🐾 Meet Beethoven!

Age: 10 years old(est.)

Breed: Pomeranian, pekingese, shih-tzu & long-haired chihuahua mix (est.)

Weight: 12.6 (est.)

Adoption Fee: $500

Adoption Application: https://forms.gle/s8cKEfL8eSBE2bUv8

Beethoven (lil Beet) is a sweet, adventurous soul who is ready to find his true forever home. After coming to us as an owner surrender from an animal shelter in southern Virginia, Beethoven has blossomed. He went from being wary of people to being affection-seeking, curious, and sweet. He does incredibly well off leash in my yard + on leash walking in bustling shopping centers. He is potty trained to go outside—he seems to do the best with potty breaks at least every 4 hours during the day, and will hold for 8 hours at night. He happily sleeps under my desk while I work during the day. This little guy enjoys car rides and outdoor adventures, but he is also a couch potato. When I first brought him home, he was fearful of people—however, he’s since done a complete 180 and is a confident little man who adores his person. He does great with strangers and other dogs during our walk (minds his own business). Amusingly, he enjoys trying to jump into other people’s cars—you’ll have to prevent him from having a criminal record for stealing cars!

Lil Beet’s Likes:
• Car rides
• Walks + sniffs
• Treats
• Fluffy blankets
• Small dog friends
• Being around his person
• Classical, Jazz, and Justin Bieber music

Lil Beet’s Dislikes:
• Being carried (He’s been tolerating it more. Interestingly, he seems to like being carried in a bag)

Ideal Home:
Beethoven is the sweetest little dog. He is looking for a patient, loving home who will take him on car rides and outdoor adventures. He warms up quite quickly with people who are gentle to him. I believe he would do best in a household with another small dog, someone who works at home, or someone who can take him to work. Strong preference for someone who has a small dog at home and has taken care of a senior dog.

Health:
Lil Beet was examined by the shelter vet and our primary vet. Our vet stated he’s looking good for his age and that his blood work looks fine. He is fully vetted: bloodwork, vaccines, heartworm test, microchipped, neutered, dental, and non-cancerous ear bump removed. He had his 1st lepto booster shot, and he’ll be getting his 2nd one shortly.

The shelter vet noted he has cataracts and likely collapsing trachea (both common with older dogs). He occasionally coughs for a short period of time, especially when he gets excited and when he’s walking on his leash, but it doesn’t seem to affect his day-to-day. He sees just fine with his cataracts, but in dark situations he sometimes misses a step or seems hesitant—this also hasn’t been affecting his day to day.

The shelter vet noted “mild left front leg lameness”. I have noticed his legs sometimes shake ever so slightly for a couple seconds when he stands, but it doesn’t seem specific to his front leg—not sure if the vet and I are seeing the same thing. I see something that seems more like arthritis/muscle weakness. I’ve been giving him daily joint + muscle supplements.

Our primary vet stated his bloodwork looks great. She stated he has mildly elevated liver values (not uncommon for senior dogs). The shelter vet stated his bloodwork shows slightly elevated WBC and neutropholis, and consequently prescribed antibiotics doxycycline. The shelter vet also recommended monitoring kidney levels with bi-annual bloodwork. However, our primary vet did not express concern for his kidney values.

At our primary vet, Lil Beet was given an in-ear solution for his ear infection. He was also noted to have what looks like a non-cancerous mass at the entrance of his ear—this mass was removed during his dental.

Lil Beet threw up bile before breakfast twice, and when I mentioned this to the vet, she stated it’s likely due to an empty stomach. She suggested a small snack at bedtime and pepcid. I bought pepcid, but never had to give it to him because the small snack resolved the issue. I’d also been giving him greenies as a bedtime snack, which might have been the actual issue (they’re known to cause GI issues). I stopped the greenies and switched to plain boiled turkey/beef as a bedtime snack.

Check out @tlbrescue on Instagram for more content of little Beethoven!