tWBS:
Vet question, as discussed the other night.
I have what my vet calls an Australian shepherd, whom I think looks more like some kind of spaniel (broad chest and narrow hips, white base coat with large black spots, docked tail, plus the vet went to TX A&M, only reason I continue to use him is because he takes care of the animals at the local ASPCA no-kill shelter pro bono, which I think is admirable, especially for a hardcore Republican). Not sure of her age, vet said she was around five based upon teeth wear when I got her in ’09 and I have had her nearly eleven years. She’s getting pretty groggy being at least 15 years old, goes about 45 lbs. Seems she is losing muscle mass, and falls down a lot, but manages to drag herself back up and go on motorvating. That I have pergo and tile floors doesn’t help, it’s like living on a room temperature ice rink for her. Weird thing is that as crippled as she seems at times, she also exhibits frolicky moments when she jumps around like a mountain goat out in the yard, even as recently as yesterday, and runs her ass off to chase joggers passing on the street out front. Since I’ve been working from home these last four months, she has gotten into the habit of getting up and following me into the kitchen every time I get up to refresh my water or booze, even if it means her legs going out from her and falling on her ass for no culinary award. I’ve strategically placed area rugs and beach towels in her maximum-slippage areas, and I guess that’s helped somewhat.
She still seems to have an appetite although it’s somewhat hit or miss, one morning she’ll have three bites and that’s it until afternoon feeding, next morning she’ll eat all her food and then try and eat the other dog’s food as well. Only reason I really car is because of the different medicines each dogs receive. She’s almost totally deaf and I think her eyesight is failing her a great deal. As the night goes on, she will just randomly get up and wander around the room, walking into corners until she backs out of them or coming over and looking at me with mournful eyes, finally lying down, and repeating the process five minutes later. I have her on Glyde New Zealand green lipped mussel concentrate stinky pills to lube the joints, as well as gabapentin and meloxydil for pain, all of which seemed to help when I started dosing her with them.
Question becomes (finally!), at what point is it time to put her down? She still has a (somewhat erratic) appetite, hasn’t started pissing or shitting in the house (that would be a trigger for me), seems pretty engaged despite the somewhat dopey stares she will sometimes give me with her rheumy eyes and the way she follows me around the house like I was the Pied Piper. My great-grandma used to say when they stopped eating then they were ready for the brushpile, and that was what triggered me to have my previous dog put down back almost 30 years ago. (Good ole Buster de Body Crabbe, sniff). My current plan is that as long as I have to continue working from home and can keep an eye on her all day, she gets to keep living. Any advice, thoughts, or counseling you might provide would be welcome. If you don’t want to take up all the bandwidth on this page, you can email me a response at [email protected] or [email protected].
Thanks for your patience and taking the time to read this.