The chill has lifted and the snow creeps silently away. The air gets less crispy and the coziness returns. The grass reappears and the crocus sprouts emerge. The ground is overly wet and certain areas of my yard hold too much water. Mud gets created as visitors come in. Snow turns to rain and soaks my dogs. Towel drying is never ending. My dogs look up at me yearning for warmer weather as they are currently all mooshed into the one sun spot currently in their yard.
All of this combined.. I 'get to' be a part of it all. I get to help the waters retreat and the dogs get drier. I get to watch the gardens start their magic and be part of the process of creating my space once again from darker winter days to warmer spring days ahead. I get to think about the process of maybe laying a safer cleaner concrete path to my dog yard. I get to make improvements.
This has been my mind set as far back as I can remember. From beautiful things to simple daily challenges like cold, snow, mud and soggy doggie to sleepless nights with my kiddos.. I get to spend extra time with them.. to taking care of sick dogs....
I get to do it all.
So, as I get to tidy up my gardens I also get to take care of Anya as something definitely turned her stomach upside down this week. Whether it was a severe reaction to her last booster shot, she consumed too many maple spinners or too many green beans, I don't know but extra care was definitely granted.
As I rolled up her bedding at midnight for the 3rd night in a row and washed her toes clean I continued to state.. I get to be here in this moment to be part of it all. My heart hurts for the families who have gone through loss and don't get to care for their fur friend any longer. So, as the nights were long and the eyes were sad, I snuggled her close and let her know I had her back. Special steps were taken to ease the discomfort and slowly she got back on track.
She is now bounced back 100% and romping and rolling with Neema once again. As I delve into Anya's care and live in my belief of this 'get to' concept I think about what we can all do to help our fur friends through a rough patch.
The basics are -
Caring for a sick dog involves many aspects including providing a comfortable environment, monitoring their condition closely, ensuring access to fresh water and appropriate food, administering any prescribed medication as directed by your vet, and offering plenty of rest and gentle affection and love while keeping a watchful eye on their symptoms and contacting your veterinarian if any concerning changes occur.
Dogs can’t care for themselves when they are under the weather, so it is up to us, caring golden dog parents to provide loving support and the conditions for a successful recovery.
But we all know it's much more than just washing out their water bowl on a regular basis or boiling chicken and rice for them when their stomachs are turned. It's enduring the heart ache as they give you that slight look that is so sweetly asking for help to ease their discomfort. These dogs do so much for us it’s so hard to give back with the same magnitude.
So, we do our best to know when to do home care and when to make that call to go to the vet. We educate ourselves on what home remedies to administer and when vet prescribed medications are necessary. What are simple environmental upsetters and what symptoms are serious red flags. We learn to read our dogs and how to tell when they are well and healthy vs. Sick and uncomfortable. What angle their ears lay when they are healthy vs. How they hold their ears when they are sick. We turn into landscapers and investigators as we comb, renovate, clean and alter our yard constantly. If you've ever owned a golden you already know they explore the world with their mouths. If you are new to this breed, get ready, they not only explore the world with their mouths but they eat everything in sight. Consuming organics is their favorite thing to do so get your probiotics and dehydrated carrots set on auto ship. We cross our fingers their tummies can manage the extra fiber and their mouths can avoid the rocks socks blocks and well just about everything else that crosses their path.
Taking care of new pup is no joke... taking care of a sick new pup challenges every ounce of endurance you ever thought you had.
So, stock up on your rescue plan items, make sure you have your vets phone # saved in your phone AND the # for a nearby Emergency Vet office as well. Know your symptoms, grab a box of antihistamines for the back shelf, keep your group chat puppy families close by, don't hesitate to reach out for help and then .. breathe .. slow down .. snuggle .. regulate and connect your heart beats and remember, you 'get to' care for your sick dog.
I wrote this a few days ago after pulling Anya through this bought of discomfort. I now will add another thought…Maybe her discomfort came from teething. I never thought of this option at the time because normal teething will not cause diarrhea. But IF teething is abnormal then maybe just maybe diarrhea would be present. I won’t ever know in this situation if these 2 challenges are linked but Anya certainly had a rough week. It adds to my thoughts this week of how to care for a sick dog and to my ‘get to’ concept. In a nut shell … Anya was very snuggly last night but I didn’t give it much thought as she is snuggly in general anyways. Nothing looked or seemed abnormal. 6 am when I let the dogs out, I noticed the whole back side of her jaw was extremely swollen. I’ve had a cheek abscess in a puppy before and a dog with a facial insect bite and this looked different. It screamed impacted baby tooth to me. I ‘get to’ drive her on this gorgeous sunny morning into the ER. And indeed, it was a gorgeous morning. No, impacted baby teeth in puppies is not common but yes it can happen. She was in pain and crying for help. I’ve got ya baby!
After the assessment when she had to be sedated to figure out the issue, sure enough, impacted back baby molar. Poor baby! Antibiotics and anti inflammatory meds were administered and sent home with us. The ER hospital did not have dental equipment on sight so hopefully my regular vet can extract the baby tooth tomorrow. On to taking care of this pup in her moment of needing extra TLC. I ‘get to’ take care of her and be part of helping her through a difficult time. I sit and snuggle with her until she falls asleep (I don’t usually do this) and then put her in her crate to catch up on the whirlwind of the morning.
As my focus on Anya this week has been a bit greater the other dogs have been caring for each other, for me and yes for Anya. They know full well that Anya wasn’t feeling good.
Meiko got in between Neema and her multiple times this week to slow Neema down. She romps and plays a little extra in between them to distract Neema from Anya. It’s amazing to watch actually because she never corrects her but only distracts her so she’ll play with her instead knowing full well that Anya needed a break. And then this morning all energy buzzed as Anya was let out into the yard. VERY different energy from the dogs instantly. It was them that told me that something was off. Again, I ‘get to’ love on this pack and know without a doubt that I am blessed…..very very blessed.