Friday

Your dog? No.

I take Henry in for his initial exam with the same veterinarian that the shelter took him to after taking him away from his previous owner. The first thing I noticed was that Henry loved the vet and I mean l-o-v-e-d the vet. The minute he realized where we were he began jumping around and pulling on his leash to the point of almost suffocating himself. (My initial hypothesis was that this particular vet was the first place that Henry was shown love and positive attention – later I would discover he just plain loves going to any vet).

The doctor seemed genuinely endeared by Henry and pointed out to me the spot on the initial evaluation where he had written “Nice Dog.” He told me that Henry’s skin condition was so bad when he first saw him that he couldn’t close the exam room doors because Henry smelled so bad.

In our two weeks with Henry we couldn’t help but notice that he was hyperactive. Every day I took Henry on longer and longer walks and the only result was that I was exhausted and Henry was recharged, rip roaring and ready to go. And so I was impatient to ask the doctor, “I hear that puppies usually calm down by two years old?” The doctor replied, “yeah, but with your dog you’ll be lucky if it’s three.”

Henry’s first valentines day came and we celebrated by getting him neutered. I dropped him off in the morning and was instructed to call when I got out of school to see if he is ready for pick up. After school, I did as I was instructed and the receptionist states, “Hmm, let me see…” (I can only assume that she placed the handset through the door into the room where the kennels are kept because I suddenly could hear Henry barking) “We’ve already had to sedate him again, oh yes, I’d say he is ready!”

So when I picked him up I couldn’t wait to ask hopefully, “is it true that sometimes dogs calm down after they are neutered?” The receptionist snorted and said: “Some dogs: yes. Your dog? No.”

Oh, Henry….

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