Here We Go Again

As most of you can probably guess by now, John and I love taking Barksdale out to his favorite places in Savannah whenever we can.  We get a real kick out of seeing him work himself up in the back of our car when he realizes that we are heading to Skidaway Island or Ellis Square. His eyes get really big, he drools all over the back of the seat, and he even wedges his face through the car seats to show us just how happy he is.

There's that freckle tongue again!

However, there is one place that we've taken him repeatedly since moving to Savannah that never seems to elicit the same reaction from BD in the back of the car. 

I'm speaking, of course, of the vet. 

As I've mentioned before, we use Central Animal Hospital in the Starland District. And as much as John and I really like it there, we are no happier than BD about having to be there so often.  We've been a total of three times in the three months that we have been living here. 

You see, apparently living in Savannah if you are a dog is like living in the middle of a dandelion.

Achooooo!

Barksdale has had the hardest time with his allergies here. They seem to manifest themselves as skin ailments, and he is constantly itching. He has wrestled with a couple of "hot spots" (you can relive that whole episode here) and other red bumps that look terribly itchy. So after discovering a new bunch of red and bumpy skin this past weekend, John and I decided that another visit to the vet was in order.

Central Animal Hospital is a very cool vet. It features tons of local, handmade art on the walls and is a housed in a retro loft-style space. It's clearly run by young vets who care almost as much about design and style as they do the health of your pets. We've also been really pleased with the numerous vets that we've met there, although I will say that it would be nice to see the same vet a few times rather than having a different person help us each time we go.

Our past visit there was pretty standard: Barksdale was afraid of the scale; we met a great veterinarian; and we left with a ton of pills and a determination to kick these allergies in the butt.

Which brings me to Greenie's Pill Pockets. You can see that I have several bags of them: one for large pills and one for small pills. To say that life would be harder without this amazing invention would be a vast understatement.  Since Barksdale's battle with Ehrlichia last year, John and I wouldn't even attempt to give him a pill without these guys. They are basically a soft treat with a whole in the middle where you place a pill and then squeeze shut. Barksdale loves them and actually comes running over when we open the bag. He even takes one horse-sized pill daily without having a clue.

We are hopeful that this round of heavy meds will knock out his allergies for the rest of the summer until the environment calms down a bit and allergies aren't as prevalent. And perhaps as he adjusts to the region's climate his body will acclimate and he will overcome his skin problems. But alas, I know that this is probably just wishful thinking. For now, we'd just settle for not having to go back to the vet again for a couple of weeks!

Good boy...