Another Trip to the Vet
Just because I want to check and see if I need to get cortisone or something for him while we’re gone.
I keep thinking about Ajax falling down the front steps while we’re away, and lying there in the hot sun in pain all day waiting for someone to help him up.
Dr. Paul Hess was very understanding and told me his own stories about leaving his old and sick animals with others. It was very comforting.
We didn’t get any more drugs. We’ll just go on with the Metacam that he’s been on for the past 5 months. Before that it was Zubrin, and before that, it was Deramaxx. And I guess I’ll try to make sure a gate gets put at the top of the steps during the day.
And, okay, I used the lift on him yesterday. I’d been putting it off, thinking that he hated it (he seemed to before). And it seemed to help. So we’ll keep practicing with it this week and see what happens.
I’m trying to maintain a dog-like attitude here, and believing what will be will be. He knows we love him and we always come back when we go away.
I’ll get an extra cushy bed for him because his sisters have been using his and making him sleep on the cold, hard floor.
Maybe I needed to get meds for me. Valium or something. Maybe I’ll make another trip to the vet for something like that……
November 18th, 2008 at 11:26 am
You are a good pet owner and dog mother.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:37 am
Terry, don’t beat yourself up over this, it is a good thing you are doing. I fly in our pet sitter from St. Louis to watch our two dogs when we take our three week trip to St. Croix. I won’t put them in a kennel for more than a week; I just don’t enjoy myself otherwise and believe me, it is a first class kennel! The only question I ask myself when the time comes to make the life and death decision regarding my pets is, am I keeping the animal alive for me? and not looking out for the best interest of the animal. These decisions can only be answered with the help of a good vet, and you have one, so rest easy and have a good time on your trip. I sometimes think that good pet owners when they die, come back as their own pet!!!
November 18th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Thanks, Wreg. He’s been a big part of my life on St. Croix for 13 of the 14 years I’ve been here.
And thanks, Trudi. But, I still beat myself up over dogs that I have lost years ago. It’s always a struggle to make THAT ultimate decision. But Ajax still does have a great attitude, so that’s probably what’s making it more difficult right now.
What to do when the mind remains and the body fails? In humans…..there are machines. Look at Stephen Hawking.
November 19th, 2008 at 10:21 am
… and I wonder if the bad pet owners get to come back to live the way they have imposed on poor innocent creatures.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Wow, Trudi! You FLY IN a pet-sitter! That’s devotion!
I sure hope so, Lisa….
November 19th, 2008 at 10:15 pm
Actually, Terry, it makes good economic sense. It costs less to fly in Frank from St. Louis, than to pay for the high-end kennel in Bozeman, called The Doggy Day Care. They are good and worth the money, they will hand walk and play with your dog, give the dog a hot oil massage, and all the animals, cats and dogs, have their own private rooms!! But as Dorothy says, “There is no place like home”. Besides, Frank loves Star and Oscar and he likes the time spent in the mountains. He is here also, in case anything happens to the house…
November 20th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Amazing, that a kennel would be that fancy!
And I understand about having them at home and having your house cared for, too.
November 26th, 2008 at 9:04 am
[...] anymore. We tried the “lift” that Wreggie brought down for him, and it worked okay last week. This week, though, he really wasn’t comfortable with us using [...]