My dog is 10 years old; he will be 11 in November. His name is Cash, after Johnny, and he is a Pitbull, Dalmatian, and English Pointer mix. I rescued him when he was six months old. He was extremely pathetic. He was way too skinny and the chain collar around his neck was surgically embedded. He got sick continuously over the years. It turns out that he is allergic to pretty much everything. At this point in his life, he still gets chronic ear infections, chronic skin infections, and chronic stomach problems.

Cash has to be on a very specific food because of his allergies. The last time I went to buy his food, the bag looked different. It turns out that there is chicken fat in the food. However, the company says that they will give me a full refund if I’m not fully satisfied for any reason. I’ve been keeping an eye on his skin to make sure he’s okay. Today, I noticed on two of his paws, that he has licked his skin raw between his toes. This is a sign of an infection. I sprayed some medicine on the problem areas and wrapped them up. I’m hoping he doesn’t eat the bandages off of his paws in the middle of the night.

Cash has been an extraordinarily expensive dog over the years because of his allergies, his chronic conditions, and all of his surgeries. He once ate a whole corn cob which had to be surgically removed; he also ate a coax cable, my shower curtain, and the edges of the carpet, all which had to be surgically removed. Cash is just about as health as I am; we fit each other perfectly. Hopefully, I caught the skin infection on his paws before it got too bad. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see. I don’t normally talk about the problems with my dog, but his medical issues are on my mind, so I thought I would write about it. He really is an amazing dog, he just happens to get sick all the time.