We started looking through the paper and one day Loretta saw an ad. She emailed me and suggested we take a look. He was a 5 month old male. We drove out to see him. When we arrived, Tanner was out walking with Julie and her daughter. When they came back from their walk, Tanner came running through the tall grass. He was pretty excited and playful. There was no doubt, this one was coming home. The breeders did a great job of handling/training him. He responded well to the "come" command and he did not get accustomed to a name. (They kept changing his name).

We talked with the breeders and they explained that Tanner had a problem. It was entropian; an eyelid disorder in which the eyelid rolls in and the hairs on the eyelid rub on the eye. If not corrected and if it is severe enough, vision could be lost. Dogs with this condition usually squint and have watery eyes. Tanner had this. The breeders did not have the surgery done in hopes he would grow out of it. He did not.

I guess the entropian was probably the reason why Tanner had not gone to another owner sooner. Dogs with entropian correction surgery can not be shown in dog shows.

After our discussion with the breeders, we took Tanner to his new home. During our drive, Tanner wasn't Tanner yet. We had to come up with a name. I had told Loretta that since I named Gibson, she would have to come up with a name for our new puppy. She decided on Tanner.

As a precaution we wanted to see what our veterinarian thought of Tanners entropian. They suggested doing a corrective surgery right away. We had to agree. Tanner's eyes were constantly tearing. It had to be uncomfortable and when we learned about the seriousness of the problem, we had the procedure done. This was about a week after we had brought him home.

Gibson didn't know what to think. There was this little puppy jumping on him, wanting him to play. Gibson wasn't quite into that all the time. However, it didn't take long for them to make an almost inseparable bond. Gibson would watch over Tanner when he had the cone on his head.

More Currently
Well here we go, having to discuss more health problems. Despite our efforts with "Frontline" and lymes disease vaccinations, Tanner contracted lymes disease. He was 2 ½ when we first took him to the vet on May 16, 2005. Dr. Corson's prognosis was grim. It was estimated that he contracted the disease the previous fall; and the disease had advanced quickly. In some cases, the bacteria from the lymes disease affects/attacks the kidneys. Once the process starts, the damage is irreparable. Well, this had happened to Tanner. Initially, he was given anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months to live. We were very sad. Needless to say, there weren't any dry eyes for a while.

Dr. Corson and Dr. Pillar, from the Bemidji Veterinary Hospital, have been treating Tanner and doing a wonderful job. The whole staff has. We are hoping that the amount of damage that has been done won't be enough to end his life. Since May 16, 2005 he has had a couple of "set backs" were he has become very ill and immobile. But overall, he is doing well. His weight and his activity level are back to normal. All we can do is hope and pray for the best.