A Dogpost

[bunn]

- Rosie had been doing really well for such an old dog - in fact, so well, that I began to wonder if I should get her teeth cleaned at the vet and booked an appointment to discuss it.

Rather ambitiously, I suggested that we do a short flat mile-long walk at Tafarn Sinc, which looks like this, and is named for the Wonder of Zinc:






Alas, when Theo saw we had arrived he leaped enthusiastically from the car and caught Rosie's neck with his lead, causing her to scream piteously.

But she perked up again, managed a heroic if very slow walk, and made it to the sausages at the end.



She *did* make it round, but it took a very long time with many long pauses for thought. Really, it was too far.

The next day a long discussion with the vet led to a decision to take bloods and see if Rosie was fit enough for a dental. This was a tragic experience. She was terrified of the needle, and has low blood pressure, so the vet had to take blood from both of her front legs, which was very upsetting.

To be honest, I was thinking even at that point that it wasn't fair to put her through an anaesthetic, and in fact the blood tests revealed stage 2 kidney failure, which pretty much ruled out putting her under for a dental.

So instead she's had antibiotics for her gums, and a move to special renal dog food, which thankfully, she does seem to enjoy. I think her gums aren't as red as they were, and also the vet says that although her teeth do look pretty bad, she has seen considerably worse dog teeth. So that's something. I think this might be her last year. But she still seems happy, even if she does spend most of her life asleep now.


- Theo has been fox-hunting again! First on a visit to a beach where he'd previously run about decorously, he got the look of inspiration in his eye and shot off along the rocks and vanished for half an hour. Then yesterday, on the golf course, where again he had been very good for a long time. I can see I shall have to go back to basics on recall. AGAIN. Sigh. Still, no harm done I suppose. It would be less stressful if I could just remember to always, always keep his tracker charged. He seems to have a great knack for choosing the one day when the battery is low to disappear cheerfully into a bush.


- Today I took Theo back to Tafarn Sinc, to join in a group sighthound walk. Onlead!

Theo, of course is not a sighthound, but he seems to find their company soothing (Actually, I'm not sure he knows he isn't a saluki lurcher like Rosie). He had a lovely time, even making friends with a huge shaggy Afghan Hound called Scrumble, who he thought was a bit scary when they first met.

-

Comments

[independence1776]

Oh Rosie... May her last year be a good and peaceful one.

[bunn]

I hope it will be. I keep agonising over her teeth, but there really is no way to properly clean them without anaesthetic.

[grundyscribbling]

Oh, no! Poor Rosie... Fingers crossed she continues to be happy as long as possible.

Has Theo caught anything on his hunts?

[bunn]

Thankfully, Theo is too slow and loud to come very near foxes or badgers - because he would certainly come off worse in any encounter with either. He did catch a rabbit once, much to everyone's surprise, but he's never repeated the feat.

[rabbitica]

Scrumble, what an excellent name!

[chainmailmaiden]

Sorry to hear about Rosie, I hope the new food helps her kidneys. I remember using some sort of powder supplement for the cats which was supposed to help prevent tartar build up. I stopped using it after most of Flossie's teeth were removed though as it didn't seem to do her any good and Linds had good teeth anyway. It amazed me how they could have such different dental health when they were fed the same diet, presumably down to genetics.

[mrowe]

That's a magnificently pink building!

Hope Rosie continues to do well enough!

[dhampyresa]

Aw, Rosie. Give her a kissy for me?