An old dog, another goodbye on the horizon
The hardest thing I have to do in my current existence is say goodbye to a dog. It causes my heart to break into hundred pieces and I can feel the cracking starting already. I have old dogs. I have written about my favorite girl who died from Hepatocutaneous syndrome 2 years ago. It still aches my heart to know she was too young when she died and there wasn’t anything I could do.
My current pack is 3. Love them all for each of their own special characteristics. I have a blind dog that I took in as a “temporary” foster…2 years ago. He was tied to a pole outside and left to sleep in a barrel. I took in an old dog, nearly deaf as a “temporary” foster 4 years ago. He was dumped at a kill shelter when his owner died. They are mine now 🙂 Seems Temporary has a new definition in the Pharmacy Chick household. My third dog I raised from a pup. She will be 13 later this year, and she is my little old lady. 2 boys and a girl and something tells me that my trio will be a duo or even a single before years end. My ” old man” as I call him is of unknown age. When he arrived 4 years ago, we were told he was already 12 or 13. That was obviously wrong because my breed of dog barely makes it to 13 let along 17 which he might be now. By his appearance ill guess he is about 13 NOW. He had a massive tumor removed from his spleen shortly after we got him.He has suffered from a chronic cough from the day we took him in.
Old Man is going to the vet tomorrow again, hopefully not for the last time. He has been on my mind and heart a lot lately. He has a myriad of health issues that seemingly defy diagnoses. But I think we have one…Idiopathic Laryngeal paralysis. He fits all the criteria and he also has a highly significant heart murmur that impedes his blood flow. His back legs have atrophied from possible progressive nerve damage and he exhausts himself from the coughing that comes from both the ILP and the murmur. Poor thing, the only time he is at rest is when he sleeps, which is alway in short bursts and for too short of time. WE have had to sleep with ear plugs in not to be awakened 15 times a night from the coughing. Its tough for us to watch but tougher on him too endure I suppose. He could have surgery ..again, but his advanced age makes it a challenge for anesthesia. He struggles up and down stairs some days and other days he does well. The last two days have been hellish on the Old Man.
Decisions decisions….Oh How I hate these days…