Gibson Black Labrador Mix Male 4 Years Old ID #2794

Gibson is a happy go lucky 4 yr old male labrador mix who came from Mississippi. The finder thinks he has lived as an indoor dog before.  He’s very labby looking but has more of the body of a basset hound, long and low. Through no fault of his own he is heartworm positive (although asymptomatic) and needs a savior to help him so he can live a full and long healthy life.  Please read his blog from the bottom up.

March 25, 2021

Gibson is enjoying long leisurely walks with each of us, filled with even more sniffs to abound. He is also growing very fond of his evening couch snuggles with his humans (and they share this sentiment!).

The recent warm weather has made Gibson’s hunter traits very noticeable. Although he did amusingly growl at some birds that would not stop chirping on one evening walk, usually he enjoys patiently waiting for the birds to come closer before lunging at them. We have also witnessed more digging activity from our favorite small boy. Previously we saw him do it in the pachysandra of the backyard before our month-long snow cover in February. Now he’s doing it at various spots during our walks, although we do have to watch carefully because he likes to surreptitiously take licks of the dirt.

March 15, 2021

Gibson goes to the vet on Wednesday the 17th for his final check-up to get the all clear on his heartworm! This is perfect timing – while he seemed content to occasionally venture outside in the cold to move his body and relieve himself, spring fever has descended on this sweet little black bean.

Last weekend our entire family got in the car, went to Braxton’s and gave Gibson a bath. His last bath was in December, so he is now so fresh and so clean! He turns into a jumping bean when out in the backyard sniffing around at all the haunts that were covered with snow for so long. Over the last week, if he does a shorter afternoon walk we’ve let him off leash in our backyard to reacquaint himself with his favorite distraction – the tennis ball. After spending so much time snoozing in the morning sunshine, he is eager to do something different in the afternoon.

We’ve hit a significant delay on the bathroom renovation at our house, so Gibson has also been able to enjoy a lot more quiet time at home than initially expected. His internal clock tells him when it’s time for his Whimzees at noon or when it’s time for dinner at 6, and he goes right to his crate after our final walk for the night to await his night-night cookie. We’ve also noticed that he fully knows and obeys the command “go to bed,” which is when he goes to his crate.

While his green nest is still his #11 resting place, Gibson also loves to snuggle up between my sister and me on the couch at night. He’s even been exploring some new positions to rest his body in during those snuggle sessions, like resting his neck in a vertical position along your arm. Otherwise, he returns to his tried-and-true position with his head propped up on someone’s leg or arm.

Gibson has been trying new foods recently, and several are a real hit. One is mango, which my sister and I enjoy for dessert often. The other is a breakfast sandwich from a local bagel bistro, and we documented his enjoyment of that (in case you’re wondering, it’s a huge biscuit with swiss cheese, egg, ham and peach chutney. If anyone lives close enough to Up-Ryes Bagels, I highly recommend it).

February 28, 2021

Gibson’s second and third heartworm injections are behind him! Please enjoy a really adorable picture of Gibson the night he got home from his second injection. Seven days of taking prednisone twice a day? Check. Worrying about possible indoor potty accidents? Check. Moments of insatiable hunger and whiny vocalizations? Check.

Amid all the chaos at our house (our bathroom renovation is now about a week behind due to an extensive pipe issue), Gibson is the snuggliest little patient. Literally. He definitely enjoys having his crate in the dining room. He goes there after breakfast, sometimes to eat his Whimzee at lunch time, or after he knows he’s been too loud barking at the mailman or workmen. Gibson is our fierce little guard dog/food fiend!

Mom has ensured his total comfort.  First, Mom came to the rescue by finding the perfect size little pillow for his crate, and now he cuddles right up to it (sometimes when he’s pouting, though, he’ll just stick his head out of the crate so it’s kind of propped up). Other times, Mom puts a little towel over Gibson and he settles right down (usually in his crate) for a nice snooze. It’s been an immensely helpful find given how much rest he needs.

Nevertheless, he does still occasionally have a burst of energy, like with the most recent snowfall we got. Or everyday when he gets his Whimzee and he’s very intent on finishing it. But for every frenzy, there’s another moment where he’s cozy and lying down someplace. Recently, his preferences have expanded to include nestling under the dining room table while my sister and I work during the day.

