Buddy #34 Yellow Labrador Retriever Mix Male 2 Years Old ID #3197

June 22, 2023

Good morning everyone! It’s Buddy here. I have been doing so much better since my last update. The increased dosage of medicine really helped ease the pain.

However, I started having accidents in the house again. The pills make me very thirsty so I drink a lot of water and can’t hold it through the night. This only lasted for about 3 days because my pill dosages are now decreasing. I haven’t had an accident since then! My energy is coming back so it’s harder for my foster mom to keep me calm. She keeps me locked in the room all day with her while she works.

I have my check up in July to test for the worms!

June 13, 2023

Hello everyone! It’s Buddy here. The past two weeks I have been feeling a lot better. It’s been harder for my foster mom to keep me calm because I was off all my meds.She would walk me around the yard, give me a kong, lick pad, or a bone to keep me busy. I got my second and third heart work shot yesterday and today. After my shot on Monday, I was having a really hard time getting comfortable. I kept crying and wouldn’t lay down. I didn’t want to take my pills. I wouldn’t eat it with bread and peanut butter or even chicken. So, my foster mom forced me to take a pill and I eventually laid down. For the first 4 hours after getting home, I would sleep for 30 min and then wake up and whine for 30-45 minutes. When it reached around 10 pm I fell asleep until around 2 am. My foster mom gave me more medicine and I slept through the night until 5 am. 

The next morning, I slept again until it was time to go to the vet again. I was very reluctant to go inside. My foster mom tried to lure me in with chicken and even that didn’t work. They had to push me inside and then I had to stay in a room right inside the door because I wouldn’t go any further. After the treatment, we drove home.I wouldn’t eat anything to take the pills so I was in a bit of pain. When we got home, I finally got a bit of an appetite and ate my pills with some chicken. They increased my dose of pain meds so I hope tonight I will be more comfortable! The next couple days are going to be rough but we’ll get through it. 

May 28, 2023

It’s been a little over 2 weeks since my first heart worm shot. The first couple of days, I was sore and uncomfortable. However, in less than a week I was starting to feel like myself.

Even though I was feeling better my foster parents told me I can’t get my heart rate up and have to be lazy. That hasn’t been too hard for me during the day. I like to snuggle and sleep a lot.

I am a night owl so my foster parents were struggling to keep me calm at night. My appetite has increased and the pills are making me really thirsty. I couldn’t hold my pee as much so I’ve gone in the house a few times. However, since the pill dosages decreased I haven’t had an accident. Occasionally I’ll have a night where I’m in pain but otherwise I have been doing really well.

May 13, 2023

Hello everyone! This week, I got my first shot to treatment my heart worm.

The vet said I did really well. My foster parents picked me up and I was so happy to see them. I willingly got into the car to drive home. On the way, I was panting a bit and the meds were still kicking in because I was fighting not falling asleep. I was so happy when we got back home. However, once we got back my foster parents could tell I was hurting. My hind legs and hips are really sore. They gave me some medicine so that I could feel better and start to relax. I would try to go to the bathroom but it hurt me too much so I held it for a LONG time. Finally, I was feeling well enough to pee. I slept through the night and didn’t move from my spot. The medicine worked well.

On the second day, I still wasn’t feeling great. My foster parents can tell I’m still sore because I move very slow and won’t go to the bathroom as often. I slept most of the day. If I wasn’t sleeping, my foster mom was trying to get me to pee.

Today is the third day. I pooped and peed today already which is a win. My foster parents say I need to sleep all day today again. The past three days I also haven’t been eating my dog food. My foster parents have been feeding me people food in my bowl so that I have something in my stomach.

I hope I start to feel less sore in the next couple days. Not looking forward to when I have to get another 2 of these shots.

May 6, 2023

Hello everyone! I’m here with another update. I am comfortable living inside a house now. I sleep on my dog bed, on the couches, or beds. I am more playful with my toys as well. I found one ball that I really love. I played with it for hours.

I went down to the park this week when there was a lot of people. I wasn’t intimidated at all. Two little girls came to pet me and I sat for them. I was so gentle. I didn’t even put my paw on them like I usually do when I’m being pet.

