(Wo)man's Best Friend

I adopted a dog the first week I moved to Tempe. Since I'm living alone I wanted a little companion who would be happy to see me when I got home, and go on hikes with me. So I adopted a 5 year old Maltese named Snickers.

I really wanted to change his name to George, however while I was trying to train him, I noticed he would only respond to Snickers. If I called him George, my training attempts would prove futile. So I started calling him Snicker doodle, Snicker-George, and now I just call him my "little dude."

I love this little dude. He follows me everywhere and he sleeps with his back against my back like a little human. The only issue I have with him is his severe separation anxiety when I leave the apartment. He barks non-stop until I return. I've tried everything, seriously. Positive reinforcement, giving him a treat before I leave, not making eye contact and sneaking out, spray bottle, this machine that emits a sound whenever he barks, and nothing has worked. I know I just need to spend more time with him and train him, but with school right now it's just not realistic.

Besides the amount of time that goes into adopting a rescue dog, I never realized how much money goes into them. All of my money has gone to this little dude. This past Friday I took him into the vet for a teeth cleaning, and I got a phone call saying he had a severe Otitis Interna due to yeast buildup. I've only had him for about 2.5 weeks, and I did notice him wiggling around on that side and stroking his head, but I just attributed that to his cuteness. I felt like an awful pet parent. How could I not know he had Otitis Interna (inner ear infection-BTW)? On top of that all, because of the infection he had developed a plug of black ear wax. My poor little dude! :( So now he is on an ear wash and antibiotic ointment regimen which he hates!

As if his ear infection wasn't bad enough, I have come to suspect that he has asthma and/or bronchitis. On occasion when we go for long walks he will heave. It's always a passing phenomena so I thought nothing of it. Today however, he has heaved 4 times in a row. I accustom this to a higher level of allergens in the air due to Saturday's sand storm (yes, I finally experienced an apocalyptic sand storm). So today I am taking him back to the vet. My poor little dude. :(