We are honored to present Sunny Bell as our Companion Animal of the Month for August 2007. Sunny's full name is "Bell's Golden Sunshine" but everyone calls him Sunny for short. Sunny is a 6 year old, Golden Retriever who is proud companion canine of Johan Bell. Johan bought Sunny from a breeder in Alabama when he was only 8 weeks old. He quickly became the "man of the house" and has been a loyal and fun loving companion animal even since.
Sunny
is a very happy and playful dog who can usually be found hanging around Johan's
pool deck or swimming in the pool. 
He loves to play in the water and to
rescue people from the pool. Sunny is not a selfish dog at all,
not only will he save people from the pool but he loves to help out as a "seeing
eye dog" for Johan's other dog who is a blind Wire Fox Terrier named Eddie.
Even though Sunny is a large dog he enjoys sleeping on Johan's bed every night.
His favorite toy includes a stuffed white teddy bear that he loves to carry
around and show off. His favorite treat is potato chips but he only get
them on special occasions.
Sunny first came to our hospital in February 2007 for itchy skin and history of allergies. Dr. Sukhija did a thorough work-up of his problems with diagnostics including serum allergy testing. This showed Sunny to have severe dust mite allergies. Antibiotics and special shampoos were used to clear-up his secondary bacterial infections. Cortisones were used to provide fast relief. Ear cleaners and other medications were needed to cure his ear infections. Allergy shots were started in March and Sunny has done well but still takes antihistamines to help manage the itching. The use of steroids or cortisone medications has been minimized to flare-ups only. Sunny is also on a behavior modification drug to aid in the reduction of repetitive licking and itching which leads to hot spots. Overall, sunny can now enjoy his relaxed life style without being itchy all the time.
Sunny Bell has always been a perfect gentleman and a ladies
man at his visits to
Atlantic Animal Hospital. The staff looks
forward to his visits as we
continue to manage his allergy problems. As Sunny knows all to
well, allergies are difficult to treat, but the staff at Atlantic Animal
Hospital are dedicated to best care possible so that Sunny can continue to spend time with
his family by the pool and continue to have a great quality of life. It is
very important to state that Sunny is only doing so well because his human
family, especially Johan, who has been so compliant with his treatments,
including allergy shots at home. We are proud to feature the Bell family's
relationship with Sunny as this companion animal of the month story.