Good News on the Howie Front

We take Howie in for his post op check on Thursday morning, but even before that, we have good news. He is obviously feeling better. He’s started asking to be petted again. We can take the Wonder Walker off at home and attach the leash to his collar without getting snapped at. He even had a (very) brief moment of wrestling with Larry on Monday when I came home from work.

There’s still an occasional grump, but it’s more like a snap out of habit than actually trying to snap at anyone. C had a difficult moment with his collar today and there was a whine, but no snapping.

We went to the dog park and he let a stranger actually scritch his ears without a reaction. We called it off after just a few seconds so as not to give him a chance to snap, but still, much, much improvement. He even got up on the bed to cuddle next to C for a little bit after dinner tonight. For the last few weeks, he has very much chosen not to cuddle.

So, we’re hoping that as he gets feeling back to 100%, the snapping will go completely away. (Of course, we then have to be willing to pet him long enough/rough enough to see if we can draw a snap.) In my mind, much more than any health issue he’s had, the recent snapping was the one thing that made him completely unadoptable. With his health improving (no urine crystals) and his attitude back to his normal sweet self, I’d actually like to give him a chance at his own forever home, perhaps one where there’s not a Larry dog to harass him. (None of this changes the fact that I will happily keep him as a foster forever if that’s how it works out.)