Pending
We're probably putting the Jeeps down tomorrow.
He's been having trouble with his hips for a year or more, and all winter it's been getting harder and harder for him to get back up when he falls. Now, in the last month or so, it's gotten suddenly worse. And today for the first time he can no longer stand or walk at all, not even if we help him.
Tonight we were holding him up to eat a little dinner and noticed a horridly infected gash in his leg. All I can think is that he must've cut himself on one of his falls in the yard. I cleaned the wound as best I could, and held warm compresses on it for a half hour, which seemed to feel good to him. Then we laid him down on some towels in front of the fireplace.
He's sleeping now. Not like his usual sleep – he's clearly out of it.
Maybe the wound is the reason he can't stand or walk. It's definitely possible. What if we treat his leg, and he gets better, and gets to have one more summer? Would that be a good thing?
I don't know. Summers here are so brutally hot. He's almost eighteen years old. An astounding age for any dog. Even if by some miracle he does come home from the vet tomorrow, we've always said we wouldn't let him suffer. Until now, I don't think he has been. Today he clearly is.
We'll see what the vet has to say.
He's been having trouble with his hips for a year or more, and all winter it's been getting harder and harder for him to get back up when he falls. Now, in the last month or so, it's gotten suddenly worse. And today for the first time he can no longer stand or walk at all, not even if we help him.
Tonight we were holding him up to eat a little dinner and noticed a horridly infected gash in his leg. All I can think is that he must've cut himself on one of his falls in the yard. I cleaned the wound as best I could, and held warm compresses on it for a half hour, which seemed to feel good to him. Then we laid him down on some towels in front of the fireplace.
He's sleeping now. Not like his usual sleep – he's clearly out of it.
Maybe the wound is the reason he can't stand or walk. It's definitely possible. What if we treat his leg, and he gets better, and gets to have one more summer? Would that be a good thing?
I don't know. Summers here are so brutally hot. He's almost eighteen years old. An astounding age for any dog. Even if by some miracle he does come home from the vet tomorrow, we've always said we wouldn't let him suffer. Until now, I don't think he has been. Today he clearly is.
We'll see what the vet has to say.
1 Comments:
So sorry to hear about the Jeeps! I'm spending today learning about chicken antibiotics - Lola is a litle wheezy, but otherwise is acting completely normal (and Speckles is doing just fine). Most of the websites say if it's a respiratory infection to just to "cull" the problem bird, which isn't much help when she's become the kids' favorite pet.
Let us know how Jeeps does. Tater will be so sad without him.
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