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Astrid is roughly one and a half years old. She is a mixed breed, consisting of what we guess to be shepherd/lab/you-name-it. My sister and I acquired her as a rescue when she was at around five months of age, after she appeared in our uncle’s yard one day in July 2013 and jumped -- literally jumped -- into his arms. No one ever came forward to claim her, and she had no microchip, nor had she been spayed. So we took her in.
Overall, Astrid came to us relatively healthy, although she was slightly undernourished and had fleas and tapeworm. We also noticed that she walked with a slightly abnormal gait, her right hind leg twisting slightly when she ambulated as well as when she sat down. Immediately after bringing Astrid home we began treating her for fleas, and not long after that she went in for her first vet visit, where she received her first vaccines and was de-wormed. She weighed in at thirty pounds.
A few weeks later Astrid was spayed, and while under anesthesia the veterinarian took the opportunity to x-ray Astrid’s leg. It was revealed that in her right hind leg she is actually missing the femoral head, which is the uppermost portion of the thigh bone, the part that fits into the socket. The femoral head is what is surgically removed to relieve pain in animals with arthritis, so a missing femoral head is a strange thing to see in a puppy, yet it could have been caused by an injury at a very young age. The good news is that her missing femoral head means Astrid will never have arthritis in her right hip! More or less fully grown now, Astrid does still have a slightly altered gait, and the leg still has that abnormal twist when she walks and sits. It does not seem to cause her any pain, though, nor does it hinder her ability to jump really, really high.
Fast forward to now, and one-and-a-half-year-old Astrid is doing great. She now weighs in at almost fifty-five pounds. She is very tall, and we like to tell her that she has stilts for legs.
Astrid is happy and active -- very happy and very active. She likes to run, and she likes to jump, and she likes to put anything and everything in her mouth. On most days she seems to have more energy than the Energizer Bunny. But, for the most part, she is a good girl. Sure, she has her moments of something along the lines of mania. And yes, there are times when I don’t know whether to pull my hair out or go sit in the corner and laugh like a lunatic. But really, though, Astrid is a good girl, and each day that she gets farther away from puppyhood the more her behaviors improve. Also, she is an expert at using her puppy dog eyes to her advantage.
Astrid is a smart girl, if I do say so myself, and she is doing well with her training. She is a quick learner and usually learns tricks in a matter of minutes. I know, I sound like a proud mother, but that’s because I am…usually. Yet there is the matter that, although my sister and I are working on her socialization, Astrid has displayed timidity toward strangers as well as a fear of other dogs ever since the time we acquired her. And when I say a fear of other dogs I mean a fear of other dogs -- as in, when a dog with a mean bark approaches, apparently the only viable option is to run away really, really fast. We don’t know if she had a bad experience with another dog prior to us acquiring her, but, regardless, we are working on this. On another note, although her size and activity level warrant supervision during playtime, Astrid seems to like cats. Which is great, since there are a total of six cats that she frequently interacts with.
So, now you’ve met Astrid. The bottom line is that adorable Astrid is a real hoot, and she is sweet and for the most part she is a good girl. She is a source of great entertainment in my life, and I'm sure I will be sharing many stories starring Astrid on this here blog.
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