The beginning of the end….

We can see it coming.  Buffy, the (formerly) hyperactive Golden Retriever, has developed a seizure disorder.  She suddenly flops to her side, jerks her legs for a few seconds……then loses bladder control. She is fourteen…..her hips are painful all the time, she has had a non-cancerous but locally invasive tumor on her rump, and a smaller one on her eye, both of which periodically break open and bleed copiously.

Ursula, the big brown thirteen year-old dog, is now a bigger dog due to the steroids she  must take for her horrible skin allergies.  Steroids are wonderful, life-saving medications.  But they have significant side effects:  osteoporosis, diabetes, cataracts, elevated triglycerides…..and weight gain.  Akamai, the 85lb puppy, doesn’t realize his own strength, and when he gets excited (which is often) he runs full tilt into the other dogs, whose fragile hips and osteoporotic bones don’t stand up to such abuse.

So, this week, Buffy has had several seizures and subsequent “puddles,” and Ursula apparently hurt her leg in an Akamai collision. She can’t put any weight on her back leg, and because she has gained so much weight, walking has been very difficult for her anyway. She is also very social, and wants to be where we are. So, DH and I pile her onto a blanket, and then carry her up and down the stairs, and outside to potty.

So, Dr. C. has placed Buffy on antiseizure meds, and Ursula on pain meds.

We see the end of their lives looming on the horizon.  Selfish me wants to keep them with me for as long as possible. Practical me wants them to be pain and discomfort free. God grant us the wisdom to know the difference……