Trapper and his medical issues

[AuntieMom]

Our Trapper (age 13-14?) was not feeling well so we took him to the vet and ran blood work, fecal, urinalysis, etc. We took him in because of pain he was having where he would just suddenly yelp and run around. We learned he has a variety of things wrong. He has a heart murmur, has something going on in his spine which is probably where his pain was coming from, is anemic from a mysterious chronic illness, his blood proteins were low and his urine was dilute (the latter has been going on for years so was not a surprise.) He was on pain pills but they just made things worse and he refused to eat. We stopped that but continued him on with Rovera (Carpoften). He stabilized enough that we were able to go our vacation and leave him at home with the dog/house sitter. He had no issues in the week we were gone. We are picking up antibiotics for him today and I am going to buy liver for his anemia. I do not know if that will work but he will like it. He also has cancer, a large fatty tumor on his front leg. We had it removed once and it is a type of cancer that is slow to spread. The tumor itself is about the size of a baseball but he cannot have surgery again because of his heart murmur.

He is eating well again and is wagging his tail. So I am happy too.

[gagesbarb]

I hate it when they get older and things start happening... Gage is older, although we don't really know how old he is either...12+/-? He is up and down...still on prednisone for his bronchitis...beginning to have side effects (really hungry, thirsty, pees a lot but I work close enough to home that I can come home mid day, "leaking" urine though taking him out frequently helps)...he has some heart rhythm abnormality but the cardiologist says it is not a big deal...every week or two also has a little diarrhea/mucus in his stool...goes away on his own...had a gray stool, but that went away...talking a lot with the vet, but hard to figure out... like Trapper, he seems happy, eating voraciously (the prednisone), likes his walks, follows me around as usual and doesn't seem to be in any distress...for that, I am also grateful...
what is carpoften for?

[Cindy]

Hearing these stories takes me right back to all the older dogs we've had over the years. It becomes a "lifestyle" attending to their ups and downs and specific illnesses. As much as I love old dogs, it also makes me appreciate having 2 middle aged ones at the moment. Hope Trapper and Gage keep their tails wagging.

[AuntieMom]

Carprofen is an anti-inflammatory. It is for the pain we think he has in his hind legs and maybe lower back as well.

Yes, I hate it when our dogs get older too although I absolutely love old dogs. I just hate the things that happen to them as they age. Our goal for Trapper, like with Gage, is to keep him comfortable. The vet calls it hospice but that makes it sound like he is on death’s door and he is not. He has more good days than bad days so that is good. He cannot jump up on the bed anymore but today my husband put him on the bed while we sipped our morning coffee. Trapper put his front paw over me to make sure I was not going anywhere and we cuddled. He was wagging his tail.

I agree with Cindy that taking care of our older dogs and their issues becomes a lifestyle. When Scout died, we said the same thing. We had gone completely blind and had to be guided everywhere. He never adjusted to being blind. Trapper has been a lifestyle ever since we got him. He does not like many people so we have to keep him away from company. We quit having people over to the house for a while. Now that Trapper is older and sleeps more if put in his crate, we put him in his crate and are back to having friends over for dinner every so often. During the day, Trapper will not sleep unless put in his crate. It is crazy. He will be half asleep but still following me around. I want him to get his rest so will put all the dogs in their crates for naps.