I took BHRR’s Albert to work with me Friday night and once again, I had to ‘lift’ him into the car as he was just ‘paralyzed’ with fear. He traveled really well and his weight was 43.9 KGs(96.58 pounds) and I would like to see him around 100 or so pounds. Yes, he is a small male yet nicely porportioned for his size. I still need to get a height on him yet I am thinking no more than 30″ maximum, most likely less. I was very impressed with how he was around all the new sights, smells and people and blood was drawn(I did not get a chance to do this at home earlier this week as I wanted) for a HWT and CBC. He received a full exam and his heart plus lungs sound great and honestly, he is in fantastic shape, considering his past life. He was not comfortable enough to want to pee at the Hospital though. Many dogs are that way. We brought out a rubber mat for him to stand on for the slippery floor is hard on his feet plus the longer he stands, the weaker his hind end becomes BUT it is so much better than when he first arrived. YAY! GO ALBERT! The Vet felt so sad over his history and that he had not even been given a name. He has his share of ‘battle’ wounds to his face and feet. Oddly, enough for a BYBER dog, his front dewclaws had been removed yet it was not a ‘pretty’ job with the scars they left behind. He had begun to shake his head a bit in the week hours of Friday AM and so the Vet looked closer at them and understandably they were filled deep down with black/brown gunk. When I bathed him last Sunday, with all that he had gone through to get to BHRR plus the nail trim I gave him; I only surfaced cleaned his ears. The ear cytology did not show any mites and when he is under for his neuter; scheduled for Tuesday January 16th; barring any abnormal bw results; we will clean his ears really well at that time. I have not been ‘forcing’ or ‘pushing’ Albert with handling and therefore had not as of yet, looked closely in his mouth yet tonight(and boy does he have bad breath the poor soul), I lifted up his lips slightly and his teeth are not so lovely; something we expected. He will need a dental at some point in his future. We will take a closer look at his teeth etc. while he is under for his neuter. What I also had not had the opportunity to look closer at was what I had thought was a skin tag and one other Vet thought the same and it turns out that upon much closer examination(as I have not really pushed his boundaries with too much touching/feeling this week in examination) is that Albert has two of his nipples really out of normal shape. Nothing the Vet was concerned about or felt needed to be removed. He won over a few hearts tonight at the Vet Hospital with his gorgeous ‘white’ face and demeanor. It was also noted how he would stay ‘around’ me and would come up to stand behind me if he was unsure. PROGRESS! We are bonding. Tonight when I got him home, he also was quite content to allow Sean to pet him until Sean’s arm was feeling tired and then he would look at Sean with a slight head turn but avoiding looking directly at him and this is Albert’s way to ask for some more petting! Which Sean obliged by changing arms! He is more flightly around Sean and is much more comfortable around me at this time yet I work with him daily and for long periods of time. The Vet also agreed with me that Albert is going to make a great companion to a home that has very few steps or lives in an apartment and is happy to take him for some strolls out and about and just to enjoy Albert’s company for Albert makes a wonderful creature to be around. I am very confident at this time that Albert will make a really good recovery emotionally in time, lots and lots of time and patience plus consistency. I could see in his eyes that he was nervous about leaving here and he got into the car much better on his own when we were leaving the Hospital(with some tush boosting as his hind end is weak) and was almost ‘relaxed’ coming home and when we got home, he was ‘happy’ in only a way that Albert can express himself right now yet it was in his eyes. He was not so ’emotionally’ detached and shut down as he was at the Hospital. It almost broke my heart to put him into one of the large runs for he did not wish to go. YET, I came back and came back again and then we came back home and that was a very positive thing for Albert. As I told Sean tonight, it matters not to me if a right matched home does not come along for Albert for he has a deep piece of me and he can snooze in the sun along with our almost 11 year old Kona throughout the rest of his days if that is how things work out to be and he can enjoy the country life as he does like to explore when we go for our short walks. BHRR is not about bringing in dogs and pumping them out to homes as fast as we can. It is about doing right by each and every dog that comes into our program(s) and knowing that if they do not ever have a right matched home come along; that we are content and thrilled to have them stay with us or in a perma-foster home living a great life. Though, we have to be honest that it is hard to see some dogs like BHRR’s Dana plus BHRR’s Shiva still here due to them being ‘black’ for they truly do not ‘need’ us anymore and while we are thrilled to continue to have them here with us; it would be lovely to see them being Queens in a right matched adoptive home. BHRR’s Albert is now snoozing in his crate and we send out a plea once again that if anyone has any gently used duvets/comforters they would not mind donating to BHRR’s Albert, we would be grateful. It is going to take some time to get him to feel ok on a Costco dog bed and as for a Kuranda bed, we are not even going down that road right now with how it makes him shy. I cannot wait for people to meet him at our upcoming BHRR’s Open House and in less than a week, I cannot believe the physical plus mental improvement Albert has done, so much more than I could have hoped for! I am sure many are going to feel the way I do when you meet him, just want to pull him close and just hug him tightly. AND Shawna, you could not have picked a better name for ‘Albert’ suits him beautifully! On a side note, if I did not mention it in another blog, he met the two bluez boyz CH’s last night and things went well. Nothing I was going to force and Albert was very aware they were not altered and they were aware that something was ‘different’ with him yet all lied down and napped quietly. During the height of an excitement filled day, I  would not allow such interactions between them all yet at night when things are settled, all is peaceful. Once Albert is neutered, I am sure things will be great. I also know that BHRR’s Potter is quite enjoying that ‘he’ is no longer the ojbect of Alberts affection…it is BHRR’s Porridge and as short at Albert is and as tall as Porridge is(almost 40″ at the whithers); Albert tries to make it all work. Porridge is none too happy that ‘he’ is the new target of love in Albert’s life but Potter is much happier now! Albert does not attempt to hump all the dogs all the time anymore and he is also interested off and on on spayed BHRR’s Mindy too right now. We continue to work on that de-programming.