24 Paws Senior Health update

Prognosis of Overall health of the 24 Paws of Love Seniors:

Blaze's incision is healing up very nicely after the removal of a cancerous mammary tumor.  Her fur is slowly coming in, where she was shaved.  Hopefully it won't take too long or she is going to have a cold belly for the winter.  She gets her stitches out on Friday and can finally ditch the cone.  Not to mention as of now she is cancer free!  Yay!

 With Zappa we were confirmed that his hearing is starting to go.  While a little sad, it's also a little interesting as we learn how to deal with him being a little on the deaf side.  The vet says that it's his normal range goes first, but he can still hear high and low pitches.  I've noticed a difference in that he is more clingy than usual, but who wouldn't take extra cuddles from such a cutie pie?

Also Zappa had blood work done and it all came back positive.  The vet said he had the blood work of a two year old!  Zappa is almost 12 years old!!

Chance is still on the fence with the pH levels in his urine.  Last time we checked, a couple of months ago, they were high, as we got a little carried away with treats.  Something he is eating is raising his levels, so were back to the strict diet with him.  Hopefully this will work, or it will mean there is something more serious going on.




Fiona has started on Dasuquin Advanced for her hip dysplasia and it has made a world of difference from just the MSM version.  She hardly needs any pain pills anymore, which is fantastic!  We also bought some tumeric to give to the dogs to help relieve pain and inflammation.  We believe the tumeric in the Dasuquin Advanced is giving her such relief that we want to have it on hand for all the dogs.

Fiona is also on supplement of milk thistle and SAM-e for keeping her liver levels down.  So far, so good.  She will be tested again at the beginning of the year, to see that they are staying down.

So other than some minor tweaking adjustments, the dogs are in great health for their age.  (All dogs are 12 years old)  They do not look like senior dogs and really don't act like it.

Like flipping a paw to Mother Nature!  lol

Released fears and Every Day Miracles

It has almost been a month since we took Fiona to ER and had that terrible scare of vomiting and diarrhea with her.  Instantly we feared the worst, as it felt and looked like a repeat of Brut and Silver's deaths.  I hate that feeling.  Hubby, Mark felt it too.  It tears you to shreds, that fear, of losing everything all over again much too soon.  It is the worst feeling in the world.

It took about three weeks for Fiona to fully recover.  It seemed like forever.  She is now back to eating full meals and is her lovable and conniving self.  I wish I knew what got her so sick.  She ate that rabbit two weeks before she got sick, would it really take that long or did I notice too late?  Regardless, the entire thing was so frightening and unbelievable that Mark and I were wiped out emotionally and physically from the whole experience.  

And it isn't like we haven't been through bouts like this before, but having the flashbacks of losing Brut and Silver entangled in it, gives an entirely different element.  I'm not ready to face the inevitable of losing the last four dogs of the family.  I just pray for one more day, every day and do my best to give them a long, healthy life.

Because...

All I know for sure, is that every day is a blessing with them.  A complete and total gift from God that these four dogs are part of our living family.  They are our every day miracles.