The puppy formerly known as Marvin

I would like to introduce the new addition to the clan:





Tomas (Tommy) Edward (Eddie) Hein

His original name was 'Marvin' because that was Eddie's middle name (I will be honest, I wasn't a big fan from the beginning, but he isn't my dog and nobody asked me. Plus the sentimental notion of it was totally legit so I was all in for that name), but over the first few days, 'Marvin' became a bit difficult to say and quite honestly he doesn't look like a 'Marvin'. The family mostly agreed to Tommy which I quite like.

My sister got him from a family in Red Deer. He is as cute as it gets and is busy exploring every little nook in his new environment. He appears to be pretty smart too because it only seemed to take one day before he started peeing on his newspapers with reasonable consistency. The cutest little guy ever...I just want to snuggle him up all the time.

No, he will not be able to replace Eddie, there will always be only one Eddie, but he will definitely be a nice addition to the rest of the pack. That is, however, once we shed him of his 'sucking lice' that have been discovered!

Yesterday, while cuddling him up on the couch, my sister felt a little round thing on him. Initially she thought it was a small wart until she was able to pry it loose and put it in the palm of her hand. Upon closer inspection she realized that it was moving!! Minutes later he was at the vet and the diagnosis was made that he had what they call sucking lice. It is different than fleas in the sense that these lice are very slow moving and actually suck the blood of the host instead of merely feasting off the dead skin. The lice is treatable with a special shampoo and a topical ointment. Once he was shampooed and blow-dried, she used a special comb to pull out the dead lice and the scene was shocking. He was absolutely COATED in the things. Below is a small sample of what came out of the comb and fell into the sink:



The lice isn't supposed to be able to live on humans, but it is my guess that they would definitely give it a try if they were given the opportunity. I have been feeling quite itchy around the head and neck for a couple of days now. I am just trying to pinpoint whether or not I started feeling that way pre-Tommy or post Tommy. Often it can be psychological itching when such topics of conversation come about, but my itching has bee sustained and I am a bit concerned now because it doesn't seem to be subsiding. Perhaps I will have to get my sister the shampoo and comb out my hair next.