...actually, as I set this up on a frosty Sunday evening, I wonder - what is there to offer on this one today?
Perhaps it's time to round off the lives of the J's. Dear old Jade and Jasper. It is a simple fact that our pets' lives are rarely longer than our own. Keepers of tortoises or parrots may be exceptions - let's face it though, majority folks are keepers of the feline and canine companions. They may last well. But we will ultimately be faced with the final goodbyes.
Being one accepting of death as part of life, I am not one to suffer unduly at such times. This does not mean I am unaffected or left without longings for the company again.
Jade was the first to end her days with me. Signs, as they do, arrived about a year before. She jumped up one day and looked absolutely panicked and ashamed. She had been caught unsuspecting with the need to wee. The rug had a puddle. It was heart-aching to see her reaction, for she was rather a fastidious gal. When this began to happen around twice a week, I made the decision to put her in nappies. This was not something I had ever heard or seen anywhere... though some months after we had established a routine around it, someone said they had knew of such things being available commercially.
Never mind that. For Jade and mum something had to be done. I bought the disposable baby 'wrap and snap' type, cutting a slit for her tail.
Again, my girl seemed to understand this was only a good thing and I had no trouble with her adapting - even finding after a few weeks that she learned to come and ask for a change if something dire had occurred!!
It in no way cramped her style. In fact, it helped her to relax again, no longer having to fret if things got wet.
As we entered the last winter together, she was also feeling the cold more than she once did. So I crocheted this back wrap for her.
All in all her final year was a good one. As we slid into 2008 there was a marked drop in her activity level. Even walks were not so eagerly anticipated.
There also came the senility. Midnight walkabouts, thinking brekky should be served at 2am, forgetting brekky HAD been served and seeking second turns.
The eyesight dimmed, but this was not so much trouble as the clear difficulty in working out which end was up.
Then came the hard times. Within weeks of her 14th birthday (late July) she started to really fail. Vet was consulted and there was nothing other than straightforward old age going on. Use of homoeopathic drops gave her some comfort and encouraged eating, but the main thing was that last one - appetite totally disappeared. By September she had dropped 10kgs from her original 20 and would only accept liquified spoon-feeding.
I prepared myself.
Perhaps it's time to round off the lives of the J's. Dear old Jade and Jasper. It is a simple fact that our pets' lives are rarely longer than our own. Keepers of tortoises or parrots may be exceptions - let's face it though, majority folks are keepers of the feline and canine companions. They may last well. But we will ultimately be faced with the final goodbyes.
Being one accepting of death as part of life, I am not one to suffer unduly at such times. This does not mean I am unaffected or left without longings for the company again.
Jade was the first to end her days with me. Signs, as they do, arrived about a year before. She jumped up one day and looked absolutely panicked and ashamed. She had been caught unsuspecting with the need to wee. The rug had a puddle. It was heart-aching to see her reaction, for she was rather a fastidious gal. When this began to happen around twice a week, I made the decision to put her in nappies. This was not something I had ever heard or seen anywhere... though some months after we had established a routine around it, someone said they had knew of such things being available commercially.
Never mind that. For Jade and mum something had to be done. I bought the disposable baby 'wrap and snap' type, cutting a slit for her tail.
Again, my girl seemed to understand this was only a good thing and I had no trouble with her adapting - even finding after a few weeks that she learned to come and ask for a change if something dire had occurred!!
It in no way cramped her style. In fact, it helped her to relax again, no longer having to fret if things got wet.
As we entered the last winter together, she was also feeling the cold more than she once did. So I crocheted this back wrap for her.
There also came the senility. Midnight walkabouts, thinking brekky should be served at 2am, forgetting brekky HAD been served and seeking second turns.
The eyesight dimmed, but this was not so much trouble as the clear difficulty in working out which end was up.
Then came the hard times. Within weeks of her 14th birthday (late July) she started to really fail. Vet was consulted and there was nothing other than straightforward old age going on. Use of homoeopathic drops gave her some comfort and encouraged eating, but the main thing was that last one - appetite totally disappeared. By September she had dropped 10kgs from her original 20 and would only accept liquified spoon-feeding.
I prepared myself.
Oh so sad toward the end .
ReplyDeleteMerle..............
Getting to the end of a pet's life is hard. Our house decided to no longer have a pet that will outlive us, so our rescues are already geriatrics.
ReplyDeleteEven knowing that one day we are going to loose our pets, doesn't take the hurt away or even lessen it.
ReplyDeleteYou did everything a good mother would do, and I'm sure Jade appreciated it.
ReplyDeleteI've been through this time and again, but I'd do it all over. Just last night, Dick's youngest daughter and her family were here, and asking us if we'd adopt another dog, and we said yes, but not a puppy.
Lindy is adapting to her blindness, and is otherwise healthy, but she is getting very bossy. She knows she is not to bark except to go outside, but thinks she can change her mind, and be fed instead. Nope, doesn't work. :-)
K