Frankie

Life had been quiet so no blogging. Same old, same old, doesn’t make for interesting writing.

I decided a few months ago that I wanted another dog – mostly to keep Willow company and to give her some exercise. Just after we got Willow, I had contacted a kennel in the States but the lady said that she didn’t believe that having two puppies of a similar age was not good because they would bond with each other rather than with their people. That made sense to me so I put that idea to bed for the time being.

The time had come to explore the idea again so I contacted the kennel again. As it happened, she had two young adult dogs that were available for adoption. We had a few weeks of e-mail contact and finally decided on Frankie. Anyway, he arrived on December 8th. He is an absolute sweetheart but has been very expensive. You would think that I had learned about not taking insurance after the fiasco of Cuba earlier this year but apparently I am not that smart.

Frankie coughed a few times but we simply put that down to the really dry air we have here. He was really quiet but we thought that it was a getting to know us. He didn’t like stairs and he wanted to be carried – cute but he weighs almost 40 lbs…. I called the breeder and she thought the same thing – new home, dry air, etc. She also said that they don’t allow their dogs to use the stairs because her staircase is under construction.

On Thursday, Frankie’s eye was weeping and the discharge was not the usual clear or black colour but was yellow so we made an appointment at the vet. They checked him out and took blood work and x-rays and decided he probably has pneumonia. We left him there for 36 hours so he could be watched and get intravenous antibiotics. Twelve hundred dollars later, we picked him up yesterday morning and he was like a new dog – alert, active, and funny. He spent most of the first hour home trying to convince Willow of his undying love and affection – she allowed it for the most part but every so often, she moved and he just followed her. He needs to be on antibiotics for the next 2 weeks and I have eye ointment to use 8 hours a day for the next week.

I am quite worried this morning because I am questioning his eyesight – he seems to be following my voice rather than looking at me. I guess we will see what happens as that day goes.