It was the warmest day of the year when we drove up to the rural log home to meet Andy, he was on the porch in all his golden glory and greeted us with a waggy tail and smile. I could see from down the long driveway that he would be the perfect Ragom boy. Andy, 3.5 years old, came to Ragom from a family who had him since he was a puppy. They bought him from a pet store and he stayed an outside dog. They reported that his favorite place to sleep was on the gravel road. They said that he loved to be around kids and was fond of balls.
The family could not keep him because they reported that the medical expenses related to his allergies were too high. Andy had severely infected ears that they said worsened by swimming in the swamp. They felt that he would do better in a place that didn’t have so many weeds.
The family reported that he had not spent much time in the car but he was happy to go with us and rode nicely in the backseat looking at the world go by.
So off we went down the winding gravel road to a new life. The first thing we did was take off the heavy leather collar and started picking wood ticks. His ears looked painful and bright red so we used the cell phone to make an appointment for Monday at the vet.
When we finally got to our small town it was almost dark and resident dog Toby Ed was waiting for us in the yard. Andy was great about Toby Ed but immediately wanted to go into the house sensing that central air was a good thing. He went straight to the water bucket and sniffed at the cats and thought they were ok. He had never lived with cats before so it was interesting that he didn’t seem to care about them..
After checking out the house a bit, Andy went halfway up the stairs to the landing and lay down. It was a quiet spot where he could see out the window and wonder how his forever family was going to find him. I gave him a new ball and assured him that they would follow the fireflies right to our porch, knock on the door and say “Andy we love you and will take wonderful care of you forever and ever.”
We think. he is smart as a tack. He comes when called, appears to be able to sit on command almost every time. He earned many love hugs just by being so irresistibly cute. Friday night Andy chose to sleep in the hallway (hardwood floor) between two bedrooms, instead of the nice cozy dog bed that I offered. Toby Ed looked at him from atop the fluffy king size bed and seemed to say “Hello!? They let you sleep up here!” Andy shows no interest in getting on the bed or furniture.
In the morning Saturday he asked to go outside by just staring at me in my sleep. He proceeded to go to the yard and poop a big giant cowpie (so glad he waited until he got outside). We had a lovely lazy day although he seemed confused by watching me do household chores.
He was unsure of the swifter and stood behind the sofa and peeked out until I was done. He asked to go out several times and tried to pee.
Each time he stood there with his leg up for at least 5 minutes, I tried to look away thinking he had a shy bladder. We decided to give him an outside bath as it was a nice hot day and he smelled a little swampy. He was a good boy and just stood there while we soaped and rinsed. After drying in the sun and brushing a small garbage bag of fur and woodticks off him, we went inside again.
After supper when he asked to go outside and again tried to urinate, I got a little concerned and figured out that we had him 32 hours and he had never actually peed. I called the after-hours vet and he stated that I should bring him in. After a 45 minute car trip to town he was still in good spirits but was admitted to the Animal Hospital for the weekend. The Dr took Xrays looking for a blockage and discussed a few things that could cause him to not urinate (stones? infection?). His bladder was super full and the Dr finally inserted a catheter to release the urine. He also washed his infected ears and treated them with ointment to feel better. It was hard to say goodbye so soon after meeting him but we knew he would be more comfortable there until we figured out what was wrong.
On Monday the Dr said that one of the possibilities could be a neurological disorder that didn’t allow his smooth muscles to relax in the order they were supposed to and something about the sphincter needing to relax too and them not doing it at the same time. (I should have had a tape recorder) Anyway the suspected condition might be Detruser – Urethral Dyssnorgia and the medication that he is trying for 10 days is phenoxybenzamine. It should help those muscles get synchronized. He also got an antibiotic cream for a cut on his ear… An oral antibiotic for the cut on his ear and to calm the ear infection. Some ear cleaner and salve. He weighs a nice 79 puonds and even though I thought that he was thin, the Dr said that it was a pretty good weight.
Enough about that medical stuff and on to the really important things.
This beautiful guy has the sweetest disposition of any foster I’ve ever met (sorry Toby Ed). Even though he probably didn’t feel very well, he was gentle and kind and extended a loving paw when ever he felt like getting a pat. I adore him already. He doesn’t bark, he doesn’t beg, and he doesn’t run away when he goes outside (my favorite attributes). He has light golden fur with
just the slightest wave to it. He is a dear golden boy and I’m falling in love with him.
