Wellness check

Much scare....

Maggie recently had her wellness checkup at a clinic in Burlingame (technically San Mateo). This was her first time at this clinic as we used to go to vets in San Francisco when we lived there. Choosing a veterinarian is just as difficult as finding a PP for yourself (or a pediatrician for your kid). The only information you have to go by are the vet's bio on their website and Yelp. All we can know are their educational background, training and history and you know how biased and unreasonable some of those Yelp reviews can be....

I wasn't 100% confident that I was choosing the right vet but I went with my gut feeling. I am noticing that Maggie is slowing down a bit lately and just wanted to see where she was at with her health. As far as I can see, she is eating/pooping well, sleeping a lot, and being indifferent towards life (unless she is on a hike or a walk).

This being Maggie's first time at this clinic, she didn't seem nervous or scared in the waiting room. Back in SF SPCA days, as soon as we would walk into the waiting room, she would start panting and shaking a bit. Of course, she hadn't realized this was another checkup so she sat patiently under the chair and waited for her turn. However, as soon as we were called into the examining room and was placed on the table, she began to show some signs of nervousness.

Our new veterinarian was a very nice lady and she examined Maggie's vitals and extremities (including her horrible teeth) and stated that she was in good health and her slowing down was typical of dogs her age. Only thing she recommended was that I continue brushing her teeth daily and to update her bordetella.

Since we were new patients we got 15% off of our first checkup and walked out of the clinic healthy and happy. I can talk about the cost of dog ownership in the Bay Area in another post. The annual wellness checkup is necessary and inevitable cost to ensure the health of my baby.

Crackdown on "Service Animals"

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/collared-new-laws-crack-down-fake-service-dogs-n871541

Finally, there is going to be some real enforcement on fake "service" animals.

I am strongly opposed to the idea of people falsely using their pet to go shopping at places like Safeway, Whole Foods, Walgreens, restaurants and other food establishments. Sure, our pets become close to us and vice versa, and for many, a kind of emotional support. It is very therapeutic to have our pets around us. But have they ever stopped to consider those who actually NEED these animals to live their day-to-day lives? Service dogs are trained to do specific tasks such as: switching on and off lights; opening doors; leading the blind through municipality; detect an oncoming attack; and many more that serves people with real disabilities or medical conditions. Bringing non-service dogs to these establishment not only undermines real service dogs' but put them in risk of agitating or disrupting them. There is probably a high probability of untrained (or poorly trained) dogs belonging to these individuals who fake service status.

If you are feeling empty or insecure and cannot go anywhere without your dog around, that may be something that need to be addressed with a therapist or within you. Non-service dogs should not be in places where they are not allowed.

"I am not a service dog; just a cute canine companion!"

Memorial Day weekend fun! But better yet.....

.....it's that time of year again!

Yes, folks, those of you who know it know it. The Shiba Party 2018 is creeping upon us!!

I am stoked to attend this year since I've missed all of the parties in the last 7 years, due to work and such. The first and only time I went was a bit of a bust....

The Shiba owners (like the dogs themselves) were not too friendly (or were very shy) that very little happened in terms of socializing and getting to know one other. I, in fact, was one of those people that kept to themselves. One of the reason was that Maggie was, and still is, leash-aggressive and any dog came up to her behind, she would snarl at. We kept a good distance away from all the others and never made it to the end of the party. I am excited to go back this year and see how much this event has grown over the years. The popularity of Shiba Inu has grown 10-fold thanks to the internet and all its doge memes. 

Circa 2013. At a dog-walking event in SF way back when. 

Maggie refused to make Shiba friends here.

This year I am committed to have fun and  to meet and get to know other Shiba Inu owners. Here's hoping that Maggie will at least tolerate all the other Shibas. 

Back to blogging about Maggie...

So it's been well over 5 years since I've posted anything on this blog. A lot has happened to Maggie and her guardian in the past five years  We've moved within San Francisco twice and now out of SF to Burlingame due to high cost of living and diminishing safety of urban living. Maggie is 5 years older now, meaning she will be turning 9 this October!! This is both exciting and scary as she enters her senior years and we will expect to see changes with her personality and behavior.

Anyway, I wanted to keep logging her life as kind of a scrapbook that I can go back to from time to time.  I will also be posting entries retroactively as I have missed logging many highlights from the past 5 years.

Maggie says: "It's about time."