old dog – The Life and Times of Me

I really don’t know how to write this ….. tonight will be the last night my sadie girls sleeps on this earth, in her bed, in our room. The last night we will hear her loud snores as she sleeps. We have the appointment with the vet to put her down tomorrow.

It gives me comfort to know that she has had a good life. She has been a wonderful pet and part of our family for the last 13 years. She is feeling her age and her arthritis is getting worse. We had a quality of life appointment with the vet last week. He told us winter would be unbearable for her and this move would take its toll on her as well. It was a hard decision to make. She still has some good days and a happy face, but we know she is in pain and her quality of life is diminishing fast.

So in the midst of moving (the movers will be her in 3 days), we find ourselves loving on our Sadie Belle a little more. I wonder what she is thinking with all this packing going on and the attention she is getting. Does she know? I have stocked up on McDonald’s cheeseburgers and am feeding her what she likes, whenever she wants it.

My Murphy and Pepper dogs died on their own. I have never had an appointment to put one of my dogs down. It seems so odd to me to have an appointment for death. It is very sad to think that tomorrow at this time she will no longer be with us.

Sadie my sweet girl, with tears in my eyes I write this …. I love you, you have been a wonderful pup.

Our puppy, Sadie Belle, a tan/blonde beagle lab mix, is now an old dog. We have been through this before, but it is never easy to watch your beloved pup age. They can not tell us what is wrong and what hurts, we can only take the cues. Sadie has been on medications for arthritis, is lumpy with fatty tumors and with skin tags on various parts of her body and a growth of sorts on her leg.

Sadie went in for surgery today to remove the growth ( I am not a vet and can’t remember what it was called) and several skin tags. While she was under we had an X-ray done to check the arthritis. Sadie is home and doing well. Her limp on the right side was getting worse, so there was no surprise when arthritis showed up, the severity is rather alarming though. She also has a bone spur in the area. We were sure it was her shoulder, but it is all in her elbow.

I too am experiencing arthritis (in my hands) so I understand the discomfort. But what do we do next for Sadie? There are several options. Surgery is not really one of those options because of Sadie’s age. There is laser therapy and the better option of a lubricant type of shot. The shot has to be given monthly at the vet clinic, a pain to do yes …. but our dogs are part of our family and she is worth the expense whatever we decide.

We got Sadie as a nine month old puppy from the humane society. She has been there with us through thick and thin. I will do what it takes to make her comfortable in her senior years, it is the least I can do for all the love and loyalty she has given us for the past 12 ish years.

We go back to the vet to get her stitches removed in a couple of weeks at that time we will make our plan. For now, we have pain meds and a few other things to make her more comfortable.

We don’t know how long anyone, human or animal will be on this earth. We just take it one day at a time and love with all we have.

Category: old dog

Sadie ❤️

Our Old Puppy