wherein Liz dogsits
I have a dog until August 10th, while my parents are in Europe. They are starting in Prague, taking a river cruise on the Elbe, and ending at the Meteoritical Society's annual conference, which is in Berlin this year. (In late September, they will go back to Prague because Dad is presenting a paper at a completely different conference. They had already made the cruise reservations when he learned about that conference and decided to submit an abstract, which is why the logistics make no sense.)
Dottie is going to turn 14 this fall, and her age has definitely started to catch up with her. When I had her this spring, she was already on some anti-arthritis medication, and now she's also been switched to a new diet because she's showing early signs of kidney problems. (Drinking a lot of water, basically, which is extra weird because she's never drunk much; we used to slip her water by turning her meals into soup.) She's walking very slowly and often doesn't want to go outside at all... which is, of course, a problem because of all the water she's now drinking. :(
I did some online research and talked to some people at my church about which local vets they use, and Mom and I jointly decided which one to use in case of emergencies. Hopefully it will not come to that, but it's good to have a plan in place.
This afternoon, Dottie and I sat out on my back porch for a while because when I tried to walk her, she just flopped down on a sunny patch of grass a block from my apartment and refused to move. I had to carry her back home, after which I figured if she wanted to lie in the sun, we could at least do it where I could read a book. *wry* I also brushed her because she's been shedding like crazy, and I could probably do so again tomorrow and remove just as much hair. Hopefully that's a side-effect of the heat and not a sign of a more serious health issue.
This time Dad remembered to add a squishy pillow as part of her paraphernalia, so she has a comfortable resting place near my computer desk. On previous visits, Dottie made do with my one and only couch cushion, which is stiff and overstuffed and also just a little too small for her to easily curl up on. She is snoozing on her pillow beside me now, and I have to say, my apartment feels about ten times friendlier with her in it than when I'm on my own. :)
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Dottie is going to turn 14 this fall, and her age has definitely started to catch up with her. When I had her this spring, she was already on some anti-arthritis medication, and now she's also been switched to a new diet because she's showing early signs of kidney problems. (Drinking a lot of water, basically, which is extra weird because she's never drunk much; we used to slip her water by turning her meals into soup.) She's walking very slowly and often doesn't want to go outside at all... which is, of course, a problem because of all the water she's now drinking. :(
I did some online research and talked to some people at my church about which local vets they use, and Mom and I jointly decided which one to use in case of emergencies. Hopefully it will not come to that, but it's good to have a plan in place.
This afternoon, Dottie and I sat out on my back porch for a while because when I tried to walk her, she just flopped down on a sunny patch of grass a block from my apartment and refused to move. I had to carry her back home, after which I figured if she wanted to lie in the sun, we could at least do it where I could read a book. *wry* I also brushed her because she's been shedding like crazy, and I could probably do so again tomorrow and remove just as much hair. Hopefully that's a side-effect of the heat and not a sign of a more serious health issue.
This time Dad remembered to add a squishy pillow as part of her paraphernalia, so she has a comfortable resting place near my computer desk. On previous visits, Dottie made do with my one and only couch cushion, which is stiff and overstuffed and also just a little too small for her to easily curl up on. She is snoozing on her pillow beside me now, and I have to say, my apartment feels about ten times friendlier with her in it than when I'm on my own. :)
You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth, where there are currently (
comments)