Lennon Update

For several weeks, Lennon has been having hair loss over his feet and abdomen, and despite numerous tests, the cause of this issue has remained a mystery. Luckily, we are fortunate to have an excellent veterinary dermatologist (one of only 200 in the country) here in Kansas City so I took the afternoon off work yesterday to take Lennon to see him.

Lennon really enjoyed his afternoon outing. He was quite the hit at the vet's office. He made friends with two couples in the waiting room and charmed them into rubbing his belly while he waited for his appointment. Both couples commented on how handsome he was and I described how emaciated he had been and showed them pictures of what he looked like when he came to us. When the vet tech came to the waiting room to weigh Lennon, all six of us cheered when we discovered that Lennon had officially DOUBLED his starting weight (weighing in at a whopping 63 pounds). With that, Lennon said goodbye to his new friends and headed back to see Dr. Senter.

Lennon really turned on the charm for Dr. Senter. He rolled over on his back to try to encourage a belly rub, and when that didn't work, he jumped up and sat on Dr. Senter's feet to get his attention. Lennon sat quietly while they did two skin scrapings and plucked hair out of his tail to send for fungal culture. His good behavior was rewarded with several lamb jerky treats.

All in all, it was a successful visit. Dr. Senter felt that allergies and years of poor care may be the culprits behind his hair loss. He expects Lennon's skin issues to improve with just a little TLC. The skin scrapings were negative for mange (good news!) and we are awaiting the fungal culture results. In the meantime, Lennon was started on another course of antibiotics to clear up a superficial bacterial infection.

After returning home from the vet appointment, I took Lennon outside so I could get a few updated pictures of him. He is getting progressively more difficult to photograph because he never stops moving! He is always climbing into my lap, investigating the backyard smells, or chasing after falling acorns. So out of almost 200 photos, I got about 10 pictures of him sitting relatively still.

With the good news from Dr. Senter and the updated photographs, Lennon can now be officially listed as "available" for adoption. Now we begin the process of finding the perfect home for sweet Lennon!!

*****

 

Life of Drool would like to thank our awesome friends Joel and Laureen for sending a hugely generous donation to go toward Lennon's care. We are so grateful to have such wonderful friends. We love you guys!!!

 

We would also like to thank Dr. David Senter and all of the wonderful people at Veterinary Allergy and Dermatology Clinic (www.vetallerderm.com)

Lennon is available for adoption through Missouri Pit Bull Rescue.
His page can be viewed at: http://www.mprgroup.net/dogs/lennon.html