Before moving into our new place I took Roland to the vet to ask some questions and get him checked out before we did the trail.  We arrived without any problems and waited just a few minutes.  Walking back to the exam room I really only had one question and it was about rattlesnakes.  This wasn’t our normal vet, it was one I trusted though.  I have brought most of my foster dogs through here so I was familiar and comfortable having Roland with them as well.

The Dr. greeted us and started to lower the exam table.  Before she could finish I told Roland, Up and he leaped onto the table.  She started her exam checking his body from head to toe and then his mouth.  She remarked that he was a touch over weight and could stand to lose a few pounds.  Knowing what his average weight should be I knew that already he was a touch heavier than he normally was.  I told her we were doing the Appalachian trail and I wanted to see if he was healthy enough to do it.  She said he looked in great shape and hes teeth were great too.  Turning towards me she asked how old he was and I told her his age, “He’s 12.”  she remarked in astonishment “He’s 12?, hes going to live forever.”  I looked at her and laughed telling her he was stubborn enough to do that just to spite me.  She then looked him over again, remarking about his lack of arthritis and he was in really great shape.  I told her we hiked regularly and he stays on a consistent diet of no people food and she couldn’t have been happier to hear that.

Getting down to business I asked her about rattlesnakes and she told me for him they were not life threatening.  He would be in a great deal of pain, most bits occur in the face.  So his face would swell and he would need plenty of water while he worked through it.  What? i was so amazed that’s awesome I thought.  I was so worried it would be as life threatening for him as it would be for me, but it wasn’t deadly for him.  We did our shots and he received a Lyme vaccine that he would need a booster for.  Another win,  I was worried about hat too.   She told me about some long term flea and tick preventatives that would last for months and just needed to be taken orally.  Today was awesome.  Roland is going to live probably into his 20s, there are long term flea and tick preventatives, and rattlesnakes aren’t too much of a threat.  How could this vet visit get any better.

We left, him happy from his treat, myself from all the good news.  As a second Treat I took him to the local dog park.  It is fenced with 5 acres of land just for him to run and play on.  There were quite a few dogs that he could play with and he did just that.