Old pets are a delight. Having a past behind you two, been living together for so long makes you understand each other in a special way. Old pets also have this certain knowledge in them and even the more neurotic ones do actually react less hyper to certain things just because they have seen it before. With age, however, also comes problems. Every pet gets old, and every old animal will be affected, somehow, by their age. The older they are, the bigger the effect.
It’s very, very snowy here in Finland now. My yard has up to one meter of snow, roads are covered with it and it’s snowing more and more every day. Despite the obvious problems in transportation, possible damage caused by heavy snow etc, dogs who like snow REALLY have fun now.
General is one of those dogs. He has always loves snow, but he has a bad habit of inhaling and eating so much snow sometimes he might get sick. It happened this year again and he developed a small respiratory infection because of cold. He is coughing and sneezing, so I have him on rest for now. Another, more severe problem at the moment is his arthritis that’s really giving him trouble now. Having to jump around in snow is rough to his joints, and no matter in certain amounts snow actually helps with arthritis (it softens the effect of impact because it’s, well, soft), these amounts make it worse.
Trooper was diagnosed with insulinoma a little before Christmas. No matter he responds good to the cortisone treatment he gets, I know our time is growing thin. Little by little the dose must be increased, until it can’t get any higher. Then, II have to say goodbye. The end that’s growing more and more near every day fills me with fear and doubt. Sometimes Trooper has bad days, sometimes he feels a lot better and runs around and is active and happy. However, the bad days are hard to watch. He is not in pain as far as I know, but more sleepy and a little disoriented. This is caused because of blood sugar levels being low. To some extent the effect can be fought with many small meals a day (and of course the medicine), but sleepy days do occur anyway.
Both of these situations sometimes make me feel helpless. There is only as much I can do, and no matter how much I try, sometimes all I can is just to be there for them. Good days still outnumber bad days, but that doesn’t make the bad days any easier.
It’s funny how when you carry home a puppy (or a ferret kit or any kind of small/healthy animal) you don’t really think what waits for you years forward. Maybe it’s a good thing - I would have most certainly reconsidered getting ANY pets if I’d have known how hard it is when they are getting old or when I know the end is near. That is, however, what we sign up for. The day comes when the animal is old and is having a harder day. When they require us to be there, thinking of ways to make their life better. Improve the quality of their days.
The day comes, also, when we need to be able to see this is it. This is where one journey ends and another begins, and to that journey we can’t follow.
I have been feeling very helpless lately. I wait for the spring to arrive, the weather to get warmer, so General’s arthritis can get better and he can once again be active and accompany me in long walks. We have been through this same phase during a few winters already, but every winter it gets a bit tougher.
With Trooper I wish to see one more spring. Have a few more walks in late spring fields of grass. See him bury his face to the dirt, digging holes under the roots and morning mist making the hair on his head all wet and stick up so he looks like a punk.
Sometimes, specially during the days when you feel helpless, owning an old pet does seem pretty grim. However, most days it’s not at all grim. Like I said, there is a special connection between an old pet and the owner. That special connection is worth the extra work caring for an old pet requires.
