I'm in such a bind with this whole thing. Cognitively and socially, Czar is fine. He very much wants to be around me and his other favorite person in the house. He still grooms himself. But every other sign says things are going downhill, fast. Today specifically I noticed his fur has lost its lustre, and I don't mean in the "well maybe he just needs a bath" way, it's hard to explain, you know what i mean if you've seen it on an aging or dying animal.
I've had senior and geriatric dogs before and have had to put them down but it was due to disease like cancer, not Czar's issue which is his nervous system and mobility. Long story short he is a big dog with a bad neck, bad hip, and weak front legs due to injuries and health issues. Two months ago things started going downhill and now he also has a pressure wound that I can't get to heal and I worry about sepsis.
Pretty much he cannot get up on his own at all anymore and walking requires assistance. Even just two weeks ago he could still do it if he really tried but of course I have tried to prevent this as much as possible because of risk of falling and hurting himself further. But now his front legs are also very weak and he often faceplants once I have him up and going. His hind legs are a joke and about half of his steps he just knuckles his toes (he wears both a front-end and a hip harness so I can help carry him along).
He's been increasingly incontinent and has a couple fecal incidents a week, twice I think he has had a "wet the bed" thing where I've returned to find him in a puddle of urine and I don't think he realized he wet himself. He's lost weight. Few years ago he was 90lbs, last couple of exams he stayed right at 75, but I'd be surprised if he's 70lbs now. I'm working on trying to increase his appetite or feed him food he'd like but I'm also worried about the pooping because his stools are nice and firm, even if he has an accident and I'm not around they're easy to clean up and not a big risk to him. Foods he'd enjoy eating are often rich and spoil that and so I worry about a mess or it getting into his wound if I'm not immediately there.
Financially I am also in over my head, as I had gotten laid off right before his health took a turn. I'm working now but drowning in bills trying to catch up and get him the care he needs. I'm working on getting a second job but the guilt of being away from him, though I desperately need the cash to support his care, also eats at me.
The whole thing is stressing me out so much. I feel so torn. I try to stay normal and happy around him but it's tearing me up, I trimmed his nails the other day and I knew it would probably be the last time, that kind of thing. And this decision is logically pretty clear to me, but when I come home and he's all happy and thumps his tail and asks for snuggles it all goes right out the door.
This is all compounded by the fact that unlike family pets when I was younger, I'm alone in this. One of my roommates helps out a bit but I'm the person who makes the decisions, pays the bills, and is ultimately responsible for it, so I just feel very much alone, and I'm now seeing before how much teamwork my family and I put into caring for our pets when their end of life came and I wonder how many of these signs I missed. Additionally, I now live cross-country from my family and so there's no real "network" to call on for help at this time either (I have friends in my city but we're all working and hustling and trying to make a living).
Have you been in this position? Have you had to make the call when the animal was still socially coherent but obviously was struggling? Czar has seemed okay with his new complete disability; he barks when he wants to get up and walk around or wants to be moved or needs anything and doesn't struggle otherwise
This can't go on much longer, but of course I am also worried about making the call for all the same reasons most people are, whether it's too early. I know his condition cannot and will not improve, it's all downhill from here...but do I wait for his attitude to turn, or will his body give out completely before that?
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/d3k5ts/my_1575_year_old_dogs_health_is_declining_i_am/
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