Loving my Oldies

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

Bunter’s pound photo: 2011 3 Bunter at Renbury by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr Making sure not a pinhead of food is wasted" IMG_1128 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr Yum yum, nom nom: IMG_0392 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

Yesterday, my darling Moocher, Bunter, crossed the Bridge. Bunter had been part of our ever changing household since March 2011 when I had been watching the Renbury page following a little elderly dog with bad hair and completely blind from cataracts. When I realised that this little chap wasn’t going to be swept into the arms of a rescue group, I trekked out and brought him here. And so I had the honour of looking after this darling man for close on 9 years. For reasons known only to the strange conniptions going on in my brain, I called him Bunter as he was a solid little boy and I recalled from my far distant youth a comic strip about a very fat schoolboy called Billy Bunter. After a couple of months here, Bunter had cataract surgery and we were given the unbelievable joy of changing sightless cloudy eyes to glorious bright brown eyes that saw immediately. He really did have lovely eyes, my little Bunter. So passed the years of many adventures, joys and worries and miles of walking around the neighbourhood when I and all the dogs were a lot younger. For the past couple of years, Bunter has been battling with Dynamic Airways Disease which for the first year or so was kept under control by an array of medications including a puffer. He also began to suffer from dementia and no longer went downstairs of his own volition. I used to carry him down so he could have a wander around, but often he became confused and distressed, but just as often I would go out onto the deck to check on him and he would be racing competently up the ramp. It certainly became a roller coaster of emotions. On Tuesday morning, I had to take Sooty back to SASH for a check up (she has had eye surgery to try to give her some sight) and Bunter was still sound asleep on his back in the bedroom. When I came back he was still on his bedding, but in a different position, so I left him to snooze on A bit later, he started to bark and yelp, so I went racing down and he was having trouble turning himself onto his feet. I picked him up and he was soaked in urine. I gave him a bath, took him downstairs and the rest of the day was pretty well the same as ever. The next day, I realised he wasn’t well and made an appointment to take him to my vet. They kept him all afternoon, on oxygen, did xrays and blood tests and were very concerned. Because they don’t have anyone to monitor dogs through the night, I took Bunter home that evening, with instructions to bring him back first thing on Thursday morning. He was still a little sedated, but through the evening his breathing became laboured so at 2am, I rushed him to SASH so he could be kept comfortable and safe until I could take him back to my vet. Which I did as early as possible at 8am. I was pretty upset with SASH as it was perfectly obvious that Bunter was not going to rally and he should not have been put through the transfer from SASH to my vet, where he was gently let go within minutes of my arriving there. So Myrtle Street Moochers are bereft today, but amazingly, after fifteen years of living here, two of the original Moochers are still with me: Tamar and Jeune. And here is a little video of Bunter in better days. I am just so grateful I have this little video as, even through my tears, I can still have a little laugh. Watch it until the end. When we walked, I would take Bunter’s lead off at my neighbour’s driveway and he would run the rest of the way home, looking back to ensure his mummy was following and watching over him.

Well, I am far as could be from an expert, but I’m with @persephone. She is gorgeous and that first photo is a cracker Many of us have rescue dogs and enjoying pondering not only their breeds or mix of breeds, but also their stories.

Photo ??

I hope you and your vets can find and answer so you can treat and help Jax. I have an elderly Pom x Corgi who has dynamic airways disease which was diagnosed a couple of years ago. But he (Bunter) doesn’t get exhausted in the way you describe Jax. He has a dreadful cough and sometimes it is so damned harsh and strong that I wonder he doesn’t cough up his insides . He lies around most of the time (he is 17), but when he went to the vet the other day he was as bright as a button and we went for a little walk down the street. He does puff quite heavily, though, and a few weeks ago in the wee small hours he was breathing so heavily, I was contemplating taking him to emergency. We’ve been using a puffer on him for sometime now and have tried heaps of meds and combinations of meds, but we are now down to just ABs (injection every fortnight as he has become difficult to medicate), Codeine three times a day, Pred every second day and the puffer three times daily. Good luck. I hope you can find Jax some relief.

What a beautiful boy he was and always will be in your heart. Deepest sympathies, @stellnme. Basil. You’ll never be forgotten.

