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travis16960

A Tale of Two Tails: What I Learned from Bob and Po



Bob, the rescued food glutton 

Hi, I’m Travis, Director of Partnerships. I’m someone who has had pets for my entire life. Growing up we always had at least one dog but most of the time we had two or three pets. Naturally, as I moved out on my own I knew I was going to want a furry friend of my own. Over the years, I lived with roommates who always had a dog so I never got one of my own until my wife (then girlfriend) and I moved in together in 2012.


This is when we adopted BOB! Bob was a 2-year-old black Puggle. He was living at the Southern Nevada Pug Rescue here in Las Vegas. He had been found in an abandoned house because when his owners moved they left poor Bob in the house alone to fend for himself. Bob was not your average Puggle. He was taller than all the dogs at the rescue and outweighed them by about 10-15 pounds. The rescue was trying to find a new home for Bob because he was bullying all of the smaller dogs out of their food at the rescue. We fell in love with Bob and his cute underbite the moment we saw him. 


Bob loved to eat and go on walks. My wife and I have lived in apartments for most of our relationship so I made it a point to walk Bob several times a day. Eventually, Bob became a little alarm clock for me. In the morning, when he was ready to go for his walk, he would hop up on the bed an inch away from my face letting me know it was time to go.


He basically did this at every point in the day when he knew it was time for a walk or a meal. When I would fill up his dog bowl and bring it to him, he would spin in circles because the boy LOVED to eat!


We had Bob for 11 years and he unfortunately passed away in 2023 at the age of 13. 




Po, the fancy socialite 

This brings me to our second dog Po. Po is a white and apricot Japanese Chin. Now, most people have never heard of this type of dog and I was one of them. Po had been purchased from a breeder by another couple that had been waiting on a year-long waitlist. They paid somewhere around $3,500 for him and he is even AKC registered.


A year after having him the couple decided they weren’t able to take care of him any longer. They had been looking for someone to adopt him and almost took him to a shelter before my wife reached out. They brought Po over to our house on Sunday afternoon to meet Bob and from there he was our dog. 


Po is almost a combination of a cat and a dog. He is sometimes extremely playful and excited but he also often seems completely uninterested in us and almost acts as if we annoy him. We adopted Po when Bob was about six years old. Because Po was so much younger he ended up adopting a lot of Bob’s mannerisms. He loved the walks, treats, and of course, dinner time.

Po is the ultimate hype man when it comes to meeting new people or dogs. He always wants to say hi and will always be super excited to get any attention someone new is willing to give him.





A supplement for mobility

As Bob got older, we noticed his mobility became a little more limited and he didn’t quite move as quickly as he used to. This prompted me to start researching supplements or activities that could help Bob move with more ease like he used to so he could continue to enjoy our walks. 


Our vet recommended a supplement called Dasiquin. Pairing that with turmeric powder at mealtime seemed to recharge our little buddy. With Po being so much younger we started giving him the same supplements in the hope that it could act as a preventative measure to help him stay healthy for a long time. 





Dogs = life

My dogs have such a special place in my heart that I do whatever I can to ensure them the longest and healthiest life possible. Even as Bob slowed down we still took those four walks a day and I could tell he still looked forward to them just as much as he ever had. When the sad day came that we had to put Bob down our vet told us that the supplements we had been giving him along with the consistent walks probably added at least a year to his life.


Now that Po is our only dog we have made sure to continue to invest in supplements to make sure his joints are as healthy as they can be. He still goes with me on four walks a day that total over two miles!



Research will improve their lives...and ours

As Citruslabs ventures into the pet health industry, it puts a huge smile on my face. I have had pets my whole life and some of those pets lives were cut short due to health issues. Many times, people really don’t know what is available to help their pet live a longer, healthier life. 


Being able to conduct research on pet health products can help people better understand the options that exist for them and that there are great products out there that can address common issues their pets face. My hope is that our research gives everyone out there a little more time with their pets like I got with my buddy Bob.

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