For the last week, Bandit has once again been deteriorating. She hasn't been able to walk more than a few feet on her own since last Thurs or so. We have had to help her up to pee (and hold her there while she does it. Once she peed on Gregg's leg, so now I make sure to give her a wide berth). More often than not, she poops sitting down and leaves us a little pile to clean up from under her. Unlike previous episodes, her appetite seems just fine, and she's been drinking up a storm too. Mentally, she seems quite with it. And randomly, even during the last week, she'll manage to surprise. Once, Gregg left her on the lawn, and she actually seemed to have gotten up and moved closer to the house all by herself. The other day, she grabbed onto a toy that Mia had and held onto it. The two of them tugged for quite a while until Mia finally gave up. This morning, they did something similar, except that the interaction seemed a bit more hostile, so I broke it up quickly before Mia tried to jump an old dog.
I know that Gregg's been struggling with it more than I have. For me, I've been thinking for a while that it's time. I've hated seeing Bandit like this. I don't want to remember Bandit this way, as a dog who pooped and peed on herself all the time. I guess I want her to go as I would want to, on a high note. But I can see those moments that Gregg struggles with. Looking at her these days, some people might not even guess that she's as far gone as she actually is. Her coat looks good, she looks up at you when you come over. And really, her life isn't all that much different in a lot of ways. She slept all day anyway. But then the time comes for her to go outside and do her thing, and it's just not happening anymore.
We've been waiting this week to see if she perks up again. Well, I know that Gregg has. This dog does seem to have like a million lives, so there was always a chance it was just another blip. But it's been a week now. He's been waiting too for our vet to call back. Turned out that she was out all week, and finally got back Tues. Specifically, we wanted to know if the current episode was due to Bandit's legs. She definitely seems weak in the back legs, that's what keeps her from walking. And Gregg said he pushed her around a bit last week after he found her sitting in her poop YET AGAIN, and since then she hasn't been able to get up or walk.
Our vet called me back yesterday and basically said there wasn't anything else she could think of. She'd be happy to examine her and see if there was something fixable, but from what I described, she thinks it's just weakness that could be neurological or related to her arthritis. She didn't seem to really buy Gregg's injury theory (thank goodness, cuz I wasn't liking the thought of him feeling guilty over this). But regardless, not a whole lot to do unless we want to subject her to a bunch of x-rays and tests. She suggested that if we wanted to, we could take her into our regular vet (this vet is our Cushing's specialist) to talk about possibly some pain medications that could help her. But I think she was just trying to help us grasp at straws. And is thinking that any vet we see will probably tell us what she already knows. Since 10 minutes out of our 11.5 minute conversation focused on quality of life issues, I have a pretty good idea what our vet thinks. And she came out and said that we were in the hospice stage at this point, so it was up to us to decide how far we want to take this.
So we'll see. I'm taking her to our regular vet this morning and then I guess we can figure out what to do next.
I know that Gregg's been struggling with it more than I have. For me, I've been thinking for a while that it's time. I've hated seeing Bandit like this. I don't want to remember Bandit this way, as a dog who pooped and peed on herself all the time. I guess I want her to go as I would want to, on a high note. But I can see those moments that Gregg struggles with. Looking at her these days, some people might not even guess that she's as far gone as she actually is. Her coat looks good, she looks up at you when you come over. And really, her life isn't all that much different in a lot of ways. She slept all day anyway. But then the time comes for her to go outside and do her thing, and it's just not happening anymore.
We've been waiting this week to see if she perks up again. Well, I know that Gregg has. This dog does seem to have like a million lives, so there was always a chance it was just another blip. But it's been a week now. He's been waiting too for our vet to call back. Turned out that she was out all week, and finally got back Tues. Specifically, we wanted to know if the current episode was due to Bandit's legs. She definitely seems weak in the back legs, that's what keeps her from walking. And Gregg said he pushed her around a bit last week after he found her sitting in her poop YET AGAIN, and since then she hasn't been able to get up or walk.
Our vet called me back yesterday and basically said there wasn't anything else she could think of. She'd be happy to examine her and see if there was something fixable, but from what I described, she thinks it's just weakness that could be neurological or related to her arthritis. She didn't seem to really buy Gregg's injury theory (thank goodness, cuz I wasn't liking the thought of him feeling guilty over this). But regardless, not a whole lot to do unless we want to subject her to a bunch of x-rays and tests. She suggested that if we wanted to, we could take her into our regular vet (this vet is our Cushing's specialist) to talk about possibly some pain medications that could help her. But I think she was just trying to help us grasp at straws. And is thinking that any vet we see will probably tell us what she already knows. Since 10 minutes out of our 11.5 minute conversation focused on quality of life issues, I have a pretty good idea what our vet thinks. And she came out and said that we were in the hospice stage at this point, so it was up to us to decide how far we want to take this.
So we'll see. I'm taking her to our regular vet this morning and then I guess we can figure out what to do next.
I'm thinking of all of you! This decision remains one of the hardest I have ever faced. One tip...when our dogs got old and had trouble getting around we would loop a towel around them and use that to help them hold up their backside. She might not like it...or be willing to go with it holding her up...but it is surprisingly helpful in helping them walk (and preventing you from throwing out your back!). :(
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