Loving my Oldies

Poor little thing. Nothing funny about being doped to eyeballs.

I recall many years ago a dog coming into rescue who was blind from living in a pothead house. The people thought it was very funny to blow smoke into the poor little thing’s eyes.

So wrong

That goes without saying, but I was responding to the video that LG had posted. And if they have escaped and attacked before, my sympathies for the owner are somewhat tempered. (This may have come out in the video LG posted, but I only read the article, I didn’t listen to the man, because I can’t hear.)

Hard to find words really. He is obviously devastated. How do you live with the knowledge that dogs you’ve loved have killed another person? Huge emotional burden.

Goodness, I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on. Some weeks ago, sample packets of dried cat food were being put in people’s letterboxes. Normally, I would just give these to someone with a cat, however, this time I gave it to Jeune. She loved it .... then. Won’t touch it now You’ll find it in cat treats area, called Temptations.

Your vet.

@Cat we all know how skilled dogs are at sorting out a pill half the size of a pin head from a walnut sized piece of meat. For Mezza, I have started buying Devon, I slice it really really thinly and roll it up. Works most of the time. For Jeune and Tamar, I crush their tablets in Nutrigel. This has two benefits: they get the goodness of Nutrigel, and because Nutrigel is sticky, they can’t spit it out although I do hold their mouths light closed while they lick it down. Jeune has cancer, too, so she is very thin and I know it won’t be long

@Cat, I’ve had enormous difficulties finding things my oldies will eat. Check out my thread called “Whatever Jeune Wants .....” I have actually started buying dog roll from Woolies - horrors. I wouldn’t dream of it if they were young, as I feel it is a bit like giving children Maccas or pizzas for every meal. But they really seem to like it. I lightly cook human grade mince with lots of home made bone broth and mix some of that in it. Mine went completely off BBQ chicken too. Good luck finding something to tempt dearest Hamish.

@Deeds it is something I grapple with every day .... sometimes I think she is telling me it is her time to go and then I’ll see her “skipping” up the stairs.

Three months on and precious Jeune is still hanging in there. She is very very thin and I am still syringe feeding her. Her stools are normal, she will still take herself downstairs (if I notice this I will carry her down) and soaks up the sun - when it is there. I have found something she loves !!!! Late last night I went shopping and all the bread was gone, so I ended up buying a Brioche loaf. When I cut a couple of slices to toast for breakfast, I gave a little bit to Jeune. As she hoovered it down, I cut some more for her and then a bit more. I am sure she’d like more, but I don’t want to overdo it.

OMG! They are so expensive.

Where is work, @juice and how much are they?

Yes, @asal Because of the proliferation of ads for the same beds from multiple companies, I am concerned to purchase from legitimate source.

Thanks, @jemappelle. Can you remember where you bought it - store or online?

And another has just popped up.

Is anyone else having their FB page inundated with advertisements regarding a specific type of dog bed? It started a little while ago with one company advertising a “calming bed”. It was round and very plush with the dogs (or cats) just disappearing into it and, as I am in the market for some replacements, I took a look. They were hugely expensive. In no time, my FB page was getting several ads a day all from different companies, but basically the same bed and all sorts of different prices. I actually like the look of them, but don’t want to order and find they are poor quality, not comfortable for the dogs and full of nasties that will intensify my allergies. Hopefully I’ve attached a photo showing the bed. Edited to add that they come in a few sizes and several colours and some look much more “plush” than the example below.

Just beautiful. Thank you for all you do.

I live in a very “tree’d” area so there is always plenty of leaf matter. If this happened to me, I would gather up leaves or dirt, cover the mess and try to pick up as much as I could. Then cover with more leaf matter or dirt if any collectable. Not pretty

Sooty finally had an operation on her left eye (right had already been removed before I met her) to remove the cataract on January 15. Unfortunately the capsule that holds the lens was too unstable to insert an artificial one. The ophthalmologist had pretty well confirmed this before we went ahead with the surgery but he was confident that her retina was in good enough shape to give her fairly good vision. Sadly, I can’t see any improvement at all, but the surgeon continues to disagree with me. After the third follow up, he finally conceded that, “It is not as good as I had hoped, but it is not as bad as you think.” Because she responds to his fingers flicking in front of her eye, he insists she has some sight and because she makes her way around his surgery with few if any bumps, he says this proves it. The thing is she has always been confident moving around, she had the layout of my house down pat in a few days and was even going in and out of the doggy door. So, I am gutted for her, really. She is so bright, game and loving that I just wanted the best we could do for her. A bit of a downside: she has become really aggressive towards Mezza. Poor little boy does not have a mean bone in his body and Sooty will stand over him growling and eventually attack - she literally jumps on him, straddling him while he is just lying there. He does not retaliate, just tries to get away. Obviously, I break it up the second I see it and will rouse at her when I hear her growling and take her to a bed in another room. (Just to be clear, I don’t shut her away; she is free to come out again when she pleases.... it is simply to give them time out.) Unfortunately, she has started to do the same to Tamar and Tamar is not Mezza - she fights back. Now none of them is strong enough to do any damage (except to sow seeds of discontent) but I am really concerned Sooty will damage her leg. The operation to repair it was delicate, hugely expensive and took a long time to heal. If it reoccurs, I don’t think it could be repaired again. Never a dull moment at Mooch City.

Bunter came home today. I still feel shell shocked - it all happened so quickly. fullsizeoutput_c31 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

Yes, it is never long enough. There were five Moochers and now there are four. But the difference is extraordinary. I’m having trouble getting my head around it, really, that the absence of one makes such a huge difference. I guess it relates to the fact that, although I posted more about Jeune and her health and well-being needs, Bunter’s needs were just as great. Although she is always on my mind, Jeune is “just there”; Bunter had to be where I was even if I was sitting at the dining room table, he would be right by my chair and if I moved to lie on the couch to watch TV or read he would move too. I would just drop my arm over the edge and stroke him, although I had to be careful he didn’t forget he loved me and think to bite me would be more interesting.

This long term DOLer has had a few names, @Boronia. . I was actually going through one of my banned periods when Bunter became a member of this crazy household and I had to ask Troy to let me back in so I could tell everyone about him. Rescue page was more active then and I loved telling the stories of rescues and fosters. Unfortunately all those stories are gone now with the regular cleans outs that Troy does. Edited to add that Danny was with me for so many years (Feb 1999 - Aug 2016) that pretty well all my dogs were part of the Danny era. Hard to believe that he has been gone for 3 and a half years. Time is scary.

His coat was really soft, @persephone. And, yes, I do have so many photos.

Thank you, DOLers. It IS hard particularly as they are all so old now and all having health issues. I had accepted that Bunter would probably not see the year out, but it was so damned sudden ..... although I have come to realise that that is what can happen with elderly dogs, cats, humans. Suddenly, the wheels just fall off. Big big Bunter-sized gap in the lounge room, today