Caring for a Sick Pet

Damsel was her name. She was a beautiful, healthy and vibrant red boxer. We named her Damsel because we rescued her from the pound/humane society, and when we got her she was very much in distress. She’d been beaten with brooms, and deprived of nourishment. When we took her home we could see her ribs. In her first stool I noticed white worms, so I immediately took her to the vet. We’d planned on getting her a check-up anyway, especially considering we had another dog, but the worms made the visit urgent. The vet said that she had four different kind of worms, and put her on medication. He said she’d probably gotten the worms from eating rodents and that it should clear up soon. He told us he guessed her age to be between 3-5 years old. We were shocked because we’d been told by the humane society that she was probably only a year old. The vet said no way because of her teeth. Now the humane society had asked us to bring Damsel back in a few weeks as they anticipated her being a “witness” in their criminal case against her owners. To our surprise they told us they’d have to go with pictures or use one of the other dogs, because in that short period of time Damsel’s hair had stopped shedding and was glossy, and she’d gained 5-6 pounds, not looking abused anymore.

Just this past weekend Damsel passed away, 7.5 years after our adopting her. According to the vets records she was somewhere between 10.5 and 12.5. Considering the greying of her face over the last couple of years, being almost white at the time of her death, we guess her to have been closer to 12 than to 10. It happened so suddenly, one day she just seemed to be moving slower than usual, and she really didn’t want to eat. Having just been to the vet, they’d commented about her losing weight due to age and possibly problems with her teeth (when we got her, her teeth were just horribly ground down). My husband and I quickly made a switch to soft foods and she seemed to take to that well. But then we noticed a change in her stool and evidence of diarrhea. After treating the diarrhea we were sure she’d be fine, and I even began to give her some treats here and there and she enjoyed them. But just as with the poodle, it was on and off again, feeling good and then not so good again. This past Friday she walked up the stairs and had a massive heart attack. Praise God it only lasted 5 minutes, because we surely wouldn’t want her to suffer. My husband talked her through it and rubbed her and I prayed. It was a loving moment, and I will cherish the fact that we were able to show her love until the end.

Just four years before, I’d cared for an ailing poodle (Mon Cheri’). He was about to turn 14 years old when he died, probably of kidney failure. Just as with Damsel it came on suddenly. Even at 13, he stilled jumped up on furniture and into my lap of course. It started with accidents around the house, and then a loss of appetite. He’d also just visited the vet and been given an okay bill of health. After not eating or drinking for a while, I took him to the vet emergency. They gave him liquids intravenously and told us to get to the store and buy some Pedialyte to keep him hydrated. The next day we saw our regular vet who ran tests. They came back with saying the kidneys seemed to be failing but were not that far progressed. They put him on a special “kidney” diet and for about a week or so he got better and better. The next week he started having seizures and although he was given an anti-seizure medication, the seizures never stopped. The vet to the end was not sure what was going on, but we believe the seizures came about because of toxins in his body.

So as you can see, I have quite a bit of experience in caring for sick dogs. With Mon Cheri’, I lost so much weight it was pitiful and my husband was to the point where his pants were almost falling off of him. With Damsel we were a little more mature and did our best to try and continue to care for ourselves while caring for her. Here are some tips or advice I give to anyone caring for an ailing pet.

1. Take care of yourself. Any pet lover knows that you will care for your animal to the end, just as you would with any other loved one or family member. Considering this fact, it is evidenced that being a caregiver takes it’s toll on you, whether you are caring for a human or a pet. With a human, family members typically take their turn and have sympathy for you. Neighbors even fellow church members stop by and visit, but typically not so with a pet. So you will have to find your own way to “get a break” or “get away” for your own health and well being. I suggest you be okay with leaving the pet at home alone sometime. For me this was hard. By me working from home I was always here (some people realistically have to go to work), but with Damsel, I’d still try and get out to get some fresh air sometimes or just a change of scenery while she slept. I’d run to the store, or even take a ride or sit on the porch and read the bible. Something to just help me gather my thoughts and strength. Consider asking another pet lover to sit with your pet while you get out for a while, or solicit someone to drop by the house while you’re out. Remember, you still have to live, shopping for groceries, etc. are still necessary.

2. Move the pet to a convenient place. For us this was our bedroom. This way I didn’t have to keep getting up and checking on them. Because the poodle was having seizures, I actually brought in an old bassinet and put him in it, this way I didn’t have to be concerned about him hitting his head during a seizure, and I was able to pull the bassinet right next to the bed, thus quickly awakening if he had a seizure in the night.

3. Keep them loaded with fresh water. Water is so very important. Make sure that your pet is always able to get to the water. Make it as easy for them as possible.

4. Do your best to make them comfortable. With Damsel, my husband brought down her bed every morning. In the past, she’d just lay on the rug while I worked, or she’d look out the window, or bark at everything running from window to window. But when she was not feeling well, she chose to rest, so we made sure to have her soft cushy bed upstairs when she was there, and downstairs when she was down.

5. Let them rest. The kids might not be used to your dog resting, but it’s necessary if they are going to get better or even for them to be comfortable in their last days. Damsel very much enjoyed soft music playing, or watching tv, so I’d be sure to leave something on for her when I was gone, and at night we’d play soft music for her as it seemed to help her sleep.

6. Make a plan as a family. Let’s face it, veterinary medicine has come a long way but it is not at the level of today’s medical care for humans. Also, you have to consider how much you can afford as most of us don’t have pet insurance. With the poodle alone, one emergency visit and treatment ran us over $500. Realisitically, how much can you afford? It’s also a matter of suffering. Although we never had to make the decision (both of our pets died within just a few weeks of becoming ill), sometimes you have to remember that their passing is better than their continuing to suffer. This is where sometimes we have to differentiate between a pet and a human. This may have to be an unselfish decision for you. We want to see them with us, but when a pet is aging and organs are failing, sometimes it’s just the end and we have to accept that.

7. Take your pets care and health into your own hands. Do your research and make decisions for him/her. There is a lot of information on the internet, and there are also alternative and holistic options for your pet, just as with you. I very much regret allowing our poodle to be put on phenobarbitol because the last few days of his life he couldn’t even lift his head. Damsel on the other hand, was on the porch playing with a neighbor and mom and dad just a couple of hours before her death. It made for a much better experience.

I pray that my story helps you. Give your best to your animal and have no regrets. What they want most from us is our love. Just as with us remember – to everything there is a season. A time to be born, and a time to die.

Here is a poem written in memory of Damsel –

You came to us a Damsel in distress.
Tired and worn, beaten and torn,
Trembling, afraid, wondering what were you to do.
Finally trusting, tentatively responding with licks and nuzzles,
begging us to tenderly love you.

A coat of brown and woeful eyes, pointed ears and wagging tail, you
would climb in our laps so fast, signaling how delighted you were to
have a good home at last.

You willingly gave of all you had, quickly protecting our small poodle
and allowing him to rule the place, being a boxer, triple his size,
still you gave him his space, with beauty and grace.

Damsel in distress no more, never again would you be as before. Home at
last you are happy and fufilled. Willing always to do the Master’s will.

And now your final hour has come, you know you must go. But you love
your mom and dad so. You look into our eyes for the very last time,
begging us not to try and reason, just to remember it was your season.

One nudge for you’re growing weak, you haven’t enough strength to speak.
So you put all the love in your eyes from your heart and with one last look you quickly depart.

Good bye Damsel, You were a great pal. Go be with God and all your Kin.
Yes, dogs go to heaven. That’s where you’ll be, Chasing and running happily!