Oh Dillon

Dillon

February 12, 2004 - March 4, 2014

 

Thank you for being such a wonderful family member, dealing with two young children and letting them crawl all over you, for protecting them and us in the snow and from all of the Moose.  For being patient when we didn't have the time to go hiking. Thank you for dealing with the move to Mexico, all of the skin and tick issues as well as the heat.  Thank you for protecting us in the water and keeping your eye on the children as they swam and surfed, for staying on the beach while mom and dad surfed and for always coming home or trying to get as close to home as you could when there were loud bangs, cannons or fireworks. For your ferocious bark when you felt our house was in danger knowing if someone unwanted entered you would run to them looking for lovies.  Thank you for your companionship and loyalty.  Thank you most of all for your love.  We will miss you terribly.

Dillon Riding Shotgun

We've been having very little surf lately so the kids have had a chance to go out and Stand Up Paddle a bit. This was also an opportunity to see if there was any chance that our dog, Dillon, would ride on an SUP. His girlfriend back in the States rides on her owners' SUP when they go out paddling on flat water so we figured we'd give it a shot too. Today, with a little chop, we hoisted Dillon on to an SUP and after a few wobbly moments and a look that screamed "WTF"? he sat down at the front of the board for over 20 minutes while Ashley and I paddled around. Awesome! Not sure if it was a one time thing but at least we have photos of it.

Dillon Update

We haven't really given an update on Dillon lately and one of our Park City neighbors was inquiring about Dillon, so here you go "D".
Dillon is doing really well. He was getting quite a few bacterial infections in the early months, they were usually at their peak and ready to spread rapidly just as I was getting onto the bus to head to the airport to go to work for weeks on end, so Ozzy had to deal with it. We finally learned how to get it under control without having to visit the vet each time and getting on antibiotics.
His diet now is dog food, rice, veggies, hard boiled egg, coconut oil, Mila and the occasional chicken, beef or fresh raw tuna. He is quite spoiled when it comes to his diet and turns his nose up when we have run out of the good stuff and he just gets dog food. I am quite sure he will survive.
He did have a run in with a friend of ours dog. Dillon wanted to play with the dogs coconut and the dog was not too keen on that idea so went after Dillon. The dog bit through Dillon's ear and that was about it. Dillon is like Alex when it comes to sweetness and being friendly, chasing butterflies, but he handled the situation like a pansy and ran away.
He still loves the beach and playing in the flat water, though it is getting quite hot here and the sand will burn your feet if you don't wear shoes so I am sure that doesn't feel very good on his paws. He seems to be a bit more mellow and sluggish due to the heat. He just wants to lay on the tile and keep cool. I did buy clippers and gave him a mexican groom yesterday. I couldn't believe all the hair that came off of him, and he is no where near shaved, except on his belly. He seems much cooler and I love that we no longer have a Dillon hair and sand carpet 24/7.
The rainy season is around the corner and with that comes amazing thunder and lightning storms. Dillon is deathly afraid of and loud noise so a friend gave me some muscle relaxers for dogs and boy they work. I tried half of one out on him yesterday due to noise in the area, needless to say I think he will have no problem with the storms.

He wanted me to tell Parley and Fresca "Hi" and that he misses them.

Dillon Update

Dillon is doing great with his new diet. His coat looks wonderful, his eyes are more alert and richer in color and I think he looks much younger. I switched his diet this batch to fish, veggies and rice. I went to the fish market yesterday and they had a batch of just caught red snapper. So I bought the biggest one I could find for only 160 pesos. The exchange rate right now is 1 US to 13 Pesos. So in other words I bought an entire, large, just caught red snapper for about $14 US. I was psyched. I asked them to clean it and they de scaled it and put it in a bag for me and sent me on my way. I had the whole frigging fish in a bag knowing that I had to fillet it. This is where the language barrier comes in. I wanted them to fillet the fish for me but I was too insecure to tell them this because of the language barrier, or in my mind, clean meant fillet. Being the southerner I had seen a few catfish filleted in my day, so I had an idea of what to do, just not the right knives. So I pretty much butchered that bastard.

It took me about 6 hours to make his food, due to chopping, boiling and cooking but Dillon is good to go for a while. I will eventually dial it in but literally I spent a total of about $20 US for Dillon to eat really well for half a month. $14 for and entire fresh fish. $4 US for a boat load of broccoli, zucchini and carrots and a bag of rice for virtually free.
Dillon is eating much better than we are but he looks amazing and appears to be so much happier.

Oh Dillon!

Poor Dillon is not used to this environment. He loves the water and actually smiles at the beach and all of the other dogs that he is able to frolic with and usually without a leash. The problem is what comes with the water and freedom is infections, yeast, fleas, funk from other dogs, constantly panting, licking, itching, etc.
The day I left I noticed areas on Dillon where he was licking and scratching, hair loss and puss. So I send Ozzy down to the vet with Dillon. The vet said it was a bacterial infection, gave him antibiotics, iodine and cream and sent him home. I got on the Internet and did some research. It looks like a few things could be going on. Yes, a bacterial infection and maybe food allergies. The antibiotics are working but he hasn't been to the beach in two weeks and is not too happy about that. The bacterial infection can be an on going thing. Shit, what is one to do. Poor guy didn't ask to come here. He actually loves the snow and cold dry weather.
First, let's get rid of alot of that hair. I got in touch with a groomer, didn't fit my schedule so today I started cutting away at Dillons hair. One thing I love about this country is that you learn that you can do almost anything yourself, you just have to figure out how. I know, it isn't hard to cut hair, but as an American my thought process was, of course, take him to get groomed, instead of, I have the ability to do it myself and save myself $50 US. I don't care if it isn't perfect and he doesn't either. So, the kids and I went to town and he actually looks pretty good.

Next step was to change his diet. So, I am experimenting, but today I started him on a homemade diet of ground beef, rice, veggies, coconut oil and Mila. I will switch it up with eggs and oats maybe other stuff. It can be very time consuming and expensive but I am on a mission to have a very happy and healthy dog so it is worth it. If anyone has any knowledge, suggestions, holistic ideas or recipes I would greatly appreciate it. My email is ashtemp70@yahoo.com.
So, groomed, change in diet, and a fresh water rinse and blow dry after each beach trip hopefully Dillon will be happier and healthier.