GoldenOldie Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 On Monday I lost my elderly foster dog Lady, a wonderful GSD suffering from epilepsy and CDRM. She came to me 4 months ago from a local sanctuary having been found as a stray 2 years previously. She was very loved and cared for in the kennels but was fairly institutionalised after that length of time. Lady was in a post ictal phase when she arrived and was still confused and disoriented and a bit wobbly on her back legs. My 2 elderly labs. and 4 cats looked on in amazement as this very large girl wobbled her way around around my very small terraced cottage, exploring everywhere, falling over them occasionally and "collecting" things, which subsequent experience taught me was a feature of her behaviour in the post ictal phase of her cluster fits. Items included plates, tea towels, plant pots. a bread knife (removed from the washing up bowl in the sink) and dog leads; she liked to chew dog leads, teatowels and plastic and twice daily poop scooping was an exploration into the unknown in the first days of her arrival, multi coloured/textured poops were a regular feature! She wandered a lot at night and rarely reacted to anyone, never wagging her tail or licking and walks were a matter of head down plodding along. Within a week she began to change and slowly began to take an interest in her surroundings on walks, loved the car,became calm and settled in the house and played with my daughter's young dogs. She was completely clean in the house, wonderful with the other animals and with my grandchildren and demonstrated pleasure and excitement with tail wags, twirling and lots of noise!10 weeks on( the longest seizure free phase she had experienced) she had a series of fits and after 2 days she stayed at the surgery until she was stable, which took a further 3 days. I went to see her in the surgery and in spite of being sedated she got up and when I reached out to stroke her she licked my hand for the first time - which completely broke me up. Lady was already on a raft of medication to keep her stable and required additional medication which was unfortunately given in the wrong dosage so her recovery was slowed down because she became very unsteady and weak until the dose was reduced.She was also on a special hepatic diet as the anti convulsants had caused some liver damage. In spite of her health issues she had a happy and peaceful life although the CDRM became more of an issue and she had days when a walk wasn't possible and she struggled to manage the small steps into the garden unless she had help. She couldn't manage hard floors and I had a series of non slip mats in the kitchen and conservatory to help her grip; in between she was the first at the door when the leads came out and led the way up to the farm track for a walk and then back home for food/treats/naps. Her recall was excellent and it was wonderful to see her exploring the grass verges and pottering off on her own . The sanctuary was unstinting in it's support in maintaining her health and covered all the vet's bills ; she had food supplements, vital for her liver problems at a cost of £100 monthly which they also covered. From Xmas she had more bad mobility days than good and at times I had to walk her, if at all, without the other dogs as I sometimes needed to support her back end to steady her. She loved her food but started to lie down to eat and in the last weeks became distressed if she wanted to go out and couldn't get up without help. In all this time she never had an accident and managed to go outside even hours before the end although I was padding the kitchen and conservatory with newspaper and discouraging her from going out.Last week she suddenly had a burst of energy and every day managed a good, steady walk with the others and was in and out with just an occasional wobble. 2 hours after her teatime walk on Friday she was staggering and this progressed over the weekend until she was virtually unable to stand on Monday morning. She also fitted on Sunday morning . I had already discussed with the sanctuary and the vet about letting her go with dignity if her condition deteriorated and on Monday I knew that time had come and her tired eyes told me she did as well. She 'd had enough. The dogs and I sat with her until the vet arrived and they peacefully shared lots of treats, her diet no longer an issue. It was interesting to see all 4 of the cats also scattered around the living room as their morning routine is normally to be upstairs on the bed or outside. Lady had a peaceful and dignified end at home surrounded by love and is yet another example of older dogs who adapt to changes in their life and bring so much joy to the people they own. I have worked in animal welfare for 30 years and taken many old, sick and distressed animals, all of which have been loved, but occasionally , as all animal lovers know, along come the ones that squeeze your heart ; Lady was one such of these. I lit a candle for her this morning. 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Abby Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I'm so sorry for your loss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yantan Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I am so very sorry Thank you for taking Lady into your home and heart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacobean Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Oh no I'm so sorry to hear you've lost the lovely girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melissa Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Thinking of you run free at the bridge Lady knowing you were loved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zico's mum Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 so sorry to hear of Lady's passing.She was a lucky girl to have found so much love at the end of her life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
houndzrus Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 So sorry for your loss. I'm glad Lady had such a lovely home for her last few months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fee Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 What a wonderful tribute to Lady Sweet dreams, lovely girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Run free Lady, lovely girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenOldie Posted February 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Thank you everyone for your messages. Yesterday another oldie called Lady came into my life and I am now a failed transporter for the Oldies Club - about which I will post more later with pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owl Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Congratulations, we look forward to seeing pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judith gsd Posted February 1, 2009 Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 So sad to hear of your loss of a wonderful dog. But congratulations on your new arrival, I hope that the new one will help you cope with losing your special friend. I am confident she will though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnbecks Posted February 2, 2009 Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 sorry and congrats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenOldie Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 Hopeless and hapless that's me! How do I add pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenOldie Posted February 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 2, 2009 I managed to get an image on the gallery but missed out the heading - uselss or what? Help!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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