And the Sniffer Award Goes to:

ME!

Once again I have demonstrated my above average abilities and won yet another Sniffer Award!  This time it is for a slightly different reason though.

In case you are new to my blog, awhile back I won the Sniffer Award AND the Golden Bone for my first ever movie.  It is shown below:

Obviously, I won those awards based on my acting abilities – and of course my athletic abilities.  I have been called by some (one) the the Ester Williams of the Twenty-First Century… Dog Movies.  Yeah, I wasn’t in the water in this particular trailer but my jumping skills would certainly translate to synchronized swimming.

Anyhow, this time I got the Sniffer Award for my medical diagnostic skills.  Things would have been a lot better for Sammy if my parents took my cues a few weeks ago when I sniffed his side.  And sniffed his side.  Oh… did I mention I sniffed his side?  AND SNIFFED HIS SIDE?  How obvious can one be… I sniffed his side while staring directly at them…  Anyway, they finally only caught on when after sniffing his side on one of our walks I ended up with a nose full of his fur.  Once we got home, my Mother was finally aware enough to investigate the area I had been checking out.  Luckily, for Sam, they caught on early enough so that his “Hot Spot” was still not very advanced.  In fact, from what Sammy related to me when he and Dad returned from the vet, “they” diagnosed the problem at the beginning stages so the resulting skin damage was purely superficial.  I am still a bit confused how they think they caught it “early” when I had known about it for weeks!?!?!  If they had listened to me then maybe Sammy wouldn’t look like the patchwork dog that he is now:

He really doesn’t seem to mind though.  He was even laughing at the whole event while at the vets:

I wasn’t so happy to be left behind when they left for the vets – after all, I was the one who originally diagnosed his condition, but I was rewarded with a number of things:

1. A walk with our dog sitter – yeah it was in the rain and all but we both powered through it and I got to pee and get some good sniffs of the non-medical variety
2. We got some good treats when Sammy got home (see below)
3. And of course my SECOND Sniffer award

No offense, but the treats may have been the best reward.

I do wonder when you people will become aware of the power of the dog nose for diagnosing medical conditions such as cancer, cystic fibrosis, seizures and of course bacterial infection.  Once you all figure that out then you might not feel as guilty as my parents did for the big patch of bare skin that is now exposed on Sammy’s side.  Of course I am just a dog and may be missing the “strategic big picture” you folks like to talk about.  Count me in as a detail girl.

Mo-Tor

-FYI: Sammy is doing great!  He doesn’t even have to wear his lamp shade since he isn’t obsessing about it; he is completely ignoring the entire thing.