Bear-Handbanana

Hulsey  Long

March 8, 2007 -- February 10, 2012 

He cleans up nice, But This is how I will always remember him.

Miss You Banana.

The big finish to 2011

I'm sorry there has not bee a steady stream of updates to Junior's blog, not that there wasn't anything to talk about. As he turns 9 months old in a couple days, lets fill in the gap!

So Juniors weight has always been a serious issue. Labs are prone to overeating and obesity. I know he doesn't get all the exercise he needs, so I feed him strictly by what the dog food bag says he should have. But there were time where looked too thin. We tried changing to a "more nutritious" food. We tried supplementing his diet with table food, beans, rice, oatmeal, etc. It helped, but he eats too much. So we  came up with a great solution in late October.

FOOD COMA!!!

A few days later, Bear-Handbanana decided he wanted to lay claim to Junior's crate. I realize his breed is British and all, but he laid claim to a land that already had inhabitants. He went straight 1620 on Juniors crate and hung out in there for a few days. Sometimes, they still hang out in there together. I think sometimes they just want to be close to each other, or they are just cold.

JUNIOR HIT PUBERTY IN DECEMBER

I noticed that Junior had some sores on his chin. I figured it would go away. It did not. The sores began to fester and bleed all over the place. It was the grossest thing I had ever seen! He would walk up to you and place his chin on your lap. When he left there was a smear of blood and puss. So I took him to the vet.

It turns out he had ACNE. I had never in my life heard of Dog Acne, but it is a real condition. The crazy thing is, It Can Come Back!!! If he is ever in a prolonged stressful situation, he will break out again. This dog was two and a half times worse than Mackenzie Phillips. 

I had to buy Doggie Strydex pads for his face. They were like $12! A bottle of witch hazel is like 2 bucks. I was super mad. The pictures were taken after he had been getting treatment for about 2 weeks. It had gone away considerably. We had to wrestle this dog down to the ground and wipe his chin twice a day.

Before his face could heal, Junior seriously hurt himself. It happened unbelievably fast. He walked from the living room into his bedroom. I called his name and he came to me limping. I had no idea what he had done to himself. The general consensus is that in his starvation/gluttony, he tried to eat the food from Bear-Handbanana's bowl... inside Bear-Handbanana's  tiny crate. He hurt himself trying to get out. I thought he could just walk it off, but it was substantially worse. When I took him to the vet, there was some random chick in a doctor's jacket. She was a terrible doctor. First off, she didn't listen to anything Maurice and I had to say about the situation. Secondly she did this:

 

THIS BROAD PUT MY PUPPY IN A MUZZLE!!!!!! I was PISSED to say the least. I could not believe it. I have mentioned before that Junior nipped at someone once and they marked in his chart that he is some demon spawn. I would nip at that woman too if she kept trying to put a stick inside my anus and wiggle it around.

I'm still mad. I think she did it because he looks like a pit bull. Stupid Lady.

Anyways after about a month and $50 worth of medication, all was well in the State of Denmark. 

At his check up, Dr. Garcia noticed that Junior had some bald patches on his backside. He prescribed some antibiotics that I had to pick up from Kroger.  Of course I asked the vet about picking up medicine for a dog from a regular pharmacy and he assured me that everything would be ok. Needless to say, when I went to the pharmacy, the technician looked at me like I just stepped off the moon. The pharmacist understood what the deal was, though. The prescription was free so I rapidly grew less concerned. 

The antibiotics were just in case Junior inherited the mange from Ruby. As it turns out, the dogs just had fleas. It took a few weeks, but we have it under control. Bear-Handbanana has a patch of flea bites on his back. he likes to get them brushed.

I started using Bio Shot on New Years day and it worked like gangbusters. I never did spray the yard, but I did the inside of the house and the dogs. Only thing is, you can't just put it on their back. You have to put dots of it all over their body, including feet and tail, then wait 12 hours and brush them twice a day for a week or so. The brushing helps distribute the medicine. It only lasts 3 weeks, though. 

Some time around the new year, Junior decided he loved the squeaky toy. He loves to lay down and and just squeak it out. He loves it. Its maddening. 

Bear is cone free and the hair is growing back in on his face. I'm so excited. My little fur monster is starting to look normal again. 

I am officially out of photos and videos from the past 4 months (oct-jan). 

Enjoy