I am pretty excited toward other dogs on walks. I don’t pull towards them but I like to bark and jump. My foster parents are working to help me improve on this. It’s also been getting hotter and with all my hair I don’t make it very far. I sit under a tree to get some shade.

I am still not trained to stay in the yard, so my foster mom has to take me out on a leash every time I want to go out. I have visited my Newfoundland friends a lot. I get along with them really well. I am very playful. I think when I’m done my treatment I will have more energy too.

I have my first round of shots for heart-worm next week. Wish me luck!

April 22, 2023

Hello everyone! It’s been another 2 weeks at my foster home. My schedule is pretty much the same as previous weeks. I go on walks, sleep while my foster parents are working, go on another walk, eat and sleep again.

My foster parents have learned that I am escape artist. I know how to open to front door to run away. I stay close to the house, but it worries them. Once they find me I come running to them right away. I lived my whole life roaming around the neighborhood or farms so this is what I’m used to. My foster parents put an apple tag on me so they can track where I go. They are teaching me how to stay in the yard but it’s hard because I’m used to roaming.

Another big update is I finally learned how to go up a flight of stairs. Before, I was using smaller stairs that had only 2 or 3 steps. When I got upstairs, I found some bunnies! I sat at the door and wait for them to come out but they never do.

Anyway, these past 2 weeks have been full of new adventures and getting over some of my fears. More to come!

April 9, 2023

I can’t believe it’s already been 3 weeks at my foster home. I’ve come a long way since my arrival. I used to be scared of the car and thresholds. Now I walk through doors like a champ and jump right into the car. I was struggling to eat my dog food and now I am on a good schedule of eating 2-3 times a day! My foster parents leave the food out so I can eat whenever I feel comfortable.

My foster parents say I’m still the most loveable dog they’ve ever met. I will cuddle with them in their bed and couch. I truly think I’m a lap dog even though I weigh 100 lbs.

I still  love every dog I have come across. My foster mom says I can’t play for another couple months but I am eager and willing to. I like to sniff and roam outside.  I like my daily walks and would love if my foster parents had a yard I could roam in.

I am 2 years old, so I am on the more mellow side. I get bursts of energy but tend to settle down quickly. I’m not sure if this is from the medicine I’m on or I’m just getting older. Probably a bit of both. However, I finished my doxy and now waiting a month to get my first injection.

Can’t wait for the adventures to come in the next couple weeks!

April 3, 2023

Another week has gone by in my foster home. There are not too many updates from this past week. I am comfortably going in and out of the building doors. I like when my foster parents put people food in my dog food, but if they don’t I will eat it eventually. As I get more comfortable with my foster parents, I don’t like when they leave the house. I will whine a little but after a while I calm down.

This weekend, I went on an hour and a half drive. I am still hesitant about getting into the car. On the way there, I was nervous and was panting. Once we got to our destination, I met two Newfoundland dogs. They are just as big as me! We all got along and even tried to play. But, my foster parents said I can’t get my heart rate up so we couldn’t. On our drive back home, I did a lot better in the car. I wasn’t as nervous or panting as much.

As for my heartworm, I am still taking the doxycycline pills. I think these are making me tired. Otherwise, I don’t really have any side effects from them. I do still have my cough, so hopefully after the first injection this will improve.

Overall, I am starting to really love living with my foster parents. More updates to come!

March 26, 2023

It’s been one week at my foster home. My personality is starting to come out a bit as I get settled in. I’m pretty goofy and like to play. I never really had toys before, but I am learning how to play with them. I really like my stuffed elephant. I throw him up in the air a lot. I also really like the bones that my foster mom gives me too. I am a SUPER cuddly dog. When the attention isn’t on me I put my paws up to my foster parents so they know to pet me. Everyone I have met on walks I have loved as well. I’ve met some older people and even some kids and I was fine with both!

When my foster parents are working during the day I’m either sleeping or people watching on the porch. I have a lot of fur so I like to sit outside a lot. However, I do not bark at people or dogs waking by.

I’m pretty settled in, but I still won’t eat my dry food. My foster parents have to put in some people food to entice me to eat it. Jokes on them though because I just eat around the kibble and find the people food. They have been putting less and less in thought so I might have to start actually eating the dog food.

