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For the last few years, he's slowed down, lost his vision to cataracts, & generally gotten old & cranky (something I, unfortunately, can relate to). But it hasn't taken away his joie de vivre, just takes his pleasure of being a dog at a slower pace. Running into walls, chairs, tables & such, he takes with no complaint; his nose still leads him to dinner, he can lounge for hours either in his spot in the hall or his kennel. His bladder control isn't so good, & we have a lot of carpet to replace when he's gone.

Last week, he quit eating the dry food, rawhide chews he had sworn off years ago...apparently crunchy chewy things hurt now. Soft canned food he lapped up greedily, but went right thru him. As his weight fell, I rushed him to the vet, where she prescribed an antibiotic & soaking his dry kibble in chicken broth. Trouble is, he has never liked soggy kibble, even with that chicken flavor. I tried Moist & Meaty, but it ran thru him as well, & the antibiotic failed to stop the runs. That's where I was Friday night, depressed because if I couldn't get him better, I would have to end his suffering. Saturday the vet on call didn't want to deal with his quality of life issues, but she did suggest Immodium & chicken with rice baby food to get his diet bland & low fat. He has responded well to the new regimen, & is as spry & perky as he ever gets these days, so...looks like the call from governor came thru. He still pisses the floor, & he has a little string of poop in his tail fur I haven't had the stomach to clean up yet, but he seems happy to be my dog again...

Pound for pound, he's a pretty tough old son of a bitch. He fell off the porch over the weekend, far enough that it shoulda coulda broke some bones, but after he got his breath back, he got up & moved along like it was no big deal. I'm carrying him down the stairs a lot now, which doesn't help my back, but hey, he my friend...he'd do it for me if he could...