23 May Happy Tail for Levi (Kota)
I adopted “Kota” who now goes by “Levi”. Levi is quite the handful and his personality is really starting to show through. It took him quite some time to adjust though and we’ve had some hurdles along the way.
When we adopted Levi, he was aged around 5. The veterinarians have all aged him closer to 2 or 3 years old. When Levi first came to us he didn’t know how to play with other dogs. We noticed that he would act up or become aggressive whenever the other dogs tried to play. I finally took him into a chiropractor who said he had a lot of pain in his neck. A few adjustments and regular massage at home made a huge difference! He actually played with a toy. This summer I had xrays taken where we found some bone spurs in his neck that further showed he probably was injured at some point in his life. Because of all of this, we can’t use a regular collar with Levi and instead use a Gentle Leader. With a bit of regular maintenance he feels so much better!
Levi also has severe allergies to the environment. He’s allergic to things like dust, pollen, molds, and grass. He’s not a huge fan of allergy shots but they are making a difference. He also takes medications to keep his allergies quiet. The veterinary dermatologists at McKeever Dermatology take great care of him and are helping him be a dog. If his allergies are out of control he gets grumpy and cranky. We had to test him twice to pick up all of his allergies but we’re working to make him feel better. Between getting his allergies under control and making his neck & back feel better we have a whole new dog. It’s definately a good thing his new owner is a vet student who can keep him healthy! Maybe that’s why he was so hard to place, he new what kind of owner he needed.
It took almost a year to get to this point but he now plays with other dogs. He wants to make doggie friends and is social. It is so much fun to watch him play and interact with other dogs. He has so much attitude and personality it’s funny. It’s been an interesting year watching him transform into the dog he is today. All he wants is to be loved and prefers to curl up on the couch between us to get his tummy rubbed.
I attached some photos, the one on the left is what happens when you are a dog of a vet student. We need to practice and our dogs get to be the “test dummies”. As you can see, he didn’t mind one bit.
~Jodie