01656: Rocky, Animal Advocate

I'm pretty sure that I've mentioned before that my family has always been big on animals. Part of our upbringing involved the responsibility of having pets whether they're cats, dogs, birds, or fish. But of all the animals, I've probably had the greatest affinity for dogs and a good amount of respect for cats. You know how it is.

Prince reintroduced dogs into our lives and helped Tobie get over his fear of dogs in general. I am forever grateful for Poy-Poy and his major contribution to Tobie's personal growth and now we have Yoshi to continue that legacy.

So when Prince asked if we could take care of his new puppy, Mario, I had no hesitation about agreeing.

The only challenge is that Mario is a rather young puppy - just about 3 months old. And puppies have all sorts of health complications different from adult dogs. I made sure to drop by Pet Express for a quick check up and to consult on a skin problem that Mario seems to be having. Long story short, I'll need to keep the two dogs separate and now have an additional routine to factor into things.

I'm not complaining - I've never really had qualms about handling the more difficult treatments needed for dogs. Whether it's spraying Frontline to help treat a dog for ticks and fleas or cleaning out a cats ears as treatment for eatmites, I'm all over it. In this case, Mario now requires a medicated bath every 3 days until the problem clears. I swear, dogs associate lousy memories with me, which includes bathing and trips to the vet.

Keeping the two dogs separate is a little sad - they both seem curious enough about one another. But for now I'm keeping Mario quarantined while Yoshi gets a free pass to roam the house. Lucky dog.

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