The Rocketman

Rocket is somewhat of an ironic name for our newest foster who is very mellow and whose favorite activities seem to be eating and snoozing. With his one erect ear and one fully folded ear he's quite the cute little comical figure.

He seems to be feeling a bit better and has become quite attached to Troy. In fact he scared me to death yesterday when he tried to go down the stairs to see Troy when he was in the rec room. He wobbled there midway down the steps, frustrated that I would dare interrupt his descent by carrying him back up to the main level of the house.

Since he's a bit overweight he's been getting small portions for meals and when the other dogs get treats he gets a piece of sweet potato instead of the the jerky that they are getting. After each meal he looks up at me like he's waiting for the next course. We're not being mean, it's just that with his knee surgery, and any arthritis he has from the luxating patella it's important not to make the joint carry any more weight than it has to. The 2-3# that he will lose will make a big difference in his healing time and his long term overall health. An overweight dog is at much higher risk for diabetes, pancreatitis, and other dangerous diseases.
Like all male dogs (and Tilly), Rocket likes to mark the shrubs of the back yard to stake his claim. For some reason he feels the need to lift his healthy back leg to do this marking, which makes it a tricky endeavor. He does this hilarious move: first, he tentatively takes his rear left leg off the ground, balancing on his front legs and rear right wrapped leg. The rear leg then kicks off and he tries to balance on his front two legs as he pees on the shrub. This doesn't work well though, so he ends up doing a modified canine cartwheel, complete with urine sprinkle, since he can't balance on his front legs very well. The worst part is one of the other dogs will often walk up and pee on his handiwork and then the poor guy has to start all over again. Thankfully Rocket keeps his marking to outside, unlike Tilly.
We will take him to the vet's on Monday for his leg wrap to be removed and for them to check the incision. He's leaving the wrap alone for the most part, but does lick the edge of the bandage every once in awhile so I am watching to make sure he doesn't develop a hot spot there.