Member-only story
Dexter and Me
I write from time to time about our special needs dog: Dexter. We knew he had skin issues when we adopted him out of the Humane Society. Of course, we did not realize just how involved his care was going to be. Dexter has food allergies, and perhaps environmental allergies as well. And we needed to escalate his care to a Veterinarian Dermatologist. Yes, there is such a thing. (His doctor is awesome as well.)
This came as a surprise to me since the last dog I shared my life with was Blackie. And as I have written in the past, he was my childhood dog, before the age of Purina. So he ate meat, rice, and veggies every day for 17 years. And whatever we snuck him, from the mommy approved list. That miniature poodle died from real old age. And no, there were no specialists back then. You either got a good vet or a bad vet. Blackie had a good vet that my mother chose. She also took him to his appointments and made sure the dog was healthy. We mostly played with the dog. Later on, I took on some responsibilities, including giving the dog meds when he was sick. When he was elderly I tenderly took care of his accidents. One day my mom took him to the vet, and he did not come home. We knew why, and it was a mercy for the dog.
Dexter was extremely itchy and losing hair like crazy. We were seeing a regular general vet, and while she recommended some of the treatments that Dexter is on, not to the extent…