Rattlesnake Vaccine

I went to the vet today and it wasn't too bad. I got a clean bill of health and had tons of fun embarrassing mommy because I wouldn't stop shedding even though she brushed me and Furminated me yesterday. I was shedding just as much as yesterday! :) hehe.. While mommy was in the lobby before the appointment, a pamphlet caught her attention: "What do you mean I'm not protected against rattlesnakes?" with a weimaraner on the front. Mommy picked up the pamphlet and read it before I was called. During my appointment, she was talking about how we're moving to a place that has a lot more open areas/bigger lots. Our back yard is going to be 1/4 acre and a lot of people that she talked to said that where we're moving has a lot of rattlers. The doctor agreed that since I'll be in an area that is less populated and has been known to have a lot more rattlers, it would be a good idea for me to get the rattlesnake vaccine. So, I got poked today for the rattlesnake vaccine, I have to go back in 4 weeks for the booster. :( After that, it's every 6 months to a year depending on how many rattlies we see. Hopefully none at all, so I don't have to be poked so often and I don't get bitten. After we move, mommy is signing us all up for the rattlesnake avoidance class. She wonders how I will do in the class though since I am more independent in nature and I'm sure the rattling sound would intrigue me. Hopefully after the class, I don't forget everything because I don't want to get bitten and then have to rush to the emergency vet to get poked with more pointy stuff.

Some more good news: during my x-rays last year, the vet found a lesion on my lung. It's been at least 6 months and the lesion hasn't progressed. Mommy's glad that it hasn't gotten worse (and that I don't have to keep coming back every 3 months for follow up xrays). Mommy is disappointed that it hasn't gone away, but she's thankful that it hasn't gotten worse; that's all she could ask for. No one could figure out where I got the lesion from. I never got pneumonia or bronchitis after I started living with mommy and daddy, but I don't remember if I did before. I don't ever recall having bronchitis or pneumonia and my medical records don't show that I did either. hmm.. it's a mystery. Oh, and I got complemented on my looks. The vet says I'm looking better than ever at 21.3 lbs. I'm down 0.7 lbs. since the last time I was at the vet. My best weight range is between 21-22 lbs. and I think I'm doing a good job keeping my weight there. Mommy also helps with all those sessions of fetch for cardio and daddy helps with the walks. At one point last year I was a bloated 26 lbs. That was when daddy was feeding me human food and I was eating Beneful. Mommy kept telling daddy that I was getting chubby but he kept telling her that I was a good size. Thank goodness mommy didn't believe him because now I'm healthy, looking great, (mommy: have super strong butt muscles from all that fetch running up the hill, and you can see them too), and have lots of energy (although I do miss the human food).

Anyways, I'm all up to date and feeling good. Mommy and daddy brought me to the dog park today, but we didn't stay long because some bulldogs came in and when they pooped it was completely runny and the dogs didn't belong to the people who brought them in (they were just watching their friend's dogs). The people that brought them in didn't seem to know much about dogs (the mother was actually afraid of dogs, and the kids were kind of chasing after the dogs while calling the dog's name and just being too hyper.) Mommy didn't want me to pick up anything since I just came back from the vet with a clean bill of health (and a $350.00 bill for the xrays, vaccines, cost of annual exam, fecal testing, and a box of Frontline Plus since we were out). Anyways, I'm kind of disappointed that I had to leave early, but it's for my own health and I have a new chew to try out that the vet gave us to sample. It's the CET Chew since I'm not a big fan of tooth brushing and regular rawhides. I like this one so far, hopefully the enzymes in this chew will help me clean my teeth a little. Mommy is hoping I take to it, so I have something to chew that will help clean my teeth.