The morning started out with loading Qannik into the Jeep, which he was great with until he realized he was the ONLY one in the Jeep.  That means only one thing – The Vet!

Yes, it is time for Qannik’s rabies shot and annual exam so off we went.  When we got Qannik from the shelter last summer, he was malnourished, had deep cuts around his neck from where the rope he was tied out on had cut into his neck, little fur on his ears from the fly bites, feet damaged from whatever contraption they put him on (we are guessing some mesh wire cage, but that didn’t make sense along with the rope cuts on his neck), and all the usual worms, etc.  He also had a very vicious urinary tract infection that did not respond to normal antibiotics that was compounded by a phobia of not getting enough water (assumption that he was water deprived) that means he will bulk up on water – a combination that created lots of accidents.

Because of the UTI, he was at The Vets a lot his first couple of months here and had to have catheters a few times.  Needless to say, those are not fun.  We finally got all of that cured, but he decided he did not really like going to The Vet because of it.  The water phobia we still work with him on by reminding him that he has drank enough water (he looks up from the bowl and goes, oh yeah, I guess I have and will walk away from it).

So, as we pulled in today, he really didn’t want to go.  He went in, reluctantly, climbed on the scale and set perfectly (55.4 pounds), and walked to the door to leave.  Not yet buddy.

We went into the exam room and we let him explore.  Vet techs ooohed and aaaahed over him, but he still wasn’t sure.  Then the first treat.  Hmmmm, maybe this is not as bad as he remembered.  Draw some blood and he was great.  Rabies shot and he didn’t even notice.   Our great vet charmed him and started examining him.  He looked questioning, but she just checked him out carefully and firmly.  A couple of more treats.

Verdict?  The blood test results will come back later, but everything else is perfect.  Weight is perfect.  Good muscle tone and no excess fat (see, he is just fluffy).  Good joints, eyes, ears, heart, lungs, etc.  Only challenge is that his paws will always have scars that the fur will not cover, but the toes look like they have recovered fairly well.

As we started to leave, he decided he liked it at The Vets and wondered if more treats were in the offing.  The mooch had struck and got lots of attention.

On the way back home, I stopped to have the oil changed in the Jeep and that meant all of the mechanics talked about how beautiful he is.  He ate up the attention.

And now?  He is out in the yard with all of the others noisily telling them all about his great adventure and how great it is to go to The Vets.