It has been quite the ride.
Henry is currently acting like a comfortable older dog again. It hasn’t always been so. Remember back to where he had quit eating and was losing weight, but every few days we were able to come up with some different food to tempt him with. That always only worked for a few days for each effort. Cycling through all the food alternatives continued for a couple weeks, then it got worse. He quit eating entirely. Down to skin and bones, he was out of energy. Nothing was working. On a Friday afternoon, we were texting the veterinarian, who works so hard with us to take good care of him, saying we didn’t think he was going to make it through the weekend. He seemed restless though, and maybe that meant he was uncomfortable, so the doctor prescribed a pain pill for him. I was sitting at the keyboard crying, knowing I was going to have to say something about his passing.
We gave Henry the pain pill. He settled down and slept for a few hours and woke up hungry. He ate a little bit. He ate more the next day, and more the day after. Judy found a kind canned dog food he used to eat and he’s eating that every day now. He wakes up every morning happy and wagging, getting pets and inviting Jess to play and make a few runs back and forth though the house with him. He has gained back a pound.
Now he’s just a comfortable old fourteen-year-old dog hanging around the house, waking up for anything interesting, and sleeping away the rest of each day. We all went for a driveabout last weekend and he rode with his head out the window savoring the sights, sounds, smells, and flavors. He walked in a park with Jesse and Judy for several hundred yards. Whenever he seems a little restless, every few days or so, we give him a pain pill and he gets comfortable again. No way to know what issues he might be dealing with that the pain pill eases, but it’s so good to have him back enjoying each day again, as long as possible.