While Gibson is generally a pretty tidy dog, it has been a while since his last bath. We’re waiting to take him next weekend, once he’s switched to taking his prednisone every other day finally. He also finally got his nails trimmed a bit while at the vet.

February 7, 2021

Happy Super Bowl Sunday, everyone! Gibson is alternating between his cozy green nest and frolicking in the new snow. The past week has been a lot of ups and downs with the two snowstorms. Gibson loved bounding around it to stretch his legs, and it really was a stretch because the snow came up to the bottom of his belly so he had to propel himself using his hind legs like a bunny rabbit. On the other hand, the snow really started melting on one of the days he took prednisone, so he was very troubled by the sound of snow falling off the roof and barked a lot when it was time for bed.

There will be a renovation project in our house starting this week. We moved Gibson’s crate into the dining room, which is where we also work and study. His new spot is exceptionally cozy, and he has taken to it immediately. He can see my sister and I while we do our stuff, but he can retreat there when he wants a moment of privacy or change of “scenery”. We are anticipating an adjustment period to having people move throughout the house both for our sweet boy and us humans.

Gibson thrives on his routine, so we’re grateful these changes are beginning the week before his second and third melarsomine injections. He knows generally where his dental treats are kept, and since we usually give him one around noon, he now lets us know when it’s time to distribute the treat.

An amusing occasion this past week happened around bedtime. Gibson loves snuggles and scratches from our Dad and usually cherishes his evening couch time with his bro, Dad in the den. One night, rather than sitting and snuggling next to Dad, Gibson deliberately spent the evening in his crate. When Dad went upstairs for bed, we heard the soft clicking of claws on the floor in the kitchen, followed by silence. Anne was intrigued, and went to investigate after several minutes of continued silence. She found Gibson curled up in his spot on the couch as if he wanted to evade us and sleep on the couch rather than in his crate. We let him stay put for a while longer before following through with his routine crating for bedtime. Additionally, we’ve been playing music for him to help him fall asleep–and it seems to do a great job at calming him down! (Anne had the brilliant idea to use the same music we’d used when fostering a pair of 7wk-old puppies over the summer.) If you’re interested: go to pianist Peder B. Helland’s Spotify page and put his discography on loop.

Another fact about Gibbs: he does not like getting his ears cleaned out. It seems to really distress him! Anne and Libby have to wait until he’s nice and relaxed before betraying his trust and putting the drops in during a surprise attack. Gibbs has only just forgiven Anne for the last time she tricked him, which was about a week ago!

January 30, 2021

It’s been a while since Gibson’s last pupdate, but the little guy has been as busy as ever! On the 15th of January, he received his first melarsomine injection for heartworm. He was very lethargic when he returned home, spending pretty much the entire evening in his crate despite the occasional trip to gulp down water, and then go potty outside. At the same time, he developed a hot spot on his tail which has since cleared up, but he was not a fan of the neosporin and anti-itch cream we had to put on it. He did, however, look exceedingly adorable in the inflatable cone we got so he couldn’t get at his tail so easily.

We had two days when indoors accidents were an issue while adjusting to the prednisone, but since then he’s been very adept at informing us when a visit outdoors is needed. Earlier this week, we noticed Gibson was pacing and whining quite a bit throughout the house. He would climb to the bottom landing of the stairs to wait for humans, and get up on his hind legs to try, and sniff at food on the table. In other words, he couldn’t seem to settle down enough to actually rest like he’s supposed to be doing. We put a call into the vet, and learned quite a bit about anxiety caused by prednisone.

Gibson’s veterinarian was wonderful, though. She instructed us to have Gibson take the prednisone every other day (he was halfway through his week of once-a-day doses), and also told us about low-carb foods that we could give Gibson to satiate his feeding frenzy. Although Gibson is not eating his pumpkin every day, he seems happy gobbling up green beans and our sweet boy is now more like himself – snuggly, a fan of belly rubs (especially in the sunshine of the front hall), and even starting to get a bit mouthy again.

Other notable experiences recently have also included: trying a puppaccino from Starbucks, getting his ears cleaned (he felt quite betrayed), becoming a master of his food puzzle, enjoying a new friend dinosaur whom we’ve named Linus/Herman, being confused when Libby and I do yoga at home, and he loves his daddy scratches. We’re looking forward to him watching his second snow storm this weekend as well.

