Rufus is a delightful little Schipperke. He has been living with us for more than ten
days now, and we are enjoying his company. He has been to our veterinarian for
a checkup and a blood draw. Due to periodontal disease, he has nasal-oral fistulas
where two canine teeth were pulled. He is scheduled for repair surgery at the
end of May. He is also scheduled to evaluate his arthritis. He was listed as
eight years old, but his age has been revised to between ten and twelve. Rufus
has cataracts, but seems to have adequate vision. He is profoundly deaf. He is
a smart little boy and is catching onto hand signals.
He loves human companionship and will follow you
wherever you go. He prefers to sit with David on the couch, but he knows Susan
brings the dinner and treats.
He does not bark, but he does groan or grumble when
you pick him up. You have to be careful lifting him because of his arthritis.
He cannot jump up on the couch, and he does limp just a bit. Rufus would be a
good candidate for a dog ramp to get up and down on a couch. He can get away
from you quickly, like any Schipperke, so don’t underestimate his ability to
escape.
Rufus is the most well housebroken foster we have had.
He has not made a single mistake since we picked him up. We give him his final outing every day around
10 PM, and take him out in the morning between 6:00 and 6:30, and there hasn’t
been a puddle yet.
Rufus’s coat was trimmed before he came to us, but his
guard hairs are growing out and he will have a Schipperke coat soon.
Today we introduced him to some of our pack, and he
got along great with our non-dominant dogs.
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