My couch has been getting a bit worse as the week has gone on. It’s particularly bad when my heart rate gets up. My foster parents calm me down so that the worms do not spread. It’s hard to stay calm sometimes but once they start petting me I settle down.

March 22, 2023

Today was my third day at my foster home. I woke up around 6:00 AM again but after I go out to go pee, I fall asleep shortly after. I still have not had any accidents in the house. I would say I’m house broken even though I’ve only been in a house a few times before coming up here.

I had my first vet visit today. Given that my last car ride was long and I was brought somewhere I didn’t know, I was not happy to get back in the car. I was panting the whole time and shaking a little. Once we got to the vet, I happily got out of the car and went inside. There were a lot of dogs in the waiting area. I wanted to play with some but I didn’t pull really hard to get to them. After a while, I just turned to my foster mom for pets instead. It was finally my turn, but I didn’t wanna leave the waiting room. Thresholds are a fear of mine so I didn’t want to go through the hallway to get back to where the vet wanted to do the exam. So, we did the exam right in the waiting room. The vet was glad to hear I already started taking Doxycycline. She said I’ll be on that for a month, then a month break before getting my first injection for curing my heart worm. It sounds like a long journey but I’m up for the task!

After the vet, my foster parents worked the rest of the day so I took a long nap. After work, they took me on a walk around the neighborhood. Then, they left me alone again for about an hour. There wasn’t any damage done this time either.

When they got home we all ate dinner. I still didn’t eat my dry food without some chicken but maybe someday I will. The rest of the night I cuddled with my foster parents while they watched tv! Overall, it was a stressful day to start but ended well.

March 21, 2023

Today was my second day at my foster home. I woke up a little later which was around 6:00 AM. When my foster parents take me outside, I get out the front door fine, but once we get to the side doors of the building I get scared. They usually have to wait a couple minutes for me to build up the courage to run through. I get scared coming through them to go back inside too. My foster parents are still trying to get me to feel more comfortable with this and I think it’ll come with time. However, I have not had an accident in the house yet. I went on a short walk today. I really like to sniff my surroundings but I am pretty good on leash. I haven’t really eaten my dry dog food unless my foster parents put some real chicken in there. I think this is just nerves of being in a new place since it’s the same food I was eating down south.

My foster parents went on a walk without me to see how I would do inside the house alone. I didn’t whine or cry. When they came back about 30 minutes later, no damage was done.

I really like to cuddle with my foster parents whenever they are around. If they don’t give me pets I will put my paws on them so they know to give me some. I am a bit of a beggar but I just have never been taught house manners, so we’re working on that. I will start to play with my toys or chew on a bone but I’d much rather be pet.

Later on, my foster parents left me alone in the house again. For about an hour and 15 minutes. Again, there was no damage when they returned.

For the rest of the night we sat around and watched tv. They said I’m not allowed to exercise much since I heart worm. But overall it was a good day.

March 19, 2023

Hello everyone, it’s Buddy here! I am so excited to be a part of the Brookline family. I am from Tennessee and was brought up to Pennsylvania yesterday. I am a 2-year-old lab and Great Pyrenees mix.  I was diagnosed with heart worm so I was brought up to get treated. When I got out of the transportation van, I was really happy to see everyone. But, they had to put me into another van and I was hesitant to get in. However, once they got me in I did fine. Once we got to our final destination, I was curious about the condo. I sniffed all around each room and then once I was done I begged to be pet. To go outside to pee, there are a few steps and I was a little nervous to go up and down them. I am sure I will get used to them.

This morning, I woke up around 4 am. I wanted to go outside so my foster parents took me out. After I came back in, I just laid back down. Today, we went on a walk around the neighborhood. I saw squirrels, ground hounds, geese and I didn’t react. I was more worried about sniffing the ground. We passed a dog and I pulled a bit but my foster parents pulled me the other way. After our walk, I got my first bath. I didn’t want to get in at all, but once I did my foster parents were able to bathe me. After that, I settled down and took a nap. I am excited for the adventures to come. I’m a very lovable and happy dog. I never stop wagging my tail. My foster parents call me a gentle giant.