Major H the Plott Hound

Hi, Lauren, Thanks for checking in on Major. Probably the first thing of note is that I have changed his name. I kept calling him by every name except Major, so I decided that he just wasn't a "Major" to me. So, he is now Grendel. Why "Grendel"? I guess the best reason is that one of my favorite fictional characters has an "attack poodle" named Grendel, and the dog just has so much personality that the name stuck in my mind. He doesn't answer to "Grendel", but he didn't answer to "Major", either, so I'm not worried. I took him to see my vet the Monday after we adopted him, and she is of the opinion that he is closer to 5 years of age than 8. Dr. Olson also put him on prednisone and doxycycline to try to clear up his cough. We went in the following Monday for x-rays, to try to figure out what is going on with his lungs. Dr. Olson found that his heart is enlarged (probably because of the heartworms), and he has areas that she thinks are inflammation due to his body's reaction to the heartworms. She sent his x-rays off to have a second opinion given, and the lab supported Dr. Olson's opinion, and ranked Grendel's heartworm infestation at the 3B level. We are going to go ahead and treat the heartworms because he seems so healthy otherwise, the infestation is so severe, and Dr. Olson wants to try to get his heart down to a normal size. I will let you guys know how he does. I have every confidence in my vet, and look forward to loving on Grendel for many more years. Grendel has shown himself to be such a sweet boy. I posted a picture of him on Facebook, and had to explain that his tail was blurry because it was always wagging. His tail starts thumping when he hears our alarm go off in the morning, and is the last thing I hear at night. He has had no accidents since we have had him (although he did christen my vet's office - just had to leave his mark). We've had to leave him alone a few times, just for trips to the grocery store, and he has waited patiently for us to return. We had a crate for him, but he seemed so disinclined to go in it, and has been so well behaved, that we took the crate down, and have it stored in the garage. Grendel loves his backyard, and bounces around it like he has springs attached to his feet (maybe Tigger would have been a better name). He doesn't bark much, unless we don't seem to be paying attention to him when he is explaining why he needs a treat NOW! He is quite a chow hound, and taught me not to leave a dish close to the edge of the table after I left my granddaughter's pizza within reach when I had to go change a poopy diaper. LOL! I have a picture of the empty plate on the floor with Grendel lying by it looking all "Who? Me?". :) Grendel is so patient with my granddaughter. She loves him, and wants to pat him every chance she gets. He really doesn't like it when she comes for his muzzle, and pulls his head back, so I'm teaching Harper that she must pat him elsewhere. I think part of the attraction is that he is so soft - almost like a giant stuffed toy. The most damage Grendel has done is when Harper follows too closely behind him, and she gets whacked in the face with an enthusiastically wagging tail. That, too is something Harper is going to have to learn about. It's funny, but when we go for our morning walk, several people have moved off of the sidewalk because Grendel looks rather forbidding. When they actually interact with him, the story is quite different from what they anticipated, as he is happy to meet new people, and is very patient with being patted and having his ears scratched by strangers. Again, his tail is a dead giveaway as to his true nature. He does bark when someone comes to the door, and I'm very thankful for that. Grendel has helped me discourage some salesmen, and, as there have been some "opportunistic" break-ins in our neighborhood (knock on the door, if nobody answers, go around back and break in the back door), I'm happy to have Grendel announce his presence. Grendel is my sweet boy, now, and I'm so thankful to have him in my life. He is fitting in well, and I can't imagine not having Grendel to love. Thanks again for checking on us, and I will let you know how his heartworm treatment progresses. Also, I'll try to get some pictures of Grendel with my granddaughter. Kind Regards, Lynne