This sort in of thing makes me a bit cross, really. I am sure they are out there, but I don’t know of any rescuers who “vilify or discourage” responsible breeding. There are irresponsible rescue organisations and people, just as there are irresponsible and unethical breeders breeding dogs who can hardly breathe, GSD who can hardly walk, Westies whose skin conditions ensure a life of misery, etc etc etc. I don’t know who this Beret Walsh is, but she needs to take off the blinkers.

LOVE LOVE LOVE icon needed, @koalathebear. Many of “my” adopting families kept in touch as well. It is just so gratifying to know how much the dogs are loved and, in some cases, how they have changed the lives of their families.

That’s what I feel is way to go, @Tassie. Day by day, really. She has eaten well today, but each time I pick her up, she feels lighter , so I think it will be a case of lots of smoochies and cuddles.

Hope she gets better soon.

She is now on the deck eating dinner with Tamar swapping bowls

I’ll look that up, thank you, PK. However, I do contemplate the quality of life issue daily and that is what is at the heart of the quandary. Jeune has always been a funny little girl (funny as in odd and different). She has always been fiercely stubborn, has never played with toys, out on walks when we had them, if left to her own devices, she could have taken an hour to go 20 metres or even less because she would fasten on one spot and sniff and sniff and sniff. I once tried to time her as to how long she would stand sniffing at one little patch. She won and I had to drag her to continue the walk . This was always the pattern of our walks . . . . . . So, maybe she is quite content in just snoozing the days away?? She has been in my life for over 16 years, 3 years old when I adopted her. I made a mistake in my post above. She saw the vet on 11 Dec not 17 Dec, so it is just over a week before we see her again and I will ask for some more guidance then.

A wonderful series of photographs .... just beautiful.

I decided to take a look at the topics I’ve created regarding my dogs and that great mystery, EATING, and came across this one started a year ago. 2019 has been a very very very long year in terms of trying to manage to give all my very elderly dogs the best lives I can. Despite all the supplementary feeding she is getting, Jeune continues to lose weight and I am very very conflicted, because, depending on what illness or age a dog has, it can be very difficult to make the decision as to what is in the best interests of the dog (or any other pet). When I got up this morning, Jeune was out on the deck in the sunshine. As I watched she had a couple of little episodes of throwing up something that is very rare considering her age and her cancer. She is drinking a lot these days and I wonder if that is because of all the extras she is getting such as lots of Nutrigel and Anitone (I’m sorry, I’ve forgotten who recommended that). When I checked on her again, she was just lying down on the deck, which I’ve never seen before except when she lies on the top step in the sunshine. After her meds, she had about 25mls of Recovery, Bone Broth and Nutrigel and ate a tiny bit of breakfast. Her #2s are normal and I have only once seen her straining and that was some weeks ago. So for a very elderly dog with cancer (not in pain and taking Piroxicam), is she okay considering these things? I just don’t know what to do. I cannot see it in her eyes that she is ready to go and, yesterday, after I gave her a bath, she was racing around the house and deck like a youngster, but today she is very tired and is so thin. If someone picked her up in the street, they would think she’d been deliberately starved. I last took her to the vet on 17 December and the vet said to see her in a month’s time. Well, this is just a bit of a ramble because I don’t really know whether I keep on doing what I’m doing until Jeune is half the weight she should be. She still makes her way downstairs and has a little potter around, but mostly she just does her business, stands around for a while and then comes back upstairs by herself or waits for me to carry her. (I should add, that she has always done this, even when she was young and healthy. She would just stand in the sun for ages. I’d take a bed down for her, but, nope: she just wanted to stand there soaking up the rays.) A little anecdote from many many years ago. A woman with terminal cancer was being interviewed about the refusal of the Australian government to allow a particular drug into Australia because they weren’t satisfied that enough testing had been done to prove or otherwise its efficacy or safety. That woman was relatively young, she was standing at her front fence talking to the interviewer and she didn’t look too bad, just quite pale. It was later reported that she had died the following day. The point of this story is that although she was “well” enough to stand up and talk to reporters, she was actually just hours away from death.