Friday was a stressful day, although it applied mostly to me I think. Theo had an important appointment with the veterinarian to have his last two baby teeth removed. I’m aware that some people might look upon us as “bad dog owners” for not having all his teeth pulled at the age of 4 months, but I’m still trusting that nature has its ways and that animals would survive perfectly well without constant human interference. I’m not a very big fan of sedating animals without having a really good reason, so I decided to wait as long as possible to see if his last two teeth would fall out by themselves. We’ve kept a close eye on his teeth and bite to avoid doing any damage.

Theo was thoroughly checked by the vet, and there was nothing wrong with his teeth even though we hadn’t gone all hysterical over his two remaining baby teeth. He was also micro chipped, and everything else was all good. The vet had one remark, and that was concerning Theo’s tail. He took an x-ray and found that one of his vertebral discs had not developed normally. It was much smaller than the others, and kind of triangular shaped. This abnormality causes his tail to have a little bend about five centimeters from the base, preventing it to settle all the way over his back like it should. We were told it would be best to avoid breeding Theo, since he’s born with the “flaw” and this might be a genetic problem – there’s no way of knowing for certain. I don’t know what this condition is called, or if it even has a name, but as long as Theo’s not troubled by it I don’t really care.

June 27th, 2010 – shot with an iPhone 3GS

I was very uncomfortable leaving Theo at the vets, but when Øyvind was able to sit with him until he was fully sedated I felt a little better. I know from my experience having grown up with all kinds of smaller animals around me that they don’t always do well with anesthetics, and it’s heartbreaking to see them laying there all helpless while sedated. When they were safely back home Theo spent several hours in his carrier, snarling every time we came too close. I guess he felt extremely vulnerable. I told Øyvind to ask the vet if there was something in particular we had to pay attention to while he was coming to himself – I remember the vet instructing me to keep the cats warm at all times while coming out of the anasthetics, but he was told to just leave him alone until he was awake enough to come to us by himself. So he just lay in his carrier, moving around a little, trying to hold his head up. When he was a little more awake he tried to walk across the floor, looking like a drunkard, and he was clearly cold. I felt so sorry for him that I decided to keep him on my lap for a while, and after a good ten minutes he stopped shivering and fell back asleep in my arms. It took a few more hours more before he was fully back to being his old self again, but then he ate, drank and played with his toys as usual.

All-in-all everything went well, but I hope we don’t have to anesthetize him again anytime soon. His baby teeth are gone, he’s got a nice bite, he’s healthy, and his tail isn’t bothering him. Thank you so much to Strinda Smådyrklinikk, for making the experience as pleasant as possible. The next thing on our agenda is the NKK Dog Show next weekend, where we’ll be attending for the very first time. Please wish us luck!

June 21st, 2010 – shot with an iPhone 3GS

When words become obsolete..

May 17th is Constitution Day in Norway, a day when people in general dress up in their traditional outfits – or bunad – and participate in parades all over the country. I’m not big on the whole bunad ordeal, the parades, or anything associated with May 17th really. Feel free to call me unpatriotic, I don’t care. Ever since my mom borrowed a bunad for children when I was about six years old, I’ve hated the hideous thing – unless someone else is wearing it. I clearly remember crying my heart out because it made me look like a tiny old lady, or at least I thought so. Therefore, no bunad for me. Ever. No sirree. I’ve spent the day indoors, together with my two boys Øyvind and Theo, dressed in baggy sweatpants and a worn-out top – and I feel pretty content by doing so.

We tried taking some new pictures of Theo, but it turned out to be a difficult task with all the surrounding – and to him very exciting – noise. Poor Theo, he didn’t like all the flags that people insist on hanging everywhere, and I think he felt quite intimidated by their waving. This one photo turned out to be pretty nice, even though he’s unfortunately looking away from the camera. Since it’s shot outdoors it shows his true colors, and you can also see how his coat is developing. He has still got a long way to go until it’s fully developed, but he’s getting there!

I hope you’ve had a nice May 17th, no matter how you chose to spend it.

May 17th 2010 – 36 weeks, 2200 grams

Photo © Øyvind H. 2010

I have to admit I’m one of those people who think that a blog can actually have too many pictures, and I’m not pleased with the fact that mine is turning into one of those with pictures in all of the latest posts. I think the post itself should be interesting enough on its own, thus not needing to be accompanied by a picture – but you know, it all comes down to what you prefer yourself. I love blogs with lots of text, as long as it’s written in good language, and personally I tend to stay away from personal blogs containing more pictures than text.

April 18th 2010

When you have a little dog like us, there’s no escape from the occasional picture(s). Theo is changing a lot now, and we’ve got both friends and family who all like to keep track of his development. Unfortunately it’s not that easy to get a good shot of him, there’s always something wrong, and I refuse to publish photos where he’s looking like an anteater or one of those “wobble head dolls”. He’s actually a pretty gorgeous boy, and that’s the Theo I want to show to the world. Today Øyvind shot this picture of him, and it actually looks like he’s posing a little. The light and color in the photo was a bit off, so I decided to edit it a little in Adobe Photoshop CS4 to make it look like an old photograph instead.

He’s almost 8 months old, can you imagine? Time is flying.. Our little fuzzball has now been part of our family for almost six months, and I can’t even remember life before him, apart from desperately missing having an animal in my life. Sometimes he’s about to drive me crazy pawing at some imaginary toy that’s supposedly hidden under the cupboard – no, there’s nothing there – but most of the time he’s such an intelligent and wonderful little friend, and I love him very much.

Photo © Øyvind H. ’10 – edited by Shamini Thevarajah

April 9th, 2010 – shot with an iPhone 3GS

It’s not always easy to get a good shot of our little “fox”, but sometimes a picture turns out to be quite charming, just like this one. Here he’s in bed, actually underneath the covers, playing with one of his favorite toys – a tiny tennis ball. It’s one of those especially designed for small dogs preventing damage to their teeth, unlike regular tennis balls. It’s easy to be charmed to death by a loving little creature like this.