Poor Judy
We've still got Judy, and it's been a while. Three months to be exact. I've noticed that she has been leaving her chew toys all around the house, and her breath has been REALLY stinky lately. Also, she has been favoring her right side when she does decide to chew. The thing that really confirmed my suspicion is when we were playing. She retrieved a soft toy, started chewing on it, then suddenly screamed and dropped it. I made a vet appointment for the next available morning slot.The problem with taking Judy to the vet is that it's a process. She needs to be sedated (drugged) and muzzled. I managed to get this accomplished, and arrive on time for her 8am appointment. I explained the situation to the vet, and we agreed to sedate her further by injection to perform the nail trimming, and pre-dental exam. While she was out, they performed all sorts of tests and bloodwork since she needed dental surgery. She fractured her rear top molar on the left side and it was infected. Poor Judy!
We picked her up, and were sent off with a two week treatment of antibiotics to be started immediately. I was supposed to call the next day for the bloodwork results, but I forgot. It was the weekend.
Monday morning, I get a call from the vet regarding the bloodwork. At first, she mentioned abnormal levels of some kidney enzyme which is indicative of Cushing's disease. This usually doesn't happen to younger dogs. Strange. I talked to the vet again today in more detail, and she also mentioned that there were abnormal levels of two out of the five liver enzymes too. These things could be transient, caused by diet, or injury. Alternatively, it could be onset Cushing's or liver disease. She recommended an ultrasound. These run something like $400 or $500.
Hmm.
The thing is, Judy isn't exhibiting signs of discomfort. And, if I do go forward with the ultrasound, it seems like the end result is the same. Good outcome, do nothing. If there's a bad outcome, there's really not much you can do for a dog within reason.
In my heart, she's still my little baby- a 7 week old puppy. But when I look at her, it's hard to ignore how white she is in the face, and how she has aged. She'll be 7 in July which is middle-aged for a dog. So I guess with dogs, and some other pets, you keep them until it's inconvenient, or until they're enduring so much suffering that it's inhumane then make the determination to put them down. I am still wrapping my brain around this one. It's hard.
My childhood pets were easier. I'm talking about non-negotiable death, like coming home from school and finding the fish floating in the bowl, or the bird on the bottom of the cage with his legs sticking straight out. There's no deliberation, or putting off the inevitable for one more day. It just happens. With dogs, I don't think it "just happens".
Logically, I understand the way it works. They're not around forever. It's a 10-13 year commitment. And, the dog has probably had a much better life in your care than other scenarios. As crazy of a pup as she is, I wouldn't have done anything differently. It's just hard to think about that day when she's not around.
posted by v @ 10:48 PM
1 Comments:
this actually just happened to crunchy too, two of her molars had to be removed. she apparently fractured them chewing on a nylabone. luckily they weren't infected. she's 6 and i can tell she's started to get old too and it makes me sad.
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