Pet Digest

Let's go back in time to when we first brought Tobias home. It was the middle of October, and we were having an unusually warm fall. I was desperate for a new baby and had been sending pictures of puppies to my husband on a regular basis. Finally, the day came. He looked at one of the pictures and said, "That one. Looks like a real dog. Call them." And just like that, the adventure began. Tobias was approximately five weeks old when we went to meet the litter. We knew we still had about three more weeks before we could bring him home, but we were excited to see him. We drove up to the house, and almost immediately, our hearts sank a little. The puppy advertised as potentially being around 40 pounds was definitely not going to be 40 pounds. Mom and Dad were huge, and the puppies we could see were already approaching 20 pounds. At this point, we were crushed. This wasn't the puppy we thought we were looking for. We started counting. One. Two. Three. Four... Where was th...

What Is Wrong With Tobias? — Meet Tobias After several months away, I’ve decided it’s finally time to start writing again. And this time, the series I’m starting hits particularly close to home. This is going to be the story of diagnosing my own boy, Tobias. The last few months have been rough for him. He has dealt with the loss of a beloved sibling, ear infections, allergic reactions, and hot spots. To say he has been struggling would be an understatement. Right now, he is spending a lot of his time living in a cone, and life is definitely not easy. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Tobias! Meet Tobias Tobias is an 8-year-old, 70-pound Lab/Shepherd cross. I’ve always suspected there may be some Mastiff and Boxer in his family tree based on his parents and his overall appearance, but there’s no confirmation of that. At eight years old, we aren’t quite into the senior years yet, but we’re getting closer. Over the past year, Tobias has lost approximately two po...