On November 22, 2017, Chitra and I adopted the sweetest little hound dog mix from the local Humane Society.  She is about a year and a half old and around 50 lbs, somewhat underweight but still looks very healthy. At the shelter she was quiet and subdued because she was one of the first of the rescues from Kentucky to get spayed.

We returned a day after first seeing her to see if she was less sedate from the operation and in the yard she snuggled up to me when I called her.

We filled out the forms, and went through the process and took the sweet little girl home. She would become the new member of our family.

The first few days she was very quiet as her incision healed and her pain medicines kept her somewhat groggy. She settled into her crate and basket to sleep often. When she enters her crate or basket she often ‘nests’ before actually laying down. It’s quite comical to watch as she fluffs and bunches up the blankets with her nose, mouth and paws. (See a video on Instagram, link below).

She gradually started to play with toys and we learned quickly how much she loves to be pet, loves people, dogs and children.

One disappointing thing that we did notice while looking at her teeth is that the vet did not remove a baby tooth, otherwise known as a deciduous tooth, while they did her spay. Sometimes a baby tooth will move out of the way instead of being pushed out when an adult tooth is erupting. These extra teeth can cause a lot of damage to a dog’s jaw, gums and overall dental health. The general rule of thumb is to remove these during the spaying procedure since the dog is already under and extractions are usually very quick and straightforward.

The baby tooth is behind the adult canine. It’s kind of gray in colour, smaller and pointy. You can see some of the food, debris and plaque that builds up in between the two teeth. Very unhealthy for both teeth and the gums.

I made an appointment with the vet that did her spay, through the Humane Society. Unfortunately he did not seem to think it was his responsibility since there were so many strays brought in from Kentucky that it was more like a “production line” because they had so many to fix. He then went on to tell me that vet’s generally aren’t concerned with retained teeth in bigger dogs. His suggestion to me, since he had no intention of taking any responsibility? Wiggle it! Yep, he told me to wiggle her tooth for about two weeks and then go back to see him! Wiggle a stray, rescued dog’s tooth – that’s shouldn’t traumatize her too much. I’ve got to tell you, I was livid! I was so shocked that I my only reply was a sacrastic “seriously?”. I left and decided that I wouldn’t let such a unprofessional vet touch my dog, even if he did the procedure for free!

Anyway, that will get taken care of by a different vet in the near future because the gums are swollen and we do not want her to lose both teeth!

With it being winter here now, we have had Chloe in jackets and sweaters, which she is trying really hard to tolerate but it must be strange to wear such things for the first time. She walks really well on leash, for a stray, and she greets people and dogs in a friendly way. She also could care less about squirrels!!

After merely a week, this wonderful dog already felt like she was part of the family. We have a lot to learn about each other and I’m sure there will be things to deal with, but so far, we are in love!

Chloe has her own Instagram account where you can follow her adventures from day one. Please check it out and keep track of her antics and explorations.