As you know, my dogs are my life!! I am struggling right now....big time.
Most of you are well aware that Zippo has been aging gracefully, but has now reached the tender age of 11. Which is...in dog years...77!!
I adopted him when he was only 12 weeks old from the Humane Society. He was my constant companion with my daughter....carpooling her all over the place....I'd have 6 teenagers in the car, but they had to make room for Zip!! He loved, loved, loved going for car rides. Wherever I went in the car, he went with me and he liked it....every single second of it! It used to break his heart when it was too hot for him to go with me. I can even remember a time when he went to New Jersey with us for a wedding and he hung out in the car while we were in the reception...my husband and I took turns going out to check on him. He stayed in all kinds of hotels with us...as we always took him on our weekend excursions. Zip was a very spoiled pet...and a big dog...weighing in at a hundred pounds.
When he was five years old, I decided it might be time for him to have a friend. That's when I brought Chloe into our household...she was an eight week old bichon frise puppy. I think Zip thought she was a cat....or a rabbit...or something! We went through several weeks of jealous behavior. REALLY jealous behavior. But, then they became friends. True, REAL friends. They would do anything for each other. And they started doing everything together!! They would run and play and just have the best time. I thought I made the right decision to bring another dog into our family.
Well....as Zippo aged and time went on, he started slowing down. It wasn't so easy to get him in the car anymore. It was not easy for him to go on walks .... at least not very long ones. Then, he slipped on the Pergo floor here at the cottage and ruptured his ACL. The surgery was VERY expensive and at his age, my husband and I decided to treat him the best we could with prescription meds and we bought some ramps for the house and the car. We covered the Pergo flooring with foam mats...LOTS of them!!
We have endured a couple of years of this, but it is to the point now where I keep asking myself...how does one know when it is time to take that last car ride ... to the vet. I am upset...very upset....crushed. I hate to see my boy in pain. He has been eating pretty well, and he takes his meds wrapped in cheese. I've added fish oil capsules, as well as glucosamine to his diet. But today....his legs are just collapsing under him.
I've doubled his meds. When I had him at the vet a couple of weeks ago, she agreed with me...that this is a very difficult time. But, that I will know when to make the call. It is not like I haven't been through this before. I have. But, for different reasons. My rescue mix that I had before I got married stayed with my parents as the apartment we were moving to didnt' allow dogs...so she was happy staying with my folks.
When we got divorced, my lab and one cat stayed with my ex. One cat went to my new home. When my boyfriend's son left the area, he asked us to care for his Rottweiler mix...which we did...happily! Until she got cancer. I had to take her to the vet for that last shot. One of the hardest things I've ever had to do...my daughter and my stepdaughter were both with me. Very difficult. Then we adopted a German Shepherd puppy that was about three months old. She was a handful! I was working full time then and she was always getting into things. I can remember one time having to call and get new drywall put up because she chewed a giant freakin' hole in the wall!! She ate one half of a couch....went through countless toys, shoes, pillows....you name it. We had had her for a couple of years, when she chased a rabbit right out in front of my driveway and was hit by a car. Again...it was terrible taking her to the vet.
Well, then we adopted Zippo and he has just been my very best boy! I swear he understands every word I say. Seriously....he is amazing...very intuitive.
So, now when he looks at me with his sad eyes....I know that I'll have to make that last trip. I KNOW that. I keep telling myself. As I carried his water bowl to him several times today when I knew he needed a drink and he couldn't get up to get it for himself....well, he COULD, but it was painful. So, I gave him a couple more aspirin and he is sleeping soundly...snoring away at ear-splitting levels. He is comfortable. For now.
This is just upsetting. So very hard.
Does anyone have any advice at all?
