July 8, 2014

White Dog did not rush toward the door; nor did any of the other members of the White Dog Army. They knew YoYoMa was going to see Dr. Julia for his annual fitness exam. "Good luck, brother," White Dog wished. "I hope it is not too awful."

White Dog, Puff and Taiko are particularly fearful of visiting our wise and gentle vet. Sachi at his only visit to introduce him when he arrived a couple of months ago, tried to nip her. Bella just melts becoming liquid in my arms so that it is difficult to move her to the exam table where she nervously pees and sighs.

Not so our YoYoMa. He has no concerns as he boldly marches right into the office and lies on the cool tile floor waiting for an exam room. On command he follows Steve to the floor scale and stands patiently as his weight is recorded. Then he returns back to lie at my side. Amusingly today all of the staff asked if Yo was our "new boy." "Nope, you just don't see him often, he is VERY healthy," was our reply. They laughed and made jokes about not being able to tell one of the WDA from another...Yo politely chuckled but clearly disagreed.

White Dog and I have been rather harping on our Big Boy that he is too passive and needs more exercise. He and Steve both miss the early morning freedom of going walking that is on temporary hold as Steve works on his MBA classes at that time now. Just to be safe, I asked Dr. Julia to run a full blood panel including a thyroid test to make sure that our boy wasn't big because of medical problems.

Steve, looking over Dr. Julia's shoulder, made a point of saying YoYoMa's current 38.5 lbs was LESS than the 41 he weighed last year. Both looked at me expecting an apology. "It IS progress," I admitted. Dr. Julia said, "He's still heavy!"

Other than needing a teeth cleaning (to be scheduled toward the end of the summer), Yet Another White Dog is the picture of health...no thyroid problems, all of the counts normal, good hearing, excellent reflexes. We reviewed Yo's diet with Dr. Julia. "Healthy diet, right amounts of food. Don't overfeed snacks. But it sounds like this boy needs to get out for more exercise," she summarized. "I do, too," Steve lamented.

Later, when I was making salads for lunch, Yo showed his commitment to fitness by choosing a healthy carrot. Sadly, he could not get any of the WDA to join him. He did however, manage to save a tiny bit of room in his daily calorie count to enjoy a duck jerky strip. "Moderation," my smart boy reminded White Dog. "It is all about moderation."