Rescue Journal

momentary cheap thrills

Carol  ·  May 24, 2012

ie...dogs with a few brand new, stuffy, supposedly indestructible..(hah..yeah right!)....squeaker toys.

esther got at her dressing again...grhhh. but i did catch her before she messed up the actual wound but not before the dressing was irrepairable. you win and lose some quite a bit in rescue so you do get used to being on both winning and losing sides...today for once was actually a tie.

i stopped to pick up some special food for georgia..her bloodwork showed significant chronic kidney disease. i don't do the low or restricted protein diets for our kidney guys...especially ancient, emaciated and anemic dogs like georgia. i do high protein, high quality fish diets..they need all the proteins they can possibly get and the fish diet proteins are the easiest and least toxic for the kidneys to break down...plus the diet is full of antioxidents which is great for kidney and liver function in the long run. anyway, i should say...this is a personal choice, not all the vets agree with me (but some actually do!) and it seems to work well for us so that is what i am going to do for georgia too.

while i was in bosleys, i found manny a great new bed and since i was feeling warm and fuzzy towards our dogs (probably because i was no where near them!) i bought them 4 new and cool brand new toys. june and mystic have shared one and together have gutted the poor thing to absolute crap. fergus keeps losing his but then picks up the kong and carries it around instead. and joey has a hold of his like there is no tomorrow..he will not put that thing down for fear that june and mystic will wreck it and the giant squeaker thing will be chewed to silent shit. june and mystic tried to tag team him to get it but joey is smart, he took his fat little self and his precious treasure under the bed where they (the toy wrecking oafs) can't get it. daphne's toy is high up on my shelf until i go to bed. then she can safely play without any of the moronic toy thieves stealing it away. tomorrow someone else can have and gut it to death but for tonight it is daphne's to have fun with...i think that is fair.

i better go do up the diabetics so she can have her play time before it gets too late....daphne LOVES new toys!

Comments

Carol

hi paula...for the cats i buy the little specialty cans of merricks sea food diets..they have quite a few choices.

but here is the thing...i don't take our cats too far into the not eating and vomitting stage... if i can't get them back out of it and feeling good wihin a day or two... i euthanize. the nausea is from the build up in toxins...once they start feeling like crap every day, it is usually because end stage kidney disease leads to toxicity, the toxicity makes them nauseated so they won't eat and drink and then they feel even worse cuz now they are sick to their stomaches and hungry and thirsty..they feel like shit every moment and life becomes an unhappy burden to try to live thru each day.

so sometimes you can kick them back into feeling well for awhile and buy them a bit more quality time...but sometimes you can't if the disease has progressed too far, at that point for them life does become unpleasant and just too hard.


hugs to you as you try your best to do the best you can for the one that you deeply love.

Paula

Hi Carol,

I read your blog daily but haven't commented before. I have a question if you don't mind: my 14 year old cat, Grommit, was recently diagnosed with chronic kidney failure and the vet recommended a low protein, low sodium diet. He doesn't like it and won't eat much. He's also on anti-nausea pills because he vomits when he eats - these seem to help him eat more at least. What brand of food do you buy for your chronic kidney failure animals? You mentioned a high protein fish diet - any recommendations to try? He's losing weight daily and I'm getting desperate....he's my baby. Thanks so much!

Mo

SAINTS gives you momentary cheap thrills on a regular basis..reading about Joey.. I can picture it perfectly & wish i was there to witness it.. I love that dog. Every week-end there are cheap thrills going on everywhere..Ellie sneaking down to the bottom field to excavate the new grass growing..she politeley starts to follow me when I go to retrieve her..only to take a sharp right at the last moment & head for ....the apple trees...or trying to feed Jessy & Al..while little mini-me is bouncing up & down like a mechanical toy..or watching pete curl up in the poop bin & stretch his neck & face up to the sun closing his eyes & enjoying the warmth..watching Gideon flip his lunch bowl around so he can locate the chopped up apples..having a quiet moment with Wilbur where I lie down close to him & sing ( if you can call it that )while I scratch under his belly & clean his eyes ..the animals of SAINTS are my roots that give me belief and faith that the world can be and is a magical place if want it to be and look close enough...Oh yea it helps alot that the sun is finally shinning :-)

Grant Hayter-Menzies

I always love reading what you write, Carol, but this is an especial joy. And I adore Mystic even more than before, if that's possible :)