So its been awhile since I've posted...what can I say, life happens. And its been busy! To start, I got a puppy. He sure keeps me busy...but he's so darn cute. He's a cockapoo, black and white, and his name is Roscoe. In the month that I've had him, he's pretty much potty trained, has learned to sit, will sometimes (haha) follow the command "come"...that is if whatever he is doing isn't as interesting as what I have in store for him. He is living with my dear friend Beth, who I will be moving in with in about a month and a half. She just bought a house and has a dog as well. Her dog, Oliver, is less than impressed with Roscoe. I think it will get better, they are acting like siblings right now. Although Oliver is only 3, he definitely seems like the old man compared to Roscoe, who is crazy and energetic and not always the best mannered. He just wants to sniff and play and hasn't quite yet learned when to stop. But that will come with time.

The biggest bump in the road with Roscoe is that about a week after I got him, something became apparently wrong with his eye. The inner corner was inflamed or infected...Google soon showed me with about 99% certainty that he has "cherry eye", a common connective tissue problem in breeds such as bulldogs and cockers, among others. So I called around to vets, and was quoted as much as $700 or more for the basically mandatory surgery. I literally started perspiring on the spot. However, some work friends gave me some recommendations, and lucky for me, one vet is a bulldog breeder and expert on cherry eye. So I made an appointment for the next day, and planned to get some vaccinations while I was there. The vet was great, gave me some ointment for his eye, gave Roscoe a good assessment and said he was a good looking dog, and we planned to have the surgery done in about a month and a half (so we're looking at May 23rd or so) when I could also have him neutered and save a little money, since the anesthesia they would use for both procedures is really what costs money. So I'm looking at $400-500 for the total, and he does a less invasive laser type surgery. We still run the risk of Roscoe getting chronic dry eye later in his life, but this is a risk you have to take with this surgery. I can deal with daily eye drops.

Otherwise, he is healthy and I assume happy. I see him almost everyday and walk him or work on training. And I am super thankful for Beth. That is not an easy task to take on! I plan on getting him groomed in the next week, so I will post some updated pics, but until then, here are some that my dear friend Lisa took when she was visiting a few weeks ago...