As you know, Herschel was scheduled to be neutered on Friday and I dropped him off in the morning. Unfortunately, the vet had a couple of emergencies come up and he was not able to be neutered. They are giving me a discount on the neutering to bring him in next Friday though.
Herschel did get all his shots, tests etc. done and he is a healthy boy. Vet said he could actually gain a little weight but he is healthy. He is just a very athletic bully and burns a lot of his calories off. They also think he might be a little younger than a year and a half but not by much. His cherry eye was out for the vet to look at thank goodness. He said he didn't want to do surgery yet since it pops in and out but he also said it looked like he had a bit of an infection in that eye and gave me some medication for it. It went back in last night overnight and it hasn't come back out. Getting the medication in Herschel's eye is a challenge. He usually looks up at me with those big beautiful eyes but the minute I grab the stuff, he squinches his eyes shut and if I didn't know better, I would think he was all wrinkles and no eyes.
So, since Herschel got a reprieve yesterday, we jumped in the car and met my parents up in Cairo, GA for the gaslight parade at 8 PM. Herschel got his first ride in the back seat (with me of course) in my parents' 1917 Model T Ford. He was the star of the parade! He met several other dogs, including a basset hound named Harley who he adored.
At home, the cats are finally daring to get close to Herschel. Samuel, the more friendly and inquisitive cat, finally got nose to nose with him. It was a staring contest, until Herschel's tongue escaped his mouth and scared Sam... the cat flew about three feet into the air. Now he isn't scared of Herschel though. When Sam comes to get my love, the only problem is that Herschel will put his face almost into the floor and push Sam out of the way with his big ol' head. Kind of like a bulldozer. Cyrus, the other cat just hisses at Herschel and Herschel respects that, although he looks a bit dejected that Cyrus is a bit rude to him.
Oh... one more thing... Herschel hates the old cemetery next to my house. Some of the graves are civil war vets and even one of Patrick Henry's grandsons is buried there. The newest grave is about six months old. It's small but the first time I tried to walk Herschel by it, he took one look, stared for about 5 seconds, spun around and ran into me, nearly knocking me over and pulling me all the way back down my driveway. He hates it, day or night. My dad said it reminded him of Shasta, their white gsd that we had when I was a baby... she wouldn't go anywhere near this mausoleum up on the side of the mountain in upstate New York where I was born. Makes you wonder...
All in all it has been a fantastic week. Herschel is such a joy and certainly the love of my life. He has settled in nicely, and I think he is happy here even with those annoying cats!
Herschel did get all his shots, tests etc. done and he is a healthy boy. Vet said he could actually gain a little weight but he is healthy. He is just a very athletic bully and burns a lot of his calories off. They also think he might be a little younger than a year and a half but not by much. His cherry eye was out for the vet to look at thank goodness. He said he didn't want to do surgery yet since it pops in and out but he also said it looked like he had a bit of an infection in that eye and gave me some medication for it. It went back in last night overnight and it hasn't come back out. Getting the medication in Herschel's eye is a challenge. He usually looks up at me with those big beautiful eyes but the minute I grab the stuff, he squinches his eyes shut and if I didn't know better, I would think he was all wrinkles and no eyes.
So, since Herschel got a reprieve yesterday, we jumped in the car and met my parents up in Cairo, GA for the gaslight parade at 8 PM. Herschel got his first ride in the back seat (with me of course) in my parents' 1917 Model T Ford. He was the star of the parade! He met several other dogs, including a basset hound named Harley who he adored.
At home, the cats are finally daring to get close to Herschel. Samuel, the more friendly and inquisitive cat, finally got nose to nose with him. It was a staring contest, until Herschel's tongue escaped his mouth and scared Sam... the cat flew about three feet into the air. Now he isn't scared of Herschel though. When Sam comes to get my love, the only problem is that Herschel will put his face almost into the floor and push Sam out of the way with his big ol' head. Kind of like a bulldozer. Cyrus, the other cat just hisses at Herschel and Herschel respects that, although he looks a bit dejected that Cyrus is a bit rude to him.
Oh... one more thing... Herschel hates the old cemetery next to my house. Some of the graves are civil war vets and even one of Patrick Henry's grandsons is buried there. The newest grave is about six months old. It's small but the first time I tried to walk Herschel by it, he took one look, stared for about 5 seconds, spun around and ran into me, nearly knocking me over and pulling me all the way back down my driveway. He hates it, day or night. My dad said it reminded him of Shasta, their white gsd that we had when I was a baby... she wouldn't go anywhere near this mausoleum up on the side of the mountain in upstate New York where I was born. Makes you wonder...
All in all it has been a fantastic week. Herschel is such a joy and certainly the love of my life. He has settled in nicely, and I think he is happy here even with those annoying cats!