Regular readers will know that Booty,our greyhound bitch has arthritis, in her right shoulder. Although the condition cannot be cured, we've done everything we possibly can to try to ensure the best possible care and management of the condition. Her weight is optimal, she has the softest beds imaginable, she is kept as warm as possible (there is always a noticeable decline in her condition in cold winter weather), we feed a canine glucosamine supplement and she is on a combined medication regime of NSAIDs and pain relief. Recently however we've noticed that she is in more pain. For example, we went to the greyhound field yesterday, and while she was clearly enjoying herself pottering about she didn't get above a trot, while Andy and Boola were doing top speed zoomies. Today we took her to the vet, for a discussion about pain relief, and the conclusion from the vet is that she is on pretty much the optimal pain relief now - that effectively the ladder has no more rungs to climb.
The vet's suggestion is that we should try hydrotherapy - we've considered and discussed this before and know that for some dogs it can work very well indeed. There are a number of canine hydrotherapy centres in Cardiff and so we will be looking at these and booking her in for some treatment.
More broadly, though, we may have to face the fact that our darling girl may be getting to the end of her days. She is twelve at the moment, and otherwise in very good health. My hope had always been that she would end up dying with arthritis, not because of it. I had privately hoped that we would be able to have at least another couple of good years with her. Obviously, it's still early days and we need to try the hydrotherapy, but I don't think we would be responsible dog owners if we kept her going in severe pain.
With an animal it's always difficult to make precise judgements on pain and on quality of life. At the moment, I think we can say with assurance that she enjoys her walks, eats with enthusiasm, loves her tickles and definitely still has a twinkle in her eye. The hard question for us to consider is the balance between quality of life and acceptable pain limits. Whatever we do, our primary concern is her welfare, but this doesn't stop these moments being utterly and awfully heartbreaking. It also confirms my feeling that this year is just awful and has been an emotional Hell from the start; pretty much every month has brought bereavement, sickness and bad news.
The vet's suggestion is that we should try hydrotherapy - we've considered and discussed this before and know that for some dogs it can work very well indeed. There are a number of canine hydrotherapy centres in Cardiff and so we will be looking at these and booking her in for some treatment.
More broadly, though, we may have to face the fact that our darling girl may be getting to the end of her days. She is twelve at the moment, and otherwise in very good health. My hope had always been that she would end up dying with arthritis, not because of it. I had privately hoped that we would be able to have at least another couple of good years with her. Obviously, it's still early days and we need to try the hydrotherapy, but I don't think we would be responsible dog owners if we kept her going in severe pain.
With an animal it's always difficult to make precise judgements on pain and on quality of life. At the moment, I think we can say with assurance that she enjoys her walks, eats with enthusiasm, loves her tickles and definitely still has a twinkle in her eye. The hard question for us to consider is the balance between quality of life and acceptable pain limits. Whatever we do, our primary concern is her welfare, but this doesn't stop these moments being utterly and awfully heartbreaking. It also confirms my feeling that this year is just awful and has been an emotional Hell from the start; pretty much every month has brought bereavement, sickness and bad news.
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