Toby is a Leonberger with Hypothyroidism

There are some days when I work and see so many really pleasant pets and their equally pleasant owners. For example; I had an enormous Leonberger in today.

It is a breed we do not see often and Toby is such a fine specimen. Amazingly we managed to get him onto our scale at work to weigh him. He tipped the scales at 78kgs. This quite worried me as he really looks enormous and I weigh just a few kilograms less than him. All his fluffy fur must make him look bigger than he is .I am making a mental note here to myself as I write this, that I really do need to lose some weight before Christmas!

He suffers from hypothyroidism and needed a blood test today as he is on a high dose of the medication Forthyron. Regular blood tests are needed to ensure that his levels of the hormone thyroxine stay in the normal range. Hypothyroidism, as in humans, makes it very hard for a pet to lose weight and Toby had lost quite a bit of weight since starting his Forthyron treatment.

He dragged me through to the back for his blood test and was a star patient - holding up his arm to have the blood taken from his vein. He is apparently used as a therapy dog for children in hospitals. What a lovely dog and a fitting end to a good day.

This entry was posted on 24/11/2007 at 09:40 pm and is filed under A veterinary day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.