[nagdu] Update on the old gal

[Julie Phillipson]

oh wow Tracy I'm glad she is still doing pretty well and has made it so far. 
I hope the medications continue to work for her.

Julie Phillipson
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tracy Carcione" <carcione at access.net>
To: <nagdu at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 27, 2011 11:09 AM
Subject: [nagdu] Update on the old gal


>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
>
>
>
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