Loving my Oldies

This morning was cold but sunny. Jeune and Sooty decided to stay downstairs soaking up the rays. Terrible pic of Jeune, but the sun was very bright, and she is now very old. IMG_1091 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr I took this one from the deck as I kept on coming out and checking on her. She seemed very contented just to sit there. IMG_1093 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

Sooty finally was returned to me on Wednesday. Lots of tears. She is doing well. Here she is playing Greta Garbo in the bedroom. Please note that when little girls have bandages, said bandages MUST match bedding. fullsizeoutput_c00 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

It happens sadly. I’d waited years before I was in a position to have dogs. The day finally came when my puppies were coming home. I picked up the little girl from her breeder took her straight to my vet ......... diagnosed with heart disease which took her at 3 and a half. I used to say that my car could make its own way to the vet. The boy came to me on the same day from another breeder and he died at 8 and a half from cancer. You have had a gut wrenching experience, Bluefairy, but no matter how long your dogs live for, you will experience the loss. Such an individual thing, really, balancing the love with the loss.

And their jaws get very hard. Mezza missed his little treat (wrapped around a pill) the other day and got my finger instead. Hard !!!!

Sweet question, @teddybeans. Many years ago, I rescued a little elderly dog from a pound who had terrible teeth. His dental, during which all his remaining teeth had to be removed, was in the morning (the vet was very worried because he was a tiny dog with a fragile jaw) and that evening after I brought him home he was “gumming” chicken necks in my back yard with my other dogs. Dogs develop very hard mouths and can eat very hard things. I have an elderly little homed-from-the-pound dog at the moment, a Pomeranian, who had all his teeth out last year. He is on a diet and I feed him Satiety kibble because I can weigh it and know exactly how many calories he is eating. I have to put the kibble in a slow feeder bowl to slow him down !!! So, don’t worry. Feed your dogs whatever he likes.

Yep, clothes pegs have lots of uses

Fold over top of bag and use sticky tape .

Interesting.

I have a question about GoFundMe pages. I found out the anonymous person who donated the $1,000 - the people didn’t tell me, someone they know did. Naturally I rang the donor (whom I know well) with profuse and never ending thanks because if it hadn’t been for that donor, I think Sooty would still be waiting for her surgery. However, during the course of our conversation, I asked the donor if they had received a receipt and donor said an emailed receipt had been received. Donor also said that, despite some people preferring to remain anonymous, whoever started the GoFundMe Page could see the names. Is this correct, does anyone know? I was surprised and so was donor, because I would have thought that was against the spirit of wanting to be anonymous.

It’s not really a new fad, @Dogsfevr. I used house sitters years ago, as well as professional dog sitters on a couple of occasions. I knew (lost touch) of others who were set up as you describe (council approvals, insurance, BSB, etc). I was thinking of doing it about a decade ago, but decided I had enough on my plate with my dogs and not really wanting to go through all the all the paperwork required to do it professionally and correctly. Plus, if anything happened to a dog in my care (despite fostering many over the years), I don’t think I’d be able to live with myself.

Ain’t no one goin’ to take my poo away from me.

@Bow Wow, do you want to buy mine? One 500g unopened and one about 3/4 used.

GROODLE !!!!! I don’t know anyone, @kamuzz, sorry. 8 month old puppy of two happy lively breeds?? Yep, I’d be going with kennels, too, but I would be checking them out microscopically. A dog of that age could easily come out damaged as two weeks is a long time. Or maybe a house sitter who was home all the time and making sure that the house and yard were better than Fort Knox. We all know that stressed dogs will go through plate glass trying to find their owners.

One of the things that has always driven me insane is when, meeting up with someone else walking their dog, their dog starts sniffing mine and vice versa and the owner pulls their dog away chastising it. I always say that they are just saying hello. It makes me so sad for the other dog.

You are right, @sandgrubber. Words don’t come easy and often it is hard to find them at all especially through the tears. RIP Jarrah.

Because my dogs are all very old, they haven’t been vaxed for years. The only treatment they get (apart from a host of medical issues ) is flea and tick prevention. However, I do recall some years ago one of my vets saying that she would never give C7, it was completely unnecessary. Can’t remember the details, but I am sure someone here has much more up to date information.

Exactly. When my little dog had a reaction to an injection, my vet at the time was absolutely mortified and felt responsible. Such a difference over the years.

Well said @Snook, but your vet’s response was underwhelming to say the least

How utterly terrifying. Many years ago, I had a little female given “the morning after” injection and the site of the injection came up in a huge lump. Vet was mortified. I have another little girl who nearly went crazy the one and only time I gave her Advantix. I give her Advantage with nil adverse affects. Dogs are like people: some have allergic reactions and others don’t. I take an antihistamine daily, sometimes two, yet all the tests in the world have never shown anything I am allergic to. So glad your Teddybeans is with you still, happy and healthy.

Darling little Sooty. Surgeon is happy with progress. She isn’t coming home for a while as pain management is crucial. Doesn’t she look gorgeous in her little tartan coat. She was sent with two. A girl has to have a decent wardrobe. IMG_2964 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr

Do you think the report is promising? I find it very scary. I hope she is back here soon, too.

I’m not sure. How you managed with both of you in casts, I don’t know. At least I am used to carrying Sooty around (she is blind remember), but she was becoming adventurous and would regularly take herself off on little tours of exploration and enjoyed going out and lying on the deck, but they will be put on hold. I am not sure what sort of rehab and physio I will need to be doing for her, but we dog lovers do whatever is necessary. As my four other dogs are all very elderly now, I have the luxury of being able to enjoy lots of time just lying on the couch with a couple of dogs draped over me. I just need to find some decent books to download. Why was Frodo in a cast?

This is the report the rescuer emailed me earlier today. I am so worried about her. "Sooty is out of surgery, she’s sedated and resting well. Eugene put a ligament in and screwed it to her joint but it did not hold, Sooty's elbow joint was just too loose so in addition to the ligament , he has had to put a pin into her elbow to almost fuse the joint. Sooty has a cast on her leg in a fully extended position, she will need to keep this on for between 2-3 weeks so that the cartilage builds up around the joint and takes up some space and essentially sets the elbow joint and stops the joint from slipping the way it is now. "It’s only a small procedure to have the pin removed in a few weeks, at this point he believes Sooty will have pretty good mobility , she may well walk with a slightly mechanical limp but that she will generally be fine and should be able to operate fairly normally."

Sooty is having her surgery today. Nervous wreck.

And here is a video (turn on sound) of Sooty doing a rain dance on the deck this morning. Not really; this is how excited she gets at meal times and it was when I was getting breakfast for all the Moochers. 8A96A1E1-9564-4F87-AFB8-121F456B32B7 by Cynthia Waters, on Flickr