Hello everyone! It's almost the end of the month but it's not too late to introduce our Pet of the Month for March. Meet Oliver! He caught my attention because he looks a little bit like me. You can follow him on Instagram @goldenrule_chis. His mom Lara wrote a little bit about him.
On March 31, 2012 I met Oliver in a Petsmart parking lot. He was living in a car. The college student that was responsible for him said that she wanted to get rid of him and if I didn't take him she was driving him straight to the shelter. I refused to give her any money for him after she asked for $300. I already had him in my arms and there was no way I'd let him go. I paid her a little bit for his beds and belongings and left quickly before she caused a scene. It was very obvious he was malnourished and scared. We noticed almost immediately after having him home that he was petrified of men and loud noises. He wouldn't eat any dog food. I fed him a meatball that night and we became best friends. We already had 2 chihuahuas but he wanted nothing to do with them. I noticed after about a week of having him that even though he would stand in the peeing position for long periods of time nothing was coming out. I took him to the vet and she ran some urinalysis and did an X-ray. She found a broken bone at the base of his penis and one in his tail. She noted that he was underweight and based on his behaviour and injuries he must have been abused. She estimated his age to be around 18 months. There is no fix for his urinary blockages. I can do my best to prevent flare ups by taking him out to pee every hour, not leaving him home alone longer than 2 hours, and I have to irrigate his penis with saline once a week since the tip is always exposed because of the bone fragments at the base. Bacteria builds in ways that regular male dogs don't have to deal with so I have to keep that clean to prevent infection from traveling up the urethra and causing even more damage.
On March 31, 2012 I met Oliver in a Petsmart parking lot. He was living in a car. The college student that was responsible for him said that she wanted to get rid of him and if I didn't take him she was driving him straight to the shelter. I refused to give her any money for him after she asked for $300. I already had him in my arms and there was no way I'd let him go. I paid her a little bit for his beds and belongings and left quickly before she caused a scene. It was very obvious he was malnourished and scared. We noticed almost immediately after having him home that he was petrified of men and loud noises. He wouldn't eat any dog food. I fed him a meatball that night and we became best friends. We already had 2 chihuahuas but he wanted nothing to do with them. I noticed after about a week of having him that even though he would stand in the peeing position for long periods of time nothing was coming out. I took him to the vet and she ran some urinalysis and did an X-ray. She found a broken bone at the base of his penis and one in his tail. She noted that he was underweight and based on his behaviour and injuries he must have been abused. She estimated his age to be around 18 months. There is no fix for his urinary blockages. I can do my best to prevent flare ups by taking him out to pee every hour, not leaving him home alone longer than 2 hours, and I have to irrigate his penis with saline once a week since the tip is always exposed because of the bone fragments at the base. Bacteria builds in ways that regular male dogs don't have to deal with so I have to keep that clean to prevent infection from traveling up the urethra and causing even more damage.
I am SO attached to this dog. I dread the day when his urinary issues catch up with him and we can't fix him. I'm petrified of losing him. But for now he's cute and cuddly, awesome and rude and crazy and a bully but I wouldn't trade a single part of him… even the part that pees on expensive things.
I love reading about stories of your pets. Check out Pet of the Month for details on how your pet can be featured.
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