January 10, 2021

This is Gibson’s last week of moving freely throughout the house and our neighborhood before he gets his first HW injection on Friday, January 15. He’s been a little naughty and otherwise extremely nice and cuddly.

First thing on the naughty list were some unauthorized visits to the second floor where we sleep. Gibson has learned how to push doors open with his nose, and we think that he was lonely while everyone was upstairs getting ready for the day. Libby and Mom had a big surprise when they went into the hallway and found a cute little shadow outside of Libby’s bedroom door. Then later in the week, Gibson didn’t have his collar on and was caught just roaming around the master bedroom sniffing up a storm. Needless to say, we’ve reviewed some boundary training with him, and Gibson hasn’t had any upstairs adventures since. Second, the sweet boy has really been going at his tail. On Sunday we caught him licking it and spotted a red spot beneath his fur there. We contacted the vet immediately, since he didn’t have the spot on Wednesday when we took him for a pre-injection check up and there were no spots that raised concerns. The poor boy also now has an inflatable cone that he has to wear to keep him from really getting at his tail and paws. As comically sweet as he looks in it (and he is not entirely confident moving around normally when it’s on), we do feel hopeful that it will help him from licking things out of boredom, especially once Friday arrives and he receives his first injection.

Highlights of the week abound, though. Gibson still has great enthusiasm for the Lamb Chop toy that he received (and consequently de-squeaked) on Christmas. He enjoys taking her out to the carpet in the dining room to chew, while also occasionally returning to the kitchen to check on our food preparation or consumption. We’ve also had him spending more time in the backyard to accustom him further to the environment since that’s all he’ll see for quite some time. He’s done great off leash, although we do always have two people at both ends of the yard near the gates. We give Gibson his tennis ball and he goes wild running with it  and pouncing on it when it falls out of his mouth. He’s been extremely cuddly – either on the couch or if you’re sitting on the rug he’ll come over and rub against you until you pet him. Then he’ll curl up in your lap for some more snuggles until something else catches his attention, however they’re lovely moments while they last.

January 3, 2021

Gibson had his first Christmas as a Brookline pup and we think it was a great success. Our special thanks go to our foster box volunteers for generously sending us a stocking for Gibson as well as a few toys that we saved for him to open with our family under the tree. Sadly, one of those items, the Lamb Chop toy, succumbed to Gibson’s frantic delight within 20 minutes. Is that a record or what for disemboweling four out of the five squeakers inside a toy?

Additional thanks go to another volunteer for sending us a Snuffle Mat! One of our favorite parts of the day is seeing his sniffer working overtime to try and find the kibble treats hidden within. He’s also getting more comfortable chewing on the Kong toys we bought for him recently (it seems likely that he likes the Kongs more than the Nylabones because of the softer texture).

Gibson has also learned that if he sits on the couch with us he gets more attention. So while he will enjoy lounging in the sun by the front door in the mornings, he inevitably finds himself ready to be snuggled on the couch in the afternoon.

Our next vet appointment is on Wednesday, which Gibson will likely not enjoy. We anticipate he will need extra loving because while the car ride will be much shorter this time, it must take place, much to Gibson’s displeasure. After that appointment we will be much closer to having the final timeline set for Gibson‘s heart-worm treatment. We think it might be a good thing for him to have a cone in the beginning so he can’t lick and bite at his body while on bed rest in the beginning.

December 15, 2020

Well, poor Gibson is not going to appreciate the upcoming precipitation, although his views on snow are still yet unknown. He is a little better about going potty in the rain than he was before–meaning we don’t have to bribe him with a Hansel-and-Gretel kibble trail just to get him off the back stoop–but this is a Southern social butterfly through and through. He loves people, lying in the sun, warm nests, and food. He hates being cold and wet (which means we are dreading round two of bath time…).

We’ve been doing massive cleanup in preparation for the holidays, and the sweet boy has been brave enough to come close enough to watch Anne vacuum (he previously was not a fan of the loud machine). He’s also become more vocal and demonstrative when he wants to play. He’ll whine a bit, but rather than going toward the back door (or any door really) like he does when it’s time for a walk, he will sit or lay in a highly visible spot until you come over to see what’s wrong. At that point he rolls over asking for a belly rub which inevitably leads to a good game of tug-of-war. We’re very happy with his improvements! Still a little mouthy though, if we don’t already have his tug toy handy.

