after you give him a bath. He limps. He still poops in the house. I've spent more on healthcare for him in the four months than I've spent on myself in the last fourteen years.
But when I look at him, wagging his tail and thrilled that someone is finally home I forget all that. I love that rotten mess of a dog.
On the advice of the best vet a dog can't have – my Uncle Terry, who sadly is much too far away to see Sammy – we went to a new clinic yesterday. Instead of advocating for the same treatment strategies again (and again and again. . .) Dr. James took the time to actually read up on some of the latest treatments for demodex and try something different!
I have no idea whether it will work or not. That's not really the point. Dr. James got down on the floor with Sam because "you can't really see what's going on when he's scared up here on the table." She spent more than a half an hour actually listening - not just talking. And the total bill, at $141, was less than it would have been at our previous clinic, which is part of a national chain.
So far, so good. I'm a bit nervous about giving him Promeris. There is a lot of anecdotal evidence of bad reactions but I'm willing to try.
Right now we 'heart' Doctor Melissa. And if she can make the little face peering over the back of the couch actually grow a little more hair we will 'heart' her even more!!! Need a good vet? Try this one!
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