Friday night we picked up Cheyenne from her 'home in the garage.' My understanding was she could barely walk or stand and was ready to be put down. My intentions were to bring her home for the weekend to give her peace and take her to the vet on Monday for an appointment with a needle of dreaded Blue Juice. Instead, she came to the house and promptly made herself at home. After being in the cold for so long, she panted all night from the warmth of the house and finally settled in quietly about 11pm. She is a bit wobbly but still happy to walk, and slept most of the night.
Saturday I created a sling from an old beach wrap, that slides under her chest so I can help hold up some of her weight and ease the pain of the cancer that is eating her front leg bone. I use this sling to take her in and out of the house when she needs to take care of business. I ran some errands late morning but was home by 1pm so we went outside to sit in the sun. She barked at planes overhead, bullied some squirrels on the fence, and generally guarded the backyard as she is supposed to - it's her job and she was ready to work. There is no way she is ready to be put down, as her previous caretakers said. Her diet now consists of 1/2 dog food, 1/2 white rice, a spoonful of whole milk yogurt and her pain meds. Her stools are now firm and her gas is nearly gone. Thankfully, it was typically more noise than stench.
Sunday was another good day, followed by Monday. Her back legs have stabilized and are not so weak. I figure with her previous 2 ACL surgeries and arthritis, living in the garage was too cold for her and affecting her rear strength and balance. Living inside, laying in front of the heater vent, she's built up the warmth in her bones that she needs to function properly. She is able to walk in and out by herself without the sling. She has energy and pep, she just has no stamina to back it up and tires after about 10-15 minutes.
Monday I worked at home, it's a repeat of the previous 3-4 days. I spoke to her vet late that night and let her know that we had a positive update. Doggie isn't ready to die yet...
Tuesday morning Chey was licking a lot. She licks when bored or when sore (hence the sock on her foot in the picture,) so I figured her pain meds were wearing off. Before I could give her more, she vomit saliva. I took her out to potty and brought her in for breakfast. She looked depressed, was very uninterested in her breakfast. She refused food and pain meds, spit everything out. I was able to force 2 of her 4 pills down into her and she decided eating bread was the only thing she wanted to do. 3 slices later, she was full and I left for work. An hour later the call comes that she vomit her pills and bread. I call in to the doc but she's not there so I leave a message. I'm thinking this is her last day and she's deteriorating quickly. BF goes to check on her at lunch and her attitude is better, she's eating the breakfast she previously left. Once I get home from classes at 9pm that night, she is indeed a happy girl again. She refused to eat the rest of the dog food from breakfast unless I hand feed her. {sigh} She has become smart in realizing that hot dog bits and bread hide pills. Now she smells anything that I offer her before taking them and refuses any that she smells inside. I try to force her but she's crafty and accidentally bites my thumb. The vet never calls back.
Wednesday she wakes in the middle of the night and I end up battling her in attempts to give her pain meds at 3am (it was a tie - I got 2 of 4 pills in her.) We slept in the living room to give BF some peace to sleep a full night. In the morning, she refuses dog food but laps up the chicken broth I offered her. I mixed some broth with rice and poured some over dog food. She eats the rice and broth & only eats the dog food that gets in the way. She refuses the rest of it. I offer her more rice and broth, but only after trying to force wienies with pain meds in them. She hides it, swallows, and when I release her she spits the wienie out, intact. Before I can swipe it to try again, she smells it and eats it on her own. ARGH! I give her the 2nd wienie and she gladly swallows it without a fight. Oy vey - too much drama - I'm tired of fighting & physically exhausted, so I clean her bowl, put in a cup of dog food and leave her in the bedroom with the food, in case she wants more during the day.
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