[nagdu] Update on the old gal

[Tracy Carcione]

I thought I'd give an update on my old dog Echo, in case it helps someone
else dealing with a senior canine.
My retired guide Echo turned 16 in April.  We found a vet who makes house
calls, which is great, because the old gal gets totally stressed at the
mere thought of getting in a car, and also gets very anxious at the vet. 
Now she can be treated in the comfort of her own home.  She still gets a
little anxious, but it doesn't exhaust her for days like the trip used to.
 And it's about the same price, too.
About 3 weeks ago, the vet recommended we put Echo on anti-inflamatories,
because the arthritis in her hips is getting pretty bad.  A few days after
we put her on the new pills, she stopped eating.  At least 3 times we
decided to make the call for the vet to come and put her to sleep and then
she'd rally--eat something my husband found to tempt her appetite, or get
up and casually go get a drink or whatever when we thought she couldn't. 
("Bring out your dead!" "I'm not dead yet!")
Of course, we were trying to reach her vet, which took a couple days and
did not make us happy.  When we finally got her, she suggested we try a
small dose of a pain pill, Tramadol, which she called in to our pharmacy. 
She said it wouldn't make Echo dopey, and it might help.  If it
didn't...well, we could make the decision you can't unmake.
Echo started to feel better about 20 minutes after we gave her the first
pain pill.  Her appetite came back, and she started walking around a lot
more.  Now she's back to where she was a while back--not bouncing around,
but walking about, eating well, wagging her tail, and generally taking an
interest.  It's great to see.
I'm not a big fan of drugs, but the combination of the anti-inflamatory
with the pain pill is making a big difference for our old gal.
It ain't easy taking care of such an old dog, but it does have its rewards.
Tracy