Esmeralda had a good vet appointment. We believe she is part Lab and part Golden Retriever, and she weighed in at 54 pounds. Her blood work showed that although she is not 100% in the normal range, all of her red blood cells counts and white blood cell counts, as well as her platelet counts, are moving in the right direction following her antibiotics. Her energy level has picked up considerably and she seems happier all around!
Esmeralda also had hip X-rays to determine why her back hips seem weak and sometimes painful. We decided to proceed with X-rays because Esmeralda seemed to tire easily on our walks. We were not sure if it was because her blood count was low, or if she had an issue with her hips. What convinced us to proceed with X-rays was that she had been limping more as we were finishing even short walks. One day, she laid down and needed to take a long break before being able to continue. She would try to run, but not be able to. The X-rays showed that her ball and socket were just fine in her hip. That wasn’t causing the weakness. The vet determined that it is either arthritis or muscle weakness from her ehrlichiosis (tick-born illness). There is not a guarantee that this will improve, although it might. The vet recommended canine pain medication when it seems to be particularly bothersome. After using this for a week, we really saw no improvement in her back hip weakness. Her inner joy wants so badly to run, but when she tries, her back legs just won’t let her. What a trouper, though! She is so happy and smiley even though she can’t run and her walks need to be kept short.
Esmeralda is also scheduled for several extractions of infected teeth in July. She already has a wonderful smile. This will only add to her comfort! When at the vet, she air-snapped at an approaching, overexcited dog to give it a warning. On occasion, Esmeralda will give a warning curled lip if a dog is overly assertive and comes too close too quickly. We believe this is an initial reaction if she is afraid. After this sometimes, initial reaction, we have seen her warm up to other dogs. In fact, there were 4 other family dogs at our cabin that she had never seen, and they got along beautifully all weekend. This seems to be an uncommon, but occasional, behavior if she feels threatened or afraid.
As I said, she is such a trouper! Even though she has had all of this going on in her life AND just come from Istanbul, Turkey, she has a personality that wants to please, is well-behaved, easy-going, agreeable, and LOVES affection. She has learned the Golden Lean and the Golden Nudge! Her big, brown eyes and gentle disposition makes anyone’s heart melt! She has no separation anxiety; however, she is very afraid of thunder and loud noises. She is very nervous during car rides. She is consoled somewhat when you hold her next to you in the car. She is fully potty trained, does not use a crate, and has free roam of the house. Although she has free roam of the house, she never leaves our kitchen/dining room. We are not sure why this is, but she stays in these areas of the house when inside. She has no problems going on the deck or being outside, but must feel more secure in a select few rooms. She sleeps well and eats well and has no counter-surfing issues.
Esmeralda would make a great family dog in a quieter household. She would not do well with small children and roughhousing, as she enjoys the rest and peace, typical with an older dog. She does very well with our mellow 12-year-old resident dog and takes her cues from her.
If a mellow, quiet, gentle sweetheart is what you are looking for, Esmeralda may be just the one!
