Snacks Sanchez

Snacks is a seven-pound silkie Yorkshire terrier with the attitude of a 100-pound pit bull . Formerly known as Mia , she is a recovering rescue dog who found her new and loving home in 2013 when she was unexpectedly dropped off at her new mom ’ s place of work . Her new dad — a seasoned empty nester , was not a fan initially . A six-year battle of wills ensued , which Snacks eventually won . In the process both Snacks and Dad gained a clear understanding of who the real Alfa in the pack was — Mom .

ABOVE : At my last pet doc appointment when I was drafted into the military .

Hey Dawgs ! I hope you ’ re staying cool . In this issue I ’ m dropping some information about my allergies that can affect all of us four-leggers .

I ‘ ve had a growing skin problem for over a year . Although I have looked fabulous in past issues — because I am fabulous , my skin issue has been a real pain . Mom and dad have been treating it with multiple things , but now they are taking drastic measures . I ’ ve been poked and prodded , stuck and stuffed with horse pills , and under the microscope of the animal medical community . I was also drafted into the military .

My pet doctors have inspected , treated , and monitored my “ condition .” Yet what started out as something that looked like dandruff or sawdust on the tip of my right ear has progressed into bumps and scaly dark patches on my neck , face , back and head . Sometimes they are open sores . Other times , they are hard and dry – like a human scab over a wound . They can be uncomfortable , and I tend to exacerbate the problem by scratching … a lot . I do have four limbs after all . I can reach anywhere on my amazing body . And like a dog on a bone — once I start scratching , I can ’ t seem to stop .

Mom and dad have tried everything . Multiple pet doctor appointments , holistic remedies , different diets , and a million baths with special shampoos and skin lotions – and we all know how much I love baths . With all this attention on me , I ’ m kinda loving life these days . Except that my skin is a mess and I wear pajamas most days to help keep me from scratching . I mean , Christmas pajamas in the summer ? Who ’ s running this fashion show ?

Lately , my condition is getting better . The scaly patches seem to be shrinking . At my last pet doctor appointment , I got a jab ( not “ the jab ”) and a pill stuffed down my trap . Those treatments seem to be helping . We still don ’ t know the cause of all this fun , and we are trying to figure it out . Yet , it appears we ’ re making progress on the symptoms . A lesson I ’ ve learned from mom , dad and the professionals is ; unless you get to the core issue , you will never truly

solve the problem . Anything short of that , and your just “ hanging new curtains on a dirty window .” That ’ s dad ’ s window analogy … I worry about him sometimes .

The possible causes of my skin issues fall into two categories : environmental and immune / digestive system . We explored the things in my back yard , things around the house like cleaners and sprays . Mom observed that we ’ ve always had the same environment — natural cleaners , safe sprays , etc . Everything designed to be safe for humans and pets . Our pet doctor said that like people , pets can become allergic to things over time — as in one day you wake up and can ’ t have orange juice , even though you ’ ve had it all your life , for example . Then we started doubling down on my immune system and diet — as in gut health . My food is already healthy , but the parentals are researching a prescription food that was recommended . They have questions though . The prescription food has corn fillers and other things we have always stayed away from . Hard stuff to figure out , but my parentals , especially mom , are doing their best to stay on top of it with research , experimentation , and pet doctors to get me healthy . I ’ d like to suggest more bacon .

We ’ ve tried antibiotics , taking skin samples , and even a steroid early on ( didn ’ t work , but my bark got deeper ). I ’ ve been on multiple diets , holistic treatments like coconut oil , tea tree oil , apple cider vinegar , and prescription shampoos and creams . At this point , I seem to be improving . In the future there may be more blood samples , skin samples , and who knows what else current treatments don ’ t work . Oh , best part ? I got shaved at my last pet doctor visit . Check out my before and after pictures ! I think I am a Marine now — Sempre Fi . But at least I got homemade treats when I got back home . Thanks mom !

Stay furry my friends ,

ABOVE : After my last pet doctor visit where I got jabbed with antibiotics , red-pilled , and an involuntary military shave , I made it home to mom ' s awesome homemade , healthy snacks . I think I ' m headed for bootcamp ...

Images provided by Team Sanchez for gmhTODAY magazine : snacks @ gmhtoday . com