Meet Kane
This Taylor Swift quote is soooo relatable. Sean and I have recently-ish become shut-ins, complete with a “Do NOT knock or ring doorbell” sign on our door, for a few reasons:
COVID-19.
Sean discovered “Alone” on Netflix.
I discovered “Dawson’s Creek,” also on Netflix.
Kane Nesius.
A few weeks before we adopted a dog, we said that we weren’t going to adopt a dog for a few months. And then we had to cancel our California Christmas trip (instead we watched “California Christmas” on Netflix), and we were like, “DAMMIT. We’re getting a dog.”
So, we got a dog!
This is Kane:
He is named after Sean’s favorite soccer player, Harry Kane. (I lovingly refer to him as Hairy Kane.)
Kane was born on November? 21st? 2019? in Tallahassee? Florida? Cutie pie has a lot of question marks in his short history, but he walks around like one big exclamation point. He was found with a bunch of other puppies (his siblings?), all of whom tested heartworm positive.
Since we adopted him on December 13th (Taylor Swift’s birthday!), I have become an internet expert on heartworm treatment, recovery, prognosis, etc. I have become that obnoxious parent-of-a-kid-with-a-food-allergy type, and every time I call Kane’s doctor’s office – “I am Kane Nesius’ mother. He is currently recovering from heartworm treatment, and I was wondering...” – I swear I can hear the eyeroll through the phone. (Just kidding. They are completely lovely, patient and helpful every time. “Yes, it’s normal for dogs to pant sometimes. No, this is not a sign that he’s dying of a pulmonary embolism. Stop googling things.”)
As it turns out, I am back to my crazy, obsessive, paranoid, overly-worried ways. I used to obsess over every little thing when it came to Bailey, and I’m afraid the same is true of Kane. Which is exactly why we ended up driving to the emergency vet in Sarasota at midnight less than a week after adopting him.
Because I was convinced he was about to die.
The most difficult part of heartworm treatment is that we have to keep him calm for six weeks while his body dissolves the worms, which means no playing, no walks, no fun. If his heart rate gets too high in these six weeks post-treatment, he could end up with a blood clot, which can be fatal. We’ve been doing our best, but there have, of course, been slip-ups. He is a puppy, after all.
He ended up being completely fine – just suffering some side effects of the melarsomine injections – and we walked away without owing a dime because the doctor “so enjoyed hanging out with him.”
That’s Kane.
He is handling everything like a champ (or, at least, better than I am), and I can’t wait until we can bust him out of the house and let him be a puppy again. (Two more weeks!) In the meantime, we’re enjoying a lot of quality time in the form of snuggles, training (I taught him how to sit! So proud of myself.), treat balls and backyard walks.
Cheers to our cute new family member ❤️