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Canine Senior Moments?
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<blockquote data-quote="SearchingForRainbows" data-source="post: 531864" data-attributes="member: 3388"><p>Threads like this always bring tears to my eyes. I don't really know about "senior moments" as far as dogs are concerned. All of the dogs I've had prior to my "favorite sanity saver" had to be euthanized because it was apparent they were suffering, all that is, except my much loved beagle. My parents gave her to my sister and I when I was 9 years old. She was the runt of a litter and was going to be euthanized. About the only good thing I can think of, when I think of my mother, is that she had a major soft spot for animals and couldn't let this happen. She persuaded my father to bring her home. She had epilepsy. She had a seizure and died in front of my mother, myself, and my high school boyfriend when I was 17. It took a very long time before I could think about her without teary eyes...</p><p></p><p>Cats, that's a different story. My most affectionate cat, she was beautiful, long black fur, huge turquoise/green eyes, definitely had what I would call kitty alzheimer's. She would walk to her litter box, go inside, come out and go all over the floor. I know the litter box was clean. I was constantly cleaning it. It got so bad I had to buy puppy training pads and put them outside of the box. Then, gradually, she began going all over the house. We left her home for a few days while we were away and came back to a huge mess in every room - Not Fun!! She started eating my favorite sanity saver's food instead of her own. She stopped coming to us when we called her name, something she had always done from the first day we brought her home from the shelter. She was by our very best guess, about 25 years old!! When we got her, we were told she was about five or six years old. She lived with us about 20 years. Things got worse, she didn't seem to consistently "know" us, and sadly, my husband had to bring her to the vet for the very last time... He stayed with her as she closed her eyes forever... Too sad for me to even think about now... </p><p></p><p>My favorite sanity saver is going to 11 sometime in August. She has been starting to slow down. It's been gradual for about a year now. She has cataracts, gets tired from playing more quickly, definitely has arthritis, no longer jumps on the bed to snuggle with me and husband, or to let us know she needs to go out. Now she taps husband with her nose or paw, or pushes her body into the side of the mattress to "jar" one of us awake. She has small growths too, a large one on her chest but we had a fine needle biopsy done on it and luckily, no abnormal cells were found - We were told that because she is so mellow, they got a really good sample and were able to do the procedure three times. So far she is still happy, still loves to play, go on rides (however, husband is going to have to make some sort of a ramp for her to make getting in it easier), walks, and do all the things she's always loved to do. I'm dreading the day she no longer enjoys life. My kids think I'll have to go to the shelter and bring home another "fur baby" before this happens. Even my husband doesn't know how I'm ever going to be able to deal with it when the time comes... </p><p></p><p>Like you, I hope if the time comes when I have to make a choice for my favorite sanity saver, I'm strong enough to give her one final gift, that of no more pain/suffering... However, I hope for now, that both of us have many more happy years with our beloved fur babies!! Hugs... SFR</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="SearchingForRainbows, post: 531864, member: 3388"] Threads like this always bring tears to my eyes. I don't really know about "senior moments" as far as dogs are concerned. All of the dogs I've had prior to my "favorite sanity saver" had to be euthanized because it was apparent they were suffering, all that is, except my much loved beagle. My parents gave her to my sister and I when I was 9 years old. She was the runt of a litter and was going to be euthanized. About the only good thing I can think of, when I think of my mother, is that she had a major soft spot for animals and couldn't let this happen. She persuaded my father to bring her home. She had epilepsy. She had a seizure and died in front of my mother, myself, and my high school boyfriend when I was 17. It took a very long time before I could think about her without teary eyes... Cats, that's a different story. My most affectionate cat, she was beautiful, long black fur, huge turquoise/green eyes, definitely had what I would call kitty alzheimer's. She would walk to her litter box, go inside, come out and go all over the floor. I know the litter box was clean. I was constantly cleaning it. It got so bad I had to buy puppy training pads and put them outside of the box. Then, gradually, she began going all over the house. We left her home for a few days while we were away and came back to a huge mess in every room - Not Fun!! She started eating my favorite sanity saver's food instead of her own. She stopped coming to us when we called her name, something she had always done from the first day we brought her home from the shelter. She was by our very best guess, about 25 years old!! When we got her, we were told she was about five or six years old. She lived with us about 20 years. Things got worse, she didn't seem to consistently "know" us, and sadly, my husband had to bring her to the vet for the very last time... He stayed with her as she closed her eyes forever... Too sad for me to even think about now... My favorite sanity saver is going to 11 sometime in August. She has been starting to slow down. It's been gradual for about a year now. She has cataracts, gets tired from playing more quickly, definitely has arthritis, no longer jumps on the bed to snuggle with me and husband, or to let us know she needs to go out. Now she taps husband with her nose or paw, or pushes her body into the side of the mattress to "jar" one of us awake. She has small growths too, a large one on her chest but we had a fine needle biopsy done on it and luckily, no abnormal cells were found - We were told that because she is so mellow, they got a really good sample and were able to do the procedure three times. So far she is still happy, still loves to play, go on rides (however, husband is going to have to make some sort of a ramp for her to make getting in it easier), walks, and do all the things she's always loved to do. I'm dreading the day she no longer enjoys life. My kids think I'll have to go to the shelter and bring home another "fur baby" before this happens. Even my husband doesn't know how I'm ever going to be able to deal with it when the time comes... Like you, I hope if the time comes when I have to make a choice for my favorite sanity saver, I'm strong enough to give her one final gift, that of no more pain/suffering... However, I hope for now, that both of us have many more happy years with our beloved fur babies!! Hugs... SFR [/QUOTE]
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