by donna
(Hastings, ny)
I currently have 2 wonderful dogs, Benny who is 15 in July and Haley, 8 next month. Benny is experiencing a lot of the pacing and panting at night. It's trying but we do our best to deal with the lost sleep. His hearing is absolutely horrific! He hears clapping, which is how I call him and he can hear Haley bark and reacts to her reaction so to speak. He does have a mast cell tumor in his eye that is managed with 4-6 Benedryl a day. He takes thyroid medication for underactive thyroid and also takes triple strength glucosamine, chondriotin and msm. The msm has helped, I even take it myself. He has a tough time getting up from the floor, we have wood laminate floors because Haley suffers from spay incontinence and they are easier to clean, so we got him some rubberbacked rugs to lay on that makes getting up easier. I'm sure he has a few more years.
I do have to tell about my previous dog Taboue, she was a Shepard Husky mix that I had to have put down 1 month shy of her 21st birthday! I am still amazed to this day. She was healthy until about 1 1/2 months before then. Just had to share!