Leon is BALD

 I picked Leon up today and as I feared, they had to shave him due to the number of mats he had.  I have to admit it, I love fluffy dogs when they have an unruly mop of hair flying all over the place.     Joe really prefers it like that too and commented that Leon lost his "character."  Not possible I insisted!!! :)   I don't like matted fur, of course, but I do like a fluffy dog that has serious fluff.   Leon looks so .... dignified  (horrors!) ha without those messy bangs hanging in his eyes.    I'm happy to say he's still his silly puppyish acting self.  He was sooo happy to see me when I picked him up.   Doesn't that always do your heart good?   Just after a short time these little guys are happy to see us??   I had a hard time getting him in the car, though.   Who could blame him?   The last time he took a car trip he ended up getting his hair shaved and his privates snipped!

He's doing really well, though.    It's amazing how quickly these young dogs recover from their surgeries - especially males.   I hate having to see an older female after she's been spayed and had some teeth pulled.   They're fine within a relatively short time, but boy are they hurting those first days.    :-(    Not Leon - he's raring to go.   You would never, ever know that he had surgery today.  We're trying to keep him calm tonight, but he's wanting to play with every toy he spots and hump every female that crosses his path. ;)   He was super hungry too - you'd thought the dog hadn't eaten in days.   He probably hadn't eaten in 24 hours due to having to fast for his surgery and then having to completely come out of anesthesia so I'm sure he was hungry.   But he put on quite a show to let us know how he needed food and NOW.    Oh yeah, he obviously had to go to the bathroom on our car ride from House Springs to south city and when I stopped at Joe's Dad's house to pick him up, I let Leon out of the car where he did his business.   I have known plenty of dogs to poop, pee and puke in a car.   Pretty amazing that he held it for so long - and he had to poop and pee!  YAY Amazing Leon.

Leon got a clean bill of health and at the bottom of his chart it says, "A healthy wonderful boy!"  I feel so proud - like I'm the one that made him healthy and/or wonderful.  :)   Just think, I picked him up on February 12th and if he wasn't chosen by February 14th, he wouldn't have made it out.    Once again, I'm amazed that such a stunning and fun dog ended up as an unwanted stray in our city.   How does that happen over and over again?   He's sweet, he's affectionate, he's funny, he's playful, he's housebroken and I have to admit he's a beautiful dog.   His coat feels like crushed velvet right now.   He's amazing.    I can't understand how someone didn't look high and low until they found him.   He was obviously someone's dog at one time.  He probably just got bigger than they expected and a little  more active than they hoped.   He definitely needs someone on water bottle patrol to help remind him of manners, but he's a priceless boy that I'm happy to say I know will find a wonderful home.