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Savannah was another rehomed dog just like our Andy. I won’t say anything bad about “throwing away the dog” because the family that gave her up are really lovely people. It’s just that I have a hard time understanding how anyone can give up a dog that has been part of your life for 9 years and 10 months. Yet, I am grateful that they did so because otherwise we wouldn’t have her in our lives.
Savannah had terrible skin allergies. She scratched all the time, and I mean every few minutes! First thing I did was changed her diet and we saw immediate results, now she was scratchin 2 or 4 times an hour. (Yes, I did keep track 🙂
The spring infolded. Come to find out most of her allergies were environmental (tree, grass, and weed pollens, etc) and we live in the middle of a huge field! Within weeks she had completely scratched her skin raw. It was awful.
At the time the only medications available were steroids and I really wanted to avoid that. The good news, there was a new drug coming down the pike that was supposed to be incredible and steroid free. I held off as long as I could trying everything from additional diet changes, essential oils to help soothe the skin – anything I could think of. Just when I was ready to risk the steroids, Apoquel became available and we immediately put her on it.
Within 3 days of being on the Apoquel the itching and scratching began to subside. Within a week it was gone all together and her fur started to grow back. The most amazing change was in her personality!
Now at 10 years and 5 months, she became a puppy again. She started what we fondly referred to as The Savannah Hop. She was so playful and full of exhilaration that she literally would stand in one place and hop up and down for the sheer joy of it.
It’s not too surprising when you think about it. For the first time in her life she literally was comfortable in her own skin. Below is a picture of Andy and Savannah enjoying the outdoors!