Recently, one morning the boy snuck past our attention (usually we hear him clearly with his collar jingling), managed to brace his front paws on the kitchen table, and just as I turned from the stove I saw him take a quick lick of Libby’s vanilla iced doughnut that was sitting on a plate at the table! It was hilarious, but then again our resident food fiend is constantly in search of his next bite. (see pictures!)

Lately any time he follows us (or goes by himself) into the mudroom where we keep his water and food bowls, he goes to the food bowl and tries to lick off the last bit of the previous meal, even though he already literally licked the bowl clean. We figured that dogs have little self-restraint when it comes to eating, but when Gibson has his meals he scarfs his it down really quickly. Is this a sign that we should spread out his total food intake throughout the day (as opposed to just morning breakfast and evening dinner)?

December 5, 2020

How such a tiny body can possess so much personality is beyond me. Gibson has the most expressive (and handsome, mind you) features I’ve ever seen on a dog. I’ve included some pictures as well, as proof of this fact. And he’s so vocal, too! He always makes sure we know that he needs to use the bathroom or he’s not getting enough attention or he’s devastatingly hungry. His puppy eyes are brutal to say no to.

Gibbs has mastered the “watch me” command that I give to him when we reach street intersections on our walks, so I can make sure it’s safe for us to cross since not all the streets in our neighborhood have stop signs. He seems to understand that depending on what time of day it is and who is with him will determine how long of a walk he will have. Prior to bedtime, we think Gibson has come to love our quiet evenings in the sunroom. My sister Anne and I do some work or watch TV (if you’re wondering, it’s been lots of Christmas movies and The Great British Bake-Off), and he curls up on his little bed with a harumph and changes positions to get comfortable often.

With all the rain we’ve gotten in the past couple of days, taking him outside has been tricky because he HATES being wet. My sister, Anne, had to leave a Hansel-and-Gretel-like trail of kibble pieces for him to coax him off the back door stoop and down the walkway so he could do his bedtime business.

He does NOT like the sound of the vacuum when I cleaned the rugs this weekend. However, it did not stop him from going back to watch the world outside of our front door, or from settling down occasionally on the floor when taking a break from sniffing for scents.

December 3, 2020

Gibson is very much like a person. One of the first things we noticed about him was that he’s very audibly expressive and has become increasingly more so as he’s settled into our home. He makes the cutest harrumph sound when he lies down and is settling into a comfortable position. He will whine when he wants attention (either in the form of scratches or a walk). Sometimes when he’s really hungry he’ll even bark, and he’s getting used to the idea that people outside of our family (i.e. the mailman) are allowed on the property.

My sister and I were worried about his mental stimulation after learning that he’s a little unfamiliar/uncertain on how to play with toys. Our fears have been alleviated since Thanksgiving though – now he occasionally acts very playful throughout the day doing zoomies around some rooms (he literally looks like he’s doing hurdles) and having short tug of war games with the rope toy that came in his care package!

The sweet boy is a food fiend! He eats all of his food, follows anyone he thinks has food to give him, or who he thinks opened a bag that sounded like his dog food bag.

He’s usually pretty responsive when you call his name to get his attention. However, when out on walks we’ve named his doppëlganger “Banjo” because he is so focused on following the smells he’s found that he barely lifts his nose off the ground and his tail is straight out behind him.

The only bad thing to report is the baby boy HATES car rides, but even more so, baths (maybe even just falling water – he didn’t appreciate walking in the rain on Monday).

November 27, 2020

Gibson came home with us almost a week ago, after a busy transport from Mississippi where he’d been picked up as a stray sometime in October. He’s HW positive, and we are going to see a vet tomorrow. They’ll hopefully enlighten us on why the poor boy is so itchy—like all over—but until we know the answer to that, we are content to give him lots of scratches and cuddles as distractions.Gibson is a very sweet boy who absolutely LOVES to be outside. He leaps and wiggles with his whole body when I walk toward the mudroom to get his leash.  This sweet boy is polite on walks although he still pulls heavily. He’s learning “Sit, Wait, and Watch Me.” He’s totally house trained and does his business like a perfect gentleman.