Sunday, March 14, 2010

Why I Love My Feasts

I swear that this photo wasn't inspired by some serious snoozely brotherly snugging. That being said, shortly after this picture was taken I insisted that I be taken to the Place of Tile and Steel for a cootie vaccine and general dork prevention. I think mom understood my dire state, and Big Pupi and I were whisked away to the Place of Tile and Steel for a check-up.

She called it our "annual" and if I had known that a cootie test involved needles, ear checks and vet techs taking my blood without my permission - I would have never made the request. What a mistake! Big Pupi suffers from some serious White Coat Syndrome and is immediately turned into a pile of shivering mush the second our doctor walks into the exam room... and for no good reason, because our doctor is especially nice and generous with the skritches and sweet talk. I think she is totally awesome and I do my best grunty bummy hops when she scratches between my hip bones. The Place of Tile and Steel isn't all bad!

Doctor lady had lots of nice things to say about us. Our weight is ideal (I'm pretty sure this means that I am a beast of massive proportions), our ears are clean and our teeth are perfectly pearly white. We were also deemed Extreme Athletes because we have a heart rate of 60 beats per minute, when a normal heart for a dog our size beats 100-140 times per minute. This is really big news for Big Pupi. When he was adopted he had to be treated for full-fledged heartworm, which can often leave scars on the heart tissue and surrounding arteries. This damage can make the heart less efficient. It's nice to know that Big Pupi's ticker is at its absolute best. I think we owe this to all of the fast hunts that I drag my humans on. They can thank me later.

Because of Big Pupi's age and his history of iffy kidney values, he had to have extra blood stolen for a senior blood panel. It came back perfect! Every single organ value was right on target, and his creatinine levels have kept a steady, low, healthy number. This is huge news, because when my folks first took BP home his post-shelter blood work showed that he was at risk for kidney failure. His doctor recommended that he be checked every 6 months for his kidney values (creatinine and BUN), and the result of each test got worse and worse as time went on. Eight weeks after introducing the raw diet, mom had his values checked again and to her surprise they had dropped well within the healthy range and haven't budged since. This latest blood test confirmed that his kidneys remain in perfect working order and are no longer cause for any concern whatsoever. What a relief!

And to top it all off, our titer tests came back positive for immunity AGAIN, which means that we get to skip our DHPP vaccine for the third year in a row!! Makes you wonder why we are injected every single year with these vaccines, right?! That would be like your humans needing their tetanus, polio, diptheria, rotovirus, and meningitis vaccines every single year for their entire lives. It's a little much, especially when you know that over-vaccination in pets has been linked to malignant cancers. And I'll take any excuse to avoid a needle.

We've been elated after this vet visit. They haven't always been this good in the past. And it was our start on the raw diet that marked this sudden change in veterinary events. Thanks delicious feasts! All the more reason for me to eat more raw meatables. Right? RIGHT? I'll let you know how dinner works our for me tonight.

Happy feasting my friends. Your healthy manly bud,
Stanislaw

9 comments:

Dexter said...

Hey! Congrats on the great checkup. Especially the ears! I know how guys like you can have ear problems. That raw diet really did the trick, huh.

Slobbers,
Mango

Niamh said...

You are the poster boys for the raw diet! We are so glad that you had excellent checkups and that your vet had great things to say about you. Especially good news about BP's heart and kidneys.

We love our vets - we get lots of bits of cheese if they have to do anything invasive to us. Let us know what delish feast you ate.

Your friends,
Niamh & Ambrose

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

What great news woo two got!

I would make sure to khonstantly remind your humans woo need extra raw nom noms bekhause woo are soooo inkhredibly handsome!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra & Khousin Merdie

Molly the Airedale said...

What great news you both got from your vet! I go on Wednesday to have blood stolen from me, Big Pupi. He'll be checking my creatinine and BUN levels too! Mom cooks special stuff for me now! Having compromised kidneys isn't all that bad when you get good stuff to eat!

Love ya lots
Maggie and Mitch

Joe Stains said...

I am still rawing right along with you guys! its SO GOOD. I am slowly gaining weight and Mom is slowly figuring out what all a sensitive guy like me can eat.

GREAT results for you guys for sure!

The Animal Doctor said...

Hurray for the good news!!!

Nelly said...

Great news! Raw's the best! I've been on raw since I was 12 weeks old. It's soooo tasty!
Nibbles
Nelly xx

Agatha and Archie said...

Terrific news!!! We are ahhh starting to shiver a little ( we get that too Pupi..) cause we have to go for our annual as well!!! love A+A

Mack said...

What great news! Sounds like that feasting has really paid off. Now if only my mom would get the hint.
Paris says hi.