Wednesday, May 28, 2014

My Beautiful Jessie

Fletcher had a lump removed yesterday, so he spent the evening recovering at home, groggy and out of sorts from his general anesthesia. Working on my own dogs is always a challenge, as I turn from vet-mode into mom-mode (I didn't even do the surgery!), and work myself up with worry. Fletcher's recovery was uneventful, and while he was still at the clinic on fluids, I took the younger dogs with me for a trail run to decompress. I took Fletcher home, fed him dinner, and catered to him all evening. By bedtime, I had him settled in his usual place next to my side of the bed. Eric is away, working on a film set out of town, so I had the king-sized bed to myself. Fletcher didn't want up on the bed when I offered (he usually prefers his own bed), but Tiki took her usual place at the foot on my side. Jake was curled up in the corner of the living room sectional, and didn't lift his head when I kissed him goodnight. Exhausted from the eventful day, we all went right to sleep.

Sometime in the night, I woke up slightly, and could feel Tiki in her usual place on one side of me, and another dog pressed against my other side. In the dark, I reached down and felt Fletcher sigh in his sleep, still cozy on his bed. I assumed Jake had joined us from the couch, and went back to sleep, surrounded by canine love. When I woke up, there was an empty spot on one side of me, and Tiki still snoozing away. I went out to the living room, and there was Jake, still curled up in the exact same spot and position I had left him in the night before. I must have imagined him beside me, I thought. But I didn't really believe that. I knew I felt another dog beside me. I wondered if it was Jessie, my childhood dog, and Fletcher's first best friend. Could she have visited to watch over us both?

When I drove home from work today, my iPhone was on random, and as I turned at the stoplight towards home, it played a poem, one of my favorites by Edgar Allan Poe

I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love
I and my Annabel Lee

And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Today is the best day ever

Last Friday, I had every intention of taking my dogs for a good off leash hike deep in the woods. They'd been a bit neglected as I tried to handle 4 dogs, while we babysat Opie, who had just had a happy reunion with his parents that morning. I got home from work in plenty of time to take them somewhere nice. Instead, I drank tea on the couch and cuddled with Tige, who was happy to have me to himself again.

Just before dinner, I took the dogs to our local secret spot, where they got to race around in the long grass, and Tige got to chase the Chuck-it. I looked at their happy faces, and remembered that dogs don't think about whether we're going to our favourite place, or just a quick romp along an ugly, industrial road. Every walk is good, every chance to enjoy life is worthy of happiness. So I relaxed and let myself have a good time. After all, according to them, every day is the best day ever!

Wednesday, May 07, 2014

New Joint Supplement Chews

I've previously discussed using joint supplements in my own dogs here and here. I still use Synovial-Flex chews daily for my two younger dogs. Recently, the same company has come out with TRP-Tri-COX chews for more advanced cases of joint pain, so I started 15 year old Fletcher on them.
My three dogs on a hike last month
Once again, I found them super easy to give (my dogs go crazy for the soft chews) and I was amazed at how much of an improvement I saw in his mobility. I now recommend Tri-Cox chews for dogs who need a stronger natural anti-inflammatory for their joints, but still recommend Synovial-Flex chews for less advanced cases.