Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Day 2834

It was difficult to get ready this morning. The anti-nausea pills seem to have no effect on Dash's appetite. I had a lot of trouble getting him to take his morning pills before I had to leave for my dental appointment. I need to remember to start making all appointment later like I did when Dot was alive. It's not fair to rush a sick dog.

Dash spit out his pills twice when I put them in a ball of wet dog food. I retrieved the pills and finally got him to eat them by putting them inside a small slice of banana bread and mashing the bread into a ball. Dash won't eat bananas any more, but for some reason, he still loves banana bread. I was worried that I had given his pills on basically an empty stomach, but just before I had to leave, I tried another can of food and this time he ate it. Save by the bell again.

Every time I go to the dentist there seems to be a different dental hygienist. Janet says a lot of dentists don't hire their own hygienist anymore. They just get them as needed from an employment service that specializes in that sort of thing. That would explain the frequent turnover. Of course it might just be a terrible job. I wouldn't want to poke around in people's mouths all day long.

We fitted Dash for a knee brace today. I'm not sure if this will work, but it's worth a try. The vet said it really helped her dog. Dash is a little old for TPLO surgery, so maybe the brace might prevent his cruciate ligaments from deteriorating further. Failing knee joints have nothing to do with Dash's loss of appetite. They are just one more thing that has gone wrong.

It rained today. This was a surprise. It's been over a month since we've had any rain. The plants in the yard can definitely use the moisture, but I still wish the roofer had made it over to inspect things before the roof got wet again. At least I was able to remove the large elm tree branch from the roof. It would have been a real mess if that was still up there.

We're trying to train Dash to sleep on the floor, so he won't ruin his knees by jumping on and off the bed. Dot was ready and willing to sleep on the floor when her legs became weak, but Dash is a lot more stubborn. It's going to be an uphill battle to train him to do anything new at this point. I really wish that Dash had managed to stay healthy a little longer. I'm still exhausted from three continuous years of being Dot's nurse.

We should learn more about Dash's heart tomorrow. We've got an appointment at the cancer center for a consultation and an echocardiogram. If he's retaining fluid around his heart there is medicine he can take. Lasix can help eliminate the retained fluid and reduce the chances of congestive heart failure. There are side effects though. There are always side effects. I wish the specialists would tell us tomorrow that Dash is just a spoiled dog who wants to eat people food. I think his condition is a lot more serious than that though. There are too many signs that something is wrong.

Sophie is today's Dalmatian of the Day
Watch of the Day