Our anniversary is about a week away. We had planned to go to Gatlinburg but that was before my old dog started acting funny.
She is at least 16, we don't know her real age, cause we found her abandoned in a barn.
She has quit eating dog food for the past two weeks.
I have to keep finding people food for her to eat.
today, I cooked her some chicken.
I feel like if we went away and left her for even a short time, she would die. She can barely hear or see anything.
I could take her to the vets, but she is terrified of going in a car and I don't want her to be terrified during her last days.
So, I think we will stay home with the dog.
I did a mile of walking and 20 flights of stairs yesterday, plus the braves won, so I can add $3 to my challenge money.
Prev. total $10,128.00
today 3.00
new total $10,131.00
What to do??
May 5th, 2007 at 09:49 pm
May 5th, 2007 at 11:29 pm 1178407785
May 6th, 2007 at 01:44 am 1178415887
May 6th, 2007 at 02:32 am 1178418770
You have to do what you feel is right...since your dog is so much like a family member. If you and hubby agree that you need to be home with her, then that's where you need to be...just be sure to celebrate your anniversary too...of course, there is always that beautiful creek and fire pit to make the evening special!!
Whatever you decide to do, I hope you both enjoy!!
May 6th, 2007 at 02:40 am 1178419251
Good luck!
May 6th, 2007 at 04:27 am 1178425633
I'd really recommend trying to get her checked by a vet so you know exactly what you're facing.
Could you find a mobile vet who would make a house call to check on her? There are more of those kinds of vets than you might think. Check your yellow pages, or ask your regular vet, or ask any animal organization like local animal shelters (or do a web search --- if you don't know how, just ask us!).
If the vet says it's okay to try different kinds of food, some things that might tempt her are:
- Boiled hamburger mixed with boiled rice (like boomeyers suggested)
- Vita Gravy for dogs, poured on top of whatever you are trying to feed her
- Baby food (meat varieties)
- Soft boiled egg (you can mix it with some of that cooked chicken, and even add a bit of cottage cheese ... yum!)
- There's always the all-time doggie favorite, cheese, but I'd use that just as a little tempt to get her to eat other stuff because of the high sodium
Good luck to you and your dog! I hope you can find a mobile vet!
If you get her checked out and the vet says it would be okay to leave her and go away for your anniversary, you could hire a professional pet sitter to look after her; one who has been in business for awhile would have had experience caring for dogs like yours. You can find one at: http://www.petsit.com/locate_us.asp
May 6th, 2007 at 01:37 pm 1178458678