01494: We Love Animal House

I don't think my PsyDuck hat helped

Especially in the gay world, having a pet is as close as you'll get to having a child. Sure there's adoption, but that can be a pain to process for same-sex couples, so pets are the natural alternative. And I know that it's like like LGBT couples are the only ones who see pets in this manner - this is the same case for childless straight couples and even just "old maids" and the like. But let's not go as far as cat ladies - they're kind of scary.

But taking care of a pet comes with all the challenges of taking care of a human infant. That means fussing over the messes they make, trying to make sure they eat on time and of course the mandatory visits to the doctor - in this case the veterinarian.

For "the family", we've always trusted Animal House, although there is that feeling that you end up paying more. All of our golden retrievers went through the Animal House treatment and I did the same thing when I first got Smoke, my previous Persian. And after the unfortunate demise of Poy-Poy earlier this year, I promised that I would never let that happen to a pet again. And thus the willingness to invest in all of Yoshi's pet care needs no matter how much it costs. So that means regular trips to the vet as needed and feeding him the ever more expensive Eukanuba dog food if only for his health as well.

So today was Yoshi's regular check-up along with boosters for several of his vaccinations. I loved the fact that Animal House takes the time to send out these little vaccination reminder post cards - not exactly something I remember with any of my prior pets. And while I'd like to think I remain firmly on top of Yoshi's various vaccination cycles, these little things do go a long way to help and to give me greater confidence in Animal House's pet care philosophy.

It's nice to note that Yoshi is now a full 4 kilograms in weight - that's a full bump up of 0.4 kilos from our last visit, so that's a good thing. Everything checked out normal and his shots with through without a hitch - and nary a sound from Yoshi. I have to admit that I'm pretty impressed with his vet behavior - except for the challenges in getting him to swallow his deworming tablet and the occasional desire to pee on the attendant when he thinks his appointment is over. Otherwise, he's a very good dog.

And now he's just as chipper as ever, although he really ought to take it easy for the first 48 hours after his vaccinations. And it's rather adorable to watch him in the car as Tobie drives and Yoshi insists to stay on his lap. I have yet to see how Tobie had been bringing Yoshi to his parents' place in months past and now the big secret is out. I swear, for someone who used to be terrified of all dogs, Tobie has learned how to spoil Yoshi rather quickly. Go figure.