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As some wise soul observed, all dog stories have sad endings and I almost hate to start this thread, knowing where it will take me. We are lucky to join the Senior Forum instead of starting this thread in the Health section.
It is hard to believe that 13 years have passed since my sweet boy chose me and came home to join our pack. He has always been the bouncy, smiling boy whose lovely grin suggested his name. Now that face is snowy white, but the grin still makes my heart sing.
Joker is on thyroid meds, as he has been for years, but arthritis is his biggest challenge now. He has weekly injections of Adequan and we rely on Rimadyl and Tramadol to control his pain, but climbing the stairs from the basement is such a struggle for him. There is no way into the house that doesn’t involve stairs, but those are especially steep and we try to provide door service to the back deck, where there are fewer stairs and they are not so hard to climb. I think my next move is to see about having a ramp built for him, perhaps with cleats on it to make it easier still.
My boy survived an emergency splenectomy about 18 months ago, the result of a hard fall. We got the treasured words “consistent with benign hematoma” in the pathology report, but I still worry that he may have heart issues. I guess we all worry…comes with the territory. My Goldens keep reminding me to live in the present and cherish every minute, but sometimes I regress. They are patient with me, except when I’m too slow to fix their dinner.
Joker is snorting and wriggling on the floor in front of me, doing the happy back dance that tells me he enjoys his life. I hope he will keep inspiring this thread for a long time to come.
It is hard to believe that 13 years have passed since my sweet boy chose me and came home to join our pack. He has always been the bouncy, smiling boy whose lovely grin suggested his name. Now that face is snowy white, but the grin still makes my heart sing.
Joker is on thyroid meds, as he has been for years, but arthritis is his biggest challenge now. He has weekly injections of Adequan and we rely on Rimadyl and Tramadol to control his pain, but climbing the stairs from the basement is such a struggle for him. There is no way into the house that doesn’t involve stairs, but those are especially steep and we try to provide door service to the back deck, where there are fewer stairs and they are not so hard to climb. I think my next move is to see about having a ramp built for him, perhaps with cleats on it to make it easier still.
My boy survived an emergency splenectomy about 18 months ago, the result of a hard fall. We got the treasured words “consistent with benign hematoma” in the pathology report, but I still worry that he may have heart issues. I guess we all worry…comes with the territory. My Goldens keep reminding me to live in the present and cherish every minute, but sometimes I regress. They are patient with me, except when I’m too slow to fix their dinner.
Joker is snorting and wriggling on the floor in front of me, doing the happy back dance that tells me he enjoys his life. I hope he will keep inspiring this thread for a long time to come.
