Annabell and Maddie are our oldest dogs. Anna is 14 this year and Maddie is 12. A couple of months ago they each had a senior dog visit at a new vet. I was pleased with the first experience when we took Maddie in first. We talked about her problems with her back and told them I was a bit concerned with how long Maddie was on one pain medication. He was concerned, too. We ended up eliminating one and continuing with the other along with a new injection that he found was very successful with older, big dogs like Maddie.
When her blood work came back they had found she had a bacterial infection that was quite complex so we started her on an antibiotic. After a couple days she lost all interest in her food. This was troubling so I called the vet right away.
Another vet was working that week so I talked to him about it. He was very interested and we had quite a long conversation. He switched her antibiotic and told me to get with the other vet when she was through with that run of medicine.
Another vet was working when I went back and delivered another sample to be tested to check on the infection. I didn't hear back for a while so I called. The original vet went over everything that happened while he was gone, not understanding why the medicine was switched, but then turned to the sample left. He asked for another one, explaining how important it was to have a 'clean' sample. It was. Both times. I was miffed, but whatever. He never quite grasped what I was saying when I told him how long she was off the meds. He told me 10 days after the last pill. It had been longer, but he didn't hear me. So I provided another one. I gave it a week before I called. They wanted to grow a culture and I figured it would take longer.
He finally said this was not an ordinary urinary tract infection and wanted to see what was going on, not wanting to just continually prescribe antibiotics. She is taking one now, but we know it's not going to fix it.
This Friday we take her to get an ultrasound. It's a 45 minute drive to the vet in Roseville. Maddie will be thrilled! She loves car rides. We will have to put up with the windows down in the heat so she can hang her face in the wind and produce all that drool that she creates in her happiness. The hard part is getting her into the car.
Annabell is getting, well, more annoying by the hour. She can't help it, but, man oh man, the wailing, the yipping and spontaneous barking really takes its toll. She spends her day trying to convince us that she has NEVER had any food and we need to feed her RIGHT NOW! She continually patrols the kitchen floor for any microscopic morsels may have managed to escape her prior patrol...5 minutes ago.
She lays in the bedroom moaning in quick, staccato yips for hours. We check on her, take her for walks around the yard, feed her more snacks than she should get (mostly veggies these days) and calm her really loud barks when she finds herself alone and doesn't know where we are. She's still eating well, of course, and still asks to go outside, the business end of the old lady still working, but I don't know how long she will be with us. Don't want to think that way, but when she isn't able to be Anna anymore, it's not fair to have her suffer.
In the meantime, we listen to the chirping, barks and yowls, let her know she's not alone, pet, pet, pet and tell her she's a good girl even when we have heard it all day. She still wags her tail when I ask her if she's happy and she still runs around like a crazy dog so excited when Bill comes home from work.
As long as she's happy, we're happy.
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