Canine Woes

You can say any fool thing to a dog and the dog will just give you this look that says, 'My GOSH, you're RIGHT! I NEVER would've thought of that! -- Dave Barry

Ah, the trials and tribulations of pet ownership.

Ottoman-shaped dog is beginning to lose the hair on his tail.  Herself mentioned it to the vet at yesterday's appointment to check his blood sugar, and a decision was made to check his thyroid levels.  The results came back fine, which means we don't know why his tail (and in fact, the backs of his legs as well) is starting to bald. The hair loss could simply be related to his diabetes; alternatively, he may be developing Cushing's disease (hyperadrenocorticism) -- the overproduction of the hormone cortisol by the adrenal glands. Cushing's does happen in conjunction with diabetes. The symptoms of diabetes, low thyroid, and Cushing's all overlap, so it's a complicated picture.  There's a more specific blood test for Cushing's, but it costs a couple hundred dollars, so right now the decision is to wait just a bit and see how ottoman-shaped dog fares. If he shows more symptoms, we shall run that test.

Teeny tiny dog has been limping very pathetically because of a luxating patella.  She puts almost no weight on that leg except when she tries to run - and then she falls over. She wins the prize for being Pathetic. She seems to be in less pain at the moment because of high-powered pain medication -- that's good.  The pain medication, unfortunately, has the side effect of clogging up the works a bit -- that's bad.  A judicious tiny spoonful of Vaseline has helped with that for the moment. Again, pathetic. Teeny tiny dog will have that knee surgically repaired Monday.  Expensive it is; yet it is necessary for her quality of life.  Once the joint is fixed, she will do much better.

Owning a dog is slightly less expensive than being addicted to crack. -- Jen Lancaster, Bitter is the New Black

Elderly oafish dog, knock wood, seems OK. Her digestive delicacies appear to be under control (even though she occasionally declines to have her breakfast), and her cough has lessened.  Let us hope she continues to do well. 

All three dog spend a great deal of time these days sleeping.  They periodically rouse themselves, find the nearest human and wag their tails cheerfully, and then reposition themselves elsewhere for another nap.  It's not a bad life. 

Herself is fatigued by juggling the vet appointments and the rounds of medication for all of the mutts, as well as the strain of trying to determine what is a worrisome canine health issue and what is solely an age-related decline.  Not to mention, the financial strain.  What else can she do?  They all have good quality of life.  There will come a time when it is not so.  When will that be - next week? Next year? How can we know?  

Alas.

Still.  They are the dogs.  We do the best we can for them.

No matter how close we are to another person, few human relationships are as free from strife, disagreement, and frustration as is the relationship you have with a good dog. Few human beings give of themselves to another as a dog gives of itself. I also suspect that we cherish dogs because their unblemished souls make us wish - consciously or unconsciously - that we were as innocent as they are, and make us yearn for a place where innocence is universal and where the meanness, the betrayals, and the cruelties of this world are unknown. -- Dean Koontz, A Big Little Life: A Memoir of a Joyful Dog