spot update!!!

Hi Carol

I’ve been meaning to send you an update on Spot for some time, but you know how it is…the time slips by so fast!

Since the holidays we’ve had quite the time with Spot! Over our holiday break, he and the girls started to settle in together better but he was a terror when we left him alone at our cabin. It made for a reclusive Christmas and New Years but otherwise, the growling slowed down dramatically.

Over the holidays I noticed that the cyst on Spot’s right front leg had begun to grow and change. When our very conservative holistic vet said we should have it removed, we got him in the following week (1/21). While Spot was under, we also had him micro chipped. What we thought would be a super simple surgery and recovery turned out to be a little harder than we anticipated. The primary issue was that Spot started bumping into 3 times the number of things he does without a cone and when he bumped the girls now, it hurt a little. They were not at all happy and pretty much growled every time they saw him with the cone on.

The cone led to other fun as well…one day he escaped the kitchen/family room where we normally leave him while we are at work. He went upstairs, cone-butted the door to the bathroom shut and then proceeded to have a complete and utter panic attack. He tore down the shower curtain, broke the rod, got into the tub, knocked over a table with towels, pulled the hand towel off a four foot rack, knocked everything off the back of the toilet tank, tore the toilet paper holder completely off the wall, and the best of all, turned on the bathroom fan (which he had to have done from jumping off the toilet tank!). We felt so bad that he panicked but he seemed to forget about it pretty quickly. This and other antics led to us seek out a during the day observation system: now known as SpotCaml We can see him (and make sure he isn’t in trouble) during the day. It’s pretty funny!

Throughout his visits to the vet, we learned that he doesn’t like them very much. He tried (and nearly did) bite a tech when they were giving him a sedative before surgery and did a lot of growling and snapping when bandages were being changed and stitches removed. It was sad to see that there is a side of him that is angry and/or scared to the point of violence. We hope he won’t have any more painful vet experiences for a long time, or better yet, ever.

The good news is that the cyst was benign and Spot is now out of his cone, for which we are all thankful. We have also now had two weekends at the cabin where Spot has been fine being left alone for small periods of time. Finally, we think he is getting confident and feeling secure!

Spot has a wonderful personality and a great sense of humor. He is a totally quirky guy. (See attached pictures.) He somehow found his way to the shelf under our kitchen table at the cabin and has claimed it as his own, he is very pleased with himself when he does his “beg” trick (in fact, he does it even if you don’t ask him to), and he has decided that the very best bed in the house is the dirty laundry beside the dryer. I’ve also attached a picture of the three doggies together (they went to lay next to him so I had to snap this one)…

Spot is doing much better riding between Bellevue and Blaine and about town, where he is always the star (I can’t take him with me when I’m in a hurry because I know someone will stop me to talk about him for 20 min!). He only has tiny objections to riding and only once in a while. He has learned to navigate both our houses and yards remarkably well and he even now goes into his crate on his own occasionally and chills out. I am absolutely amazed at how he motors on walks – no one would believe he was blind to watch him going down the sidewalk at full trot. All in all he is settling in very well and we think he is enjoying being part of our family. We know we are loving having him in our lives!

We continue to keep up with Saints via your blog. I hope all is well with you and I will keep dropping you notes on Spot, if you enjoy keeping up with him!