If you have been following along from the old blog…. (www.ihaveanotion.blogspot.com) then you know the last year has been a bit of a trial for us with dogs. We acquired Goldie after having to send Bandit back to the breeder. Goldie has the same dad as Bandit, but she has a different mom.

From the beginning Goldie had some difficulties…. those rabbits… and the treats they leave behind are just the best!!! The back story is… Goldie was tested for Giardia and treated, but the problems persisted through 3 treatments, 2 months or so. While she was gaining weight, she was still under weight for 5/6 month German Shepherd. So a specialist was recommended and off we went. After an office visit and leaving a sample… for testing… we waited. No wonder Goldie was having problems. She not only had Giardia, but she also tested positive for C-Diff and Cryptosporidium.

Some more medications and then another test! Giardia gone, but positive for both C-Diff and Crypto… more meds. Another test. Yay C-Diff gone, but the Crypto… is hanging in. Vet said it was a difficult bug to kill. So another round of medication. The last medication had to be administered every 8 hours with a meal! and another test. Still positive for Crypto.  So it was suggested that we continue the last medication for 4 or 5 months and retest. We have all been on the 8 hour schedule for 7 months with fingers crossed.  We took a sample in last week.

Goldie is almost a year old now. In just about 10 days she will celebrate her birthday. We will be celebrating lots more too. We got the call from the Vet this morning and she is CLEAR!!!

When we started down this road Goldie only weigh about 35 pounds. She now weighs a respectable 75 pounds although she is tall thin dog, but the next 6 months should show her putting on some muscle and filling out a bit.

We were outside one day last week and Goldie consented to a photo session. In the first picture you can see the juvenile in her still, but in the last 2 you can start to see the mature countenance she will have as an adult. We still have about 6 more months of a tween dog.

She is looking so good…. She was spayed a month ago… and on September 7 she will be a year old. I hope she will consider being a healthy dog…. for the rest of her life.

She looks so much like Bandit in this last picture!!!

So do you have any good news to share?