The things we do for the love of our fur-babies

3 weeks ago our family began the journey of adjusting to the uncertainties that come with having an older dog. After watching Layla the Wonderdog have what looks like (and is the operating diagnosis at this time) 3 seizures in one day, we started the challenging task of getting her to take anti-seizure medications 2 times a day.

Now….. that is a great option, right? As we await her upcoming neurology appointment to hopefully rule out a more serious diagnosis than the unusual development of epilepsy at age 9, we are faced with having to outsmart our very intelligent boxer. 2 times a day. (That doesn't even take into account when the FIREWORKS FREAKS and thunderstorms arise and we need to give her anxiety meds now. Good times.) What started as a great treat for her to get rolled up lunchmeat with some mystery “substance” (aka 1/2 pill per dose) in it, has turned into a game of “what will she take the medicine with this time without rolling it around in her mouth and spitting out a slimy mess into my hand?”

We have tried:

Encouraging it down her throat without anything. Absolute no-go.

Luncheon meat. Turkey. Ham. Chicken. She’s on to us.

Meat balls. I make them each week now and stuff the pill in the center. She’s not buying it anymore.

Peanut Butter with bread, hallowing out the center and showing 1/2 the pill in there. Worked today. Certain tomorrow it will be a definite FAIL.

What do we do? Until we hear otherwise from the neurologist at the end of the month, this is our best option to keep her stable and hope for more days ahead with my baby girl. How do people do this for years? While my preference for her is to obviously be on no medications whatsoever, or at least try to see if something like CBD oil will work without having to struggle each day to get pills down her, right now this is the best we have and she is fighting me/us every step of the way. It is what I love and what frustrates me most about her, the stubborn nature of boxers. May be in part because I can see my own stubbornness in this fur-baby of mine, and I gotta say it is FRUSTRATING! How do people put up with me? May be that is a topic for another blog…..

But it’s what we do for those we really love. We stick it out. We stay the course. We fight through the difficult times and we hope for better tomorrows.

Recently I had this discussion about the pain with loss, and why we even put ourselves in this space to adopt animals into our human families. We do so with so much risk, so much uncertainty, so much expense (often) and so much that is unknown. Then I look at this face…it is pure love. No matter what I look like, what sort of mood I am in for the day, what problems I am facing…she is there. Always. When I was sick earlier this year, she was the best nurse-maid and stayed by my side even as I was sweating like I just hiked through the desert. And most likely smelled just as bad. However, she was there. And now, it is my turn to help her.

If only she wasn’t so FREAKING stubborn.

Hug your fur-babies and remember what a great honor it is in their choosing us as their human-parents.