Took Hobkin to the vet today for his annual shots and check-up. Debbie, Hobkin’s godmother, was there to assist and had her new baby skunk with her. Debbie’s baby–a mahogany with faint chip markings–was absolutely adorable. I’d forgotten how tiny baby skunklings are!
Hobkin grumbled and growled throughout the visit, and huffed at the new baby. He also clung to me like a fuzzy magnet. Poor little guy. Vets are pretty scary after all. But he took the needle like a trooper. ‘Course it didn’t hurt that I was bribing him with slices of bell pepper while he was getting stuck.
The vet scale says he weighs 7.5 lbs. Someone brought a full grown Maltese in while we were waiting who weighed 5 lbs. Hobkin weighs more than some dogs! Heh.
Picked up some C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Rinse. Both Debbie and the vet thought Hobkin’s teeth looked okay, but agreed that prevention was much better than fixing a problem later. As we have found, brushing Hobkin’s teeth is like trying to polish the blades of a kitchen disposal with a Q-tip–scary and awkward as all hell. We wanted an alternative to try. The rinse is sort of sprayed along the gum line and fights plaque and bacteria. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a yummy taste. It’s supposedly not vile either, but it’s not delicious candy, which means Hobkin will undoubtedly dislike it. Sigh. Wish we could explain to the little fuzzwit that dental care is a good thing.
Then we took him to the fireplace store to buy some wood stove pellets to replace the recycled newspaper litter we’ve been using. A 28 lb bag of wood pellets: $4. A 30 lb bag of Yesterday’s News approx.: $20. Pretty impressive savings!
The fireplace store people thought he was cute, although at first the lady behind the counter thought he was a dog.
Now he’s totally exhausted and napping under his hutch. It’s been a big day for the little guy. I’m totally exhausted too and thinking about having a nap. That hutch is looking pretty inviting.
my toy poodle only weighs 5 lbs. and I think the bunny is the same or half a lb. less. I can imagine Hobkin being bigger than the maltese. can’t believe that some dogs nowadays are smaller, even my cat is a lot bigger!!
I guess I still think of Hobkin as a “little” animal like I thought of the ferrets. And while he is small, there are lots smaller!
Hobkin’s size
Hobkin is a pretty good size at 7.5 pounds, my Luke is closer to 15 pounds, and he’s not fat. He’s not the most cooperative for dental stuff either. Luckily he’s 5 years old now, so he’s a lot calmer than he was at Hobkin’s age! It’s good that you’re doing preventative stuff for his teeth, I had one (Lilith) die from her teeth (infection set in) and I’ve had to have teeth pulled on Siobhana and Jezebel. Maggie cleans her teeth on people’s toes. Apparently human blood is good for their teeth, LOL
Re: Hobkin’s size
15 lbs? Goodness. Did we get a chance to meet Luke at that show in Florida? So many skunk noses all together. Sort of blurred in my memory.
“Luckily he’s 5 years old now, so he’s a lot calmer than he was at Hobkin’s age!“
Err, will Hobkin mellow out even more as he gets older? We’d heard that around the big one year birthday was when he’d start calming down. Hobkin’s birthday was in April but he still runs amuck pretty regularly. I mean he spends a lot of time pooped out in my lap too, but when he gets it into his little head to make some trouble, trouble is made.
I’m so worried about his teeth. When we tried the dental spray, he snapped at the nozzle, put a bit of a dent in it. It’s not going to last for very long at that rate.
We tried Greenies, but he’s stopped chewing on them. He’ll snarf up the “L’il Bits” sized ones, but I don’t think he’s chewing at all. Debbie suggested we but the bits into his food so some chewing happens then. We’re going to try that too. But Hobkin’s so strenuous in his protests about any teeth-cleaning activity. Argh.