Mon 7th March: Facing the inevitable

It hasn't been a good time for a lot of our older dogs recently.  Following the deaths of Blackie and Morris, our dear Ziggy has also left for the "Big Kennel in the Sky" after a long illness.  At least he had been in a home since we knew his time was coming, and he was also adopted by his foster so he wouldn't cross the Rainbow Bridge as a "still waiting" dog.  We appreciate that last act of kindness, and even though it  may seem pointless to some it means a lot to us.

As I have also written about before, many of my Lamma dogs are now reaching the inevitable end, although both Cindy and Sandy are battling on, long after they had been expected to survive.  In fact it would be hard to tell that Cindy had undergone two surgeries for aggressive cancer as she does the daily walk without a problem and has a good appetite.  Sandy, who is a really old lady now, totally blind and deaf and suffering from serious renal problems, still enjoys her strolls out to the balcony to sniff the breeze and enjoy the warmth of the sun when it's out, and eats well if she approves of the food offered.

Jeremy is another one of my early HKDR dogs, a very sweet boy who would have made a wonderful family dog.  A couple of weeks ago he yelped when I went to put on his muzzle for our morning walk (which all dogs wear) and was reluctant to move, so I took him for a check-up.  Dr Andy couldn't find anything wrong with with him other than a detached retina, which is something that can happen suddenly.  I took Jeremy home for observation and to collect a urine sample, which revealed he had some renal issues with further tests needed.  Still, as some days passed I could see there was something else that wasn't right and  I'm sure everyone who has dogs knows what I mean.  When you have lived with an animal for a long time you can sense when he or she isn't behaving normally, even if there's nothing obviously wrong.  Jeremy was still reluctant to walk and hesitant when he did. It was the sun shining in his eyes and the strange reflection that made me realise that Jeremy had now become completely blind, and rather than being in pain or having a problem with his legs, it was the fact that all of a sudden he couldn't see that was causing his changed behaviour.  Once I had spotted the problem it was obvious, and now it's a case of Jeremy adjusting to his new condition.  Unlike born-blind Roley who has never known what it is to be able to see, it must have been very frightening for Jeremy to have so have suddenly has his lights permanently switched off.