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Permalink Reply by justin gold on November 30, 2010 at 8:37am

Jean that is the exact thing I'm debating at the moment,my golden retriever Morgan is 14 years old now but I would say the last 10 months he has started to lose his shape and I'm sure its because he's less active but I still feed him the same,we don't go for any walks anymore as he's got arthritis in his shoulder and he limps if he go's too far but he still loves to run around the gardens.I'm thinking of cutting his food by a quarter to stop this weight gain as its only because he's less active the weights been put on.

Permalink Reply by Gayle Gordon on November 27, 2010 at 6:32pm

It is hard losing an "old" friend. We lost our nearly 16-year-old Chow several years ago and at the end she had lost pretty much all mobility due to back/arthritis issues. She didn't let on until it got really bad, which, according to our vet, is pretty much the "norm" for dogs. They will conceal their pain and problems at all costs if possible. When the problems start to show, it's generally pretty bad. We took her in for exploratory surgery when she lost the use of her back legs and the vet called and recommended just not bringing her out of the anesthesia because her back was "such a mess." It was heart-wrenching because we felt like we didn't really get to say "goodbye" to her, but we knew it was the best decision for her.

We lost our nearly 19-year-old cat a few years ago to Chronic Renal Failure. He dealt with it for several years with virtually no invasive treatment (he did not respond well to ANY veterinary interventions!). He had ups and downs and just when we would think he was done for, he'd rebound! Our vet said he would let us know when it was time, and he did. He stopped eating, stopped playing, stopped interacting and just withdrew. It was hard letting go, but again, I truly believe it was time and he was OK with that.

I actually had co-workers laugh at me when I told them we were euthanizing pets. "Just let them die" was one person's response. I hope I get more love and compassion if and when I get to the point when I need it.

Permalink Reply by Gayle Gordon on November 28, 2010 at 12:13pm

I think you're right! I think Toby was showing that he could still exercise power and strike fear into the hearts of small animals :)