Wilbur's Story
When we got Wilbur he was full of worms, had ear infections, was small and skinny and missing hair. Apparently, he was bullied by one of his previous owners dogs. The worm treatment they may have given him didn’t work. And he had been on food that he couldn’t eat. It was a special hell for all of us when we first got him. He was sick and we had to figure out his allergies, and potty training was insane.
We had a big scare and ran to the emergency vet just a few days after getting him.
It’s been nearly a year.
Wilbur has allergies that we haven’t pinned down yet. Biggest reactions – soft poop, hair loss, paw chewing, hoarking throughout the day. So we feed him a grain free fish kibble and a turkey topper, some sardines here and there, very basic treats, and various veggies in different ways. His hair is still sparse in areas but it’s not bald patches and more like just thin hair. He keeps chewing on one foot – I think at this point it’s because it’s chewed up and maybe even a habit. We’re working on it. And he only hoarks when he’s been going crazy and then drinking a bunch of water.
He’s got some bumps that just appeared recently that could be bug bites or allergies or some skin illness.
When he gets zoomies, he flings his body around and runs into things and twists all around. He gets zoomies a lot. He also just tore up his ear while scratching it. His nose sometimes gets dry so we have to fight him to put on nose balm. He also chews on everything. Table, phone, his toys, his dog sister, any zippers, worms, soil, blankets, tags, sleeves, those toggles on office chairs that make them go up and down, socks, shirts, pants, carpet, towels, fingers… he also farts all the time. We also have to keep the house cool because he overheats sooo quick and so easily.
On the other hand, he’s a sweet boy. He learned to ring a bell to go out. He cuddles at night with us. He’s mostly quiet and loves to creep on our neighbors. He’ll sit by the fence and just stare at one of them when she gardens. The other neighbor has a kid that visits and they both run the fence length and the kid throws toys for him.(I don’t love it, but they’re both having fun so I just leave the dog out there until they get tired) the back of the yard lines up with an elementary school and he loves to run out to the kids. He runs back and forth with them and then will settle in the shade and watch them.
Wilbur is super cute and smart but very stubborn. Instead of letting you move him a bit he will pig out and start fighting you, pushing the opposite way. You want to pick him up? He gets piggy and tries to run. But he’s the only dog we have who learned to use a doorbell for potty.
He’s got so much energy he’s constantly getting into things he shouldn’t. Chews on eeeeverything. That table may have been there for months but NOW he noticed it and chews on the corner. But at bed time, he curls into me with his face and cuddles. Later he will get hot and crawl half out of the covers to sleep like a person. OR he swaps and has his butt out and face under.
I’m glad we have him.
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