Caring For Senior Dogs Is Never Easy ..
And we Humans are not mind readers, so we make guesses about how our old pups are feeling a lot of the time. My wife and I like to make well thought out and educated guesses, then discuss them with our vet who is awesome. He's extra special because of his bedside manner and for the fact that he also cares for a dog of his own with the same disease Molly has; Addison's Disease.
Addison's Disease complicates everything. When we notice Molly acting a little off, a little out of the norm, we instantaneously question it and are like hawks eyeing her every little sniffle, cough and movement. If we dismiss something too soon, it could ultimately lead to her demise. Call us crazy, but we are not quite ready to part with our dear old friend, so we'll keep the close eyes on her and tend to her as we have.
Mornings Are The Worst Anymore ..
Molly has always been a hard one to get motivated to be active, but the mornings for the last several months have been slow. She has been having an increasingly hard time waking up and getting motivated to rise. We have been making small adjustments to our morning routine to accommodate her unwillingness to get up and going. She no longer leaves the bed on her own, and requires being carried down and outdoors. This is needed anyhow because she tends to have seizures if we just let her down and out on her own. Too much heart activity first thing in the morning will almost always bring on the convulsions. It's not that pleasant to watch and it definitely is good for her in the long run.
Here I am trying to get her awake and moving. It can take up to 20 minutes or so to ready her to be picked up and carried downstairs.
Like I started to say, Addison's Disease is a bit complicated and also complicates other issues Molly may develop. Which leads me to my story for today..
"A Story About Molly and Her Current Attitude of I Don't Want To Eat Nothin"
It's been a few weeks and it came on all of a sudden.. Molly decided one morning that she was done eating what we were offering; grilled chicken breast. So in light of this, and given past experience with her being a little picky, we switched it up to steak. Yup.. that wasn't cutting it either. Immediately we began discussing the possibility her DOCP injection may need to be given earlier than normal. DOCP is short for Desoxycorticosterone pivalate; A mineralocorticoid replacement therapy for dogs with primary hypoadrenocorticism aka Addison's disease.
I give Molly these injections every month, on top of her other meds and other injections. She is a champ when it comes to getting jabbed. She is calm and always takes it well. My wife has a harder time with it and often says she doesn't know what she would do if something were to happen to me.. obviously Molly would just have to go to the vet for these shots (Man that's a lot of trips to the doctors). Molly would survive and she will always get the care she needs, because it's my wife's little baby.
Here I go getting slightly off topic again.. So we were thinking that she may need the shot early. Not eating, lethargy, diarrhea, increased shaking, increased urination, and increased drinking are a few signs of her needing the Desoxycorticosterone pivalate sooner than expected. She wasn't exhibiting all of these signs, so we were still unsure.
So We Head To The Veterinarian..
Off we go to see our doctor about this and to get her numbers checked. The last time Molly had her numbers checked (had blood drawn and lab work performed to check her Addison sensitive and kidney levels) was about 6 months ago. These tests are substantially costly, but well worth the piece of mind. It is also the most accurate way to rule out anything that may be going on under the surface.
She was a good little girl and let the nice ladies at the hospital, take her blood.
All her numbers looked good, but in the meantime there was another development ..
We keep a clean and tidy home, but dogs can sometimes drag in weird things from the yard. The occasional insect, stick, leaf matter, dirt, and even a dingle berry. Yeah, I had to go there. We don't always talk about it, but it does happen. Molly is so embarrassed - hehehe. I found something in our bed and it was none of the things that I just listed above. Nope.
Want to take a guess???
If You Guessed TOOTH, Then You Guessed Correctly!
Molly lost a tooth! And I found it resting quietly next to me in the bed. It must have fallen out while she was sleeping. Could this have been the reason for her not eating her chicken, steak and cookies? Sounds like a good theory to us anyhow. Everything else looks okay, so maybe this was the problem all along.. A Loose Tooth! Tell me about it Molly, Old Age SUCKS!
We continue to watch her and monitor her activities, but for now she is doing a little better. She is not back to eating like a puppy, but she is eating with less stubbornness. In the mornings, which are rough anyway, its harder to get her to start eating then in the evenings. Her gums seem to be fine, so I don't know what the reason is for this slow reacceptance of her normal diet. She has also been snubbing hand outs more frequently than before the tooth fell out. We are hopping this all clears itself up sooner than later..
Partly for our benefit, but mostly for hers.
In The Meantime, Things Are Okay For Little Miss Molly ..
She has still been taking the time to enjoy the simple things in life.
Simple Yet Important Things Like..
The sun and breeze on a warm Spring day..
The comfort of her blankets, when she is feeling old, tired and cold..
A warm bath and a bit of good old fashioned pampering, when she really needs it..
Okay, maybe she doesn't enjoy this part, but we sure do! She does smell and look a lot better after it :-)
A hot steak dinner, grilled and cut into small bites for an old gal that is missing a few pearly white teeth (correction.. chocolate brown teeth)..
Snuggling down in a warm pile of freshly laundered clothing. She is always the first one in, but never helps fold..
And LAST BUT NOT LEAST! A Cookie Treat, Soft Enough To Eat!!!..
Of course we can't be perfect. She didn't eat it all, but she tried her best. She'll go back and finish the crumbs up later on when her tummy is growling for a little snack..
She's still cute, and LOOK! She still has a few teeth left to smile with!!!
“Don't you know that love isn't just going to bed? Love isn't an act, it's a whole life. It's staying with her now because she needs you; it's knowing you and she will still care about each other when ... daydreams, fights and futures -- when all that's on the shelf and done with. Love -- why, I'll tell you what love is: it's you at seventy-five and her at seventy-one, each of you listening for the other's step in the next room, each afraid that a sudden silence, a sudden cry, could mean a lifetime's talk is over.”
― Brian Moore
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Best of all, the care she receives is 10/10, thank goodness everything that happened is apparently because of the tooth. She is so cute and little, she is adorable, I am sure she will continue to get cuddles and lots of yummy food!
Yes she will. Thank you for the thoughts and for the support.. Molly appreciates it too 😁
Poor little old gal, losing teeth not so swell! Better to put your mind at rest that she is perfect in health, well the best she can be.
Still cute, who can blame her enjoying a good lie in, know you will pamper her awake gently then take her out for a romp.
@tipu curate
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Yeah she's getting old and I don't want to admit she's almost 14 years. I don't want my baby girl to grow up and get like this, but time comes for us all at some point. Thanks for the compliments and I will pass them along to her.. she will love them 😊
Aw sure you can give her those extra loves and kisses, she deserves it, no tooth fairy so that will be payment!
How lucky Molly is to have such loving and caring parents.
I loved this post and it made my heart very sensitive, I send words of encouragement so that Molly continues to stand up and fill you with more of her.
It is always painful to see a loved one in moments of pain, but what encourages us is to give the best for them in life. greetings 🤗
You are right that it is painful to see this, but she is loved and has had a great life so far. We do all we can to make things comfortable and enjoyable for her always. Thanks for stopping by and showing her some love 😊
That's right, friend, lots of life and health for everyone in your home. 🤗
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STOPCheck out the last post from @hivebuzz:
Senior dogs are so highly underrated. All they want is to be unconditionally loved, allowed to do things at their own rate, and sleep in a bed with lots of soft blankets.
You and your wife are the perfect doting parents to Molly. I thought about my beloved faithful companion Sasha many times as I read your endearing post. I hope Molly's finicky appetite was due to the bad tooth and she's been eating better since you posted. Is she?
We learn so much from our furbabies!♥️🐾🐶
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