Noah is One

things we have learned about Noah in his first year with us: 

he is loving, he is trim, he likes excavating, he's not keen on spas or wild swimming, he likes to place one of his many balls in his water bowl, he howls like a tiny wolf, he loves people & expects them to love him back (& mostly they do), he has a fondness for chomping on cardboard, paper, and likes to destroy books, he is discombobulated by lone men, he loves balls, all of them. in short, he's a fine dog with glorious paws.

our kind neighbour left this present for Noah
balls that whistle.

i was going to make a birthday portrait, but it seems that Noah has been stung by a bee or similar and is not up for anything other than quiet strokes.  we were all ready to drive into the emergency vets in Dorchester, but an antihistamine seemed to do the trick.  we will have him sleeping on the bed with us and take him to the vet if he still seems unwell in the morning.  he has already perked up a bit, so i think he's ok.  i was worried it was an adder bite - but we think more likely a bee. the extra of him was taken by TKM yesterday.

3/5/2025
Noah update
we have spent all afternoon at the vets
Noah's neck was very swollen this morning and he was sick a couple of times.  it appears that it probably is an adder bite and we have missed the anti venom window time wise, so he's on antibiotics and antihistamine and lots of TLC.  

ADDER info for other dog owners:  you need to get your dog to the vet 18 hours after the bite. the anti venom may be effective up to 24 hours after the bite, but the sooner you get them started the better the outcome. keep the dog as still as possible.  once a dog has had anti venom it will not work the next time*, but the dog should have developed antibodies.  when Radish got bitten we got him to the vets within half an hour, and all was well.  this time i am not so sure, but Noah is resilient and has a waggy tail and is eating and drinking.

*  having just consulted with my brother who is one of the foremost experts on adders in the UK, he tells me that what the vets told me about the anti venom not working a second time is nonsense.  so ask for it.  he also said that the first step should be steroids.  there was no mention of them.  but i will be asking for them next week if Noah is not recovering.