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| Puppy in a box! |
Last Friday, after all the classes of the day were over, a colleague of mine was running out of the office. I asked her where she as headed and she said 'I found a dog!'. There was a lost puppy on Bugil campus that she has picked up and brought to an empty room. Unsure what to do with the dog (she already has two at home), it seemed she was going to leave her on campus and bring her food the next day. I felt so sorry for the little thing that I offered to bring her home for the weekend without thoroughly thinking through the consequences.
After one failed reunion with someone who lost a dog that looks very similar, this little puppy started to integrate in our home. The more we see how amazing this dog is, the more we are suspicious that she was abandoned and not lost. She is perfectly house trained and never barks. She is well mannered and well tempered. More Korean than English means she doesn't understand my commands at all, but that is something that we can work on. She has even found a place on the dog chair where she is comfortable.
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| The princess in her chair |
Today I took her to the vet. I was worried about a few things, including her eyes, ears, skin, and the fact that she has eight very prominent nipples. I wanted her to have a check up that made sure she was healthy. After a laundry list of questions that my wonderful Korean colleague translated for me at the vet's, I have learned the following:
Breed: Shih tzu
Age: < 4 years (estimate)
Weight: 6.12kg (normal)
Eyes: Clear (one pupil is blown)
Ears: Swollen (infection)
Teeth: Good. Little tartar on the back molars
Nails: Ok, little long.
Skin: Yeast overgrowth. Malassezia Dermatitis (got meds and special shampoo to help clear it up)
Licking b/w fingers: Associated with skin problem
Spade: No.
Pregnant: Not that we can tell. Ultrasound came back neg (yay!) but if she's < 25 days, we cannot tell.
Shots: Don't know, need blood test to verify
Shaking: Probably just fear
Food: Three little paper cups per day (not sure how that equates to standard measurements yet)
After all this, he treated her ears with a disinfectant and trimmed her nails. While waiting for her skin meds to be ready, however, I noticed something on her. A little black thing that looked like a skin tag. Not taking any chances, I went back in and asked him to look at it. Sure enough, it was a LIVE tick. Since she's been out in the woods for who knows how long, I expected her to have some issues. But GROSS. So we also got her some Frontline medication and apparently we'll get to, and I quote, "see the ticks fall off of her" - NO THANKS! Hopefully that was the only one, but you never know. Better to be safe than to have ticks over run in my apartment.
The vet also noticed that one of her pupils doesn't open and close as it should. He thinks this occurred from an outside trauma to the head (probably damaging one of her cranial nerves). I really hope this was not from abuse, but she has been acting scared of everything outdoors: walks, cars, people, etc. I have now earned her trust, so she follows me around and always wants to be on my lap. I guess she knows the hand that's feeding her! But she has also started coming out of her shell. Her tail has started wagging and she has even started enjoying walks. This was evident from the massive smile that consumed her face yesterday.
So that's our new adventure! Puppy sitting and hopefully finding her owners or some new family that will love her forever.
Team JMS
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| Puppy love |
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| Waiting patiently at the vet's |
Looking out the window Yo!
