A taxi ride and a visit to the vet...already???

First, the ride...
This beagle had my first taxi ride in Hong Kong yesterday. Now, in Malaysia, dogs are not allowed in taxis. Not so in HK. Animals are allowed in taxis with a surcharge payment of 5 HKD (around 60 US cents). I suppose in a country where most of its residents rely on public transportation, it makes sense that taxis carry canine passengers as well. However, not all taxi drivers like to carry canine passengers as mum and I found out when we tried to hail a taxi. Although the taxis had the "For Hire" sign, some did not stop for us. However, the fourth taxi driver that did not stop for us was a really nice chap. Mum and him were happily chatting about the plant on his dashboard in the limited Malaysian cantonese that mum could speak.

Meanwhile, I wasn't pleased that mum didn't allow me to get on the seat. She said that it's not our car and other passengers may not appreciate sitting on dog fur. So, she made me sit on the floor. Naturally, I tried to get onto the seat. So mum gave me the sit command and as reward for good behavior, I got to eat doggie treats. So that kept me happy throughout the journey.

Then, the vet...
Which brings me to the purpose of this beagle's taxi ride in the first place. My humans decided that a visit to the vet is required due to a couple of pee incidents. The first happened whilst I was staying with gramps before I joined my humans. Gramps had given me a wonderful bath that evening and this beagle was so comfortable that I fell into a deep sleep. The next morning, gramps discovered that I had wet my bed during sleep. The second incident happened in HK. I was sitting in the kitchen watching my humans eat dinner. When I got up, my humans discovered a small pee puddle where I was sitting.

Their conclusion - possible case of incontinence. After all, this beagle is 9 years old. So, that's how we ended up visiting the vet at the HK SPCA. My vet, Dr. Laurie is a very nice German gentleman and immediately put me to ease. Mum told him that I did not like going on the steel table so he examined me on the floor instead. He gave me a clean bill of health on the physical examination. Then he went away to test my urine sample. Fortunately, it was clear too. No case of infection. So, he concluded as my humans did that it was urinary incontinence. He said it was a common issue among female dogs that were spayed when young. So, I'm now on Propalin syrup which mum injects into my food twice a day. I 'm supposed to take it for two weeks to see if that helps me. Chances are I may have to take it for life. Unfortunately, one of the side effects is loose stool. So my humans have been monitoring me to see if I need to "go". They are getting a lot better at reading my body language. When they see me pacing around, they now know that I need to pee/poo.

By the way, thanks for the suggestions and prayers about our situation. My humans is seriously considering gettting a patch of real grass in a box to put on our balcony. They now have to do some research on where to source for that in Hong Kong. Until then, my humans will have to take me down often to relieve myself. Meanwhile they are relying on Urine Off to get rid of the pee odor when I do have accidents (which apart from the Typhoon 3 incident, has been kept to a minimal).