Love at first sight it was. Picked up by my mother because of his cute innocent look when he was a little boy of about 3 months, laying down in the car park of a private hospital premises. It's all about "My Dog", my precious old dog who will turn 14 this year. He has been my cutest patient of all time
Image 1: the very first photo of Spot back in October 2008
Image 2: Christmas 2021
Image 3: how Spot plays hide and seek
Image 5: Spot and I for Christmas 2018
A half of my life in years has been spent with him. Now, you can guess my age 🤣. We grew up together. I was a teenager and my dog "Spot" was a young chap. He grew up faster, obviously. With time as a child I was silently observing his behaviour, his moods, preferences, how he fell ill and how he was treated. Later in the years I became a veterinarian and started treating my own patients. "Memories bring back memories," they say. A lot of times I have had my dog's psychological and pathological changes behind my mind to treat my patients. I will share some real cases below:
1. Teeth falling in puppies aged between 3 to 6 months
Quite a few first time dog owners bring in for this. I remember how Spot's primary teeth fell off. Like these dog owners, my family took Spot to the vet near by, back when he was a puppy and the vet said it was a normal process and that secondary teeth will soon erupt
2. Trying to chew on anything and everything that puppies come across
Spot as a pup never wanted to take his proper meals but was interested in slippers, toys, socks, phone charges, newly bought plants and all handy things. He would bring it in his mouth to our proximity and start chewing. Drawing our attention to him was all that he urged. To my clients I advice that it's a puppy thing that when teeth fall and erupt puppies want to chew on something and also at times it's psychological to ask for one's attention
3. Dog owners complaining about their dogs not eating rice
Rice is the staple food in Sri Lanka and in many households dogs also get rice. We mix cooked meat and/or vegetables with rice to feed our dogs. Spot during a certain period, when he was about 2 years ate less of rice and picked in the meat in it. Later I realised that he wanted more meat and less rice and it's the same with most other spoilt dogs
4. On and off vomiting and eating grass by dogs
Spot had the same issue and everytime this happened we used to take him to our vet. Later in the years I realised that it's the gastric ulcers that make him uncomfortable and that he needs chronic treatment and management. The same applies to other dogs.
*P.S. not all dogs with on and off vomiting and eating grass have gastric ulcers. Please have a veterinarian assess your pet
5. Unable to pill their dogs
Finally the most common complaint and I do getI have had many failed attempts with pilling my dog since he was a pup. With time I got caught up with the proper method by myself. I now educate my clients who have the same problem
Once Spot was down with severe gastric ulcers. I can't get over the late nights that I was comforting him and massaging his stomach until he fell asleep on my lap. All of these moments has made him my cutest patient ever. I have no words to express my attachment to Spot but very soon I know I have to let go
My years with him have been filled with genuine giggles and laughs. I never knew that a dog could be more or less similar to a human being until I owned my very first, "Spot" - a companion like no other, the best teacher and my cutest patient ever. From deep within I'm grateful to him for every moment that I got to spend with him
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