On the 29th, Lady Gretchen Greer turned 17. She’s my longest lived dog by far, and we’ve been through a lot together. Most of her life she was gripped by anxiety, but through it all, she always chose to be with me.
She went to work with me as a pup, and again in her “early senior years” at Colonial Auto Center.
She went to the gym with me also at two different gyms, The Gym and New Perspective Fitness.
She’s shared her home with three other dogs, but only loved Sissy. I think she likes Lily more than she cares to admit, and Lily is still inviting Gg to play (and getting rebuked) daily.
She’s always loved walks, and at one point was running up to 6 miles with me.
Cushing’s and/or doggy dementia has changed her personality. She’s not my snuggly little clinger anymore, but she still seeks me out and will sleep near wherever I am, and once in a while, she’s awake looking for me when I come home and I get a happy welcome home.
She’s blind, losing mobility and her mind, but she still loves to be outdoors, loves to eat and has no trouble finding the kitchen. She still tries to pop up on her haunches, and will bark up a storm when she wants her next meal.
I love her independence and lack of fear. Other dogs shut down as they lose their vision and/or their minds, but not Gg. She’s living her best life, stomping around, bossing her people and Lily around and just generally doing what she wants.
I don’t know how much time we have left, but as long as she’s happy and mobile, we’ll keep catering to her every whim.
Last Monday, I was afraid Tuesday’s annual vet visit might be her last, but my brave little girl awoke that morning with joy in her heart and spunk to spare.
Yes, she stumbles. Yes, she is resisting her pill pockets after years without an issue, but today is not the day.
Oh and she’s almost completely blind, her selective hearing is now paired with old age hearing loss, and her hind end is weaker every day, but she popped wheelies and shouted for joy when I put on my leggings and running shoes this morning, and she has had plenty of energy to follow me around.
My sweet, timid, anxious girl was always brave and devoted enough to choose to be with me, so it’s honestly my pleasure to see her aged into a true Jack Russell Terrier with snappy independence. I love that she truly tries to bite me when she doesn’t want to wear a coat. I love that she took Lily’s Kong from her and then growled at Lily when Lily just looked at her!
Gretchen Greer has earned the right to be a cranky old woman. Yes, I miss her constant snuggles, but I love her resilience and determination to keep on keeping on ON her terms.
She still chooses to be near me. That’s my striped foot in the background; she’s camped out under my feet.
So yes, she’s declining. She’s having more bad days, and they seem worse than some of her previous bad days. But today is a good day too, and I want her to have all the good days she can in this no fear, zero anxiety place she’s finally found.
So yes, I’ll hide her pills in banana pudding or Mac and cheese and laugh about it. As long as she’s still enjoying life on her terms, I’ll go above and beyond for her.
October 23rd was Gretchen Greer’s 16th anniversary of her gotcha’ day, or as B said to Gg, “It’s you and Mom’s 16th anniversary.”
The 24th would have been Sissy’s 17th birthday. Forever wouldn’t have been long enough with that girl. She had more personality than any single creature needs, but her sweetness is what everyone remembers.
The 24th was also Lily’s annual vet visit. It’s odd that she’s only been to the vet four times in the nearly two years we’ve had her; for new to us/pre-spay/6 month puppy visit, her spay surgery, and then two annual visits, last year and yesterday.
(Gg goes about that many times in a good year. Twice for her Cushing’s testing, an annual visit and usually at least once more for a UTI or some other issue.)
Make no mistake though, Gg is living her best life. While I wouldn’t wish Cushing’s on anyone, somehow, the mix of Cushing’s, dementia, slowly going blind and all of her other issues has finally given her relief from the crippling anxiety she’s battled her whole life.
In her feeble old age, she is her most savage Jack Russell Terrier. She is fearless. While other dogs with even one of her newer issues are literally paralyzed by anxiety, my hot mess is finally free of hers. She walks into a wall? No problem; she shakes it off and tries another way.
She’s not a snuggler anymore. I do miss that, but it’s a small price to pay to see her living anxiety free. She’s losing muscle and mobility, but she still loves to be outdoors and will stomp around the yard, and occasionally takes a little, slow walk with me. She still enjoys having visitors, eating, and even enjoys a car ride now and then. We’re committed to giving her as many happy days as we can, for as long as it makes sense for her. Happy best life, Gretchen Greer!
Several months ago, we did a Wisdom panel on Lily.
The Dachshund explains her long back, short legs and her prey drive. I am very familiar with this breed as my aunt and cousin have had several over the years. Still, we were thinking basset hound and Jack Russell…
The cattle dog explains her “freckles” and her herding instincts, her devotion to her pack and her high energy AND prey drive. I’ve known one cattle dog well and she’s nowhere near as well-mannered, but she’s still a baby.
Skipping ahead, I’ve known and loved Staffies. This breed is actually the reason I wanted the panel, because she has a “pittie butt” (read: the most athletic little peach you have ever seen), she uses her front paws like hands and she’s off the charts affectionate.
Now let’s go back to the Catahoula Leopard Dog. Of course I looked it up and read a bit. What I “heard” when we first got the results is it’s a large, mixed breed hound with lots of freckles.
What I know now is that THAT dna is what makes Lily the most intense dog I’ve ever known. Everything she does she does with vigor unlike any creature I’ve ever encountered before. Every website devoted to the breed describes them as high energy, vocal, hard to train, requires an experienced owner…
That’s our girl. Oh, she is food motivated and picks things up almost instantly, but those experienced dog whisperers know that’s not the same as “trained.” She knows what we want her to do but either can’t manage the impulse control to pull it off sometimes or loves the sport of challenging authority.
This girl has a vocal range I don’t know how to articulate. It’s not Mariah Carey multiple octaves; it’s a seasoned cover band that can do Stevie Nicks’ rasp, Bonnie Raitt’s growl, Steven Tyler’s scream and more. Just when we think we’ve heard all of her voices, she tosses out another one. Evidently, that’s her “bayou bitch” genes too.
One “Catahouligan” (yep, I’m using that as one of her hashtags) breeder said she won’t home pups with anyone unwilling or unable to devote at least two hours PER DAY to exercise for the beasts. So much for the “moderate energy” dog the rescue said we were bringing home.
You see, that’s what started my deep dive into this unknown breed. A friend of a friend mentioned that she never would have taken one of her cattle dogs (yes, plural; the woman has several and it is her breed of choice) had she known it was part CLD; those dogs are just too mouthy and require obscene amounts of exercise and stimulation.
Ahhh… now we’re getting somewhere. Lily is a back-talking, never enough exercise girl.
And no, we’re not talking about the Pomeranian part. While CLDs are large dogs and Lily’s maybe 30 lbs. with the muscle building we’ve been doing, I can see all the spots, but the poor dog is as close to hairless as I’ve ever had. She’s barely single-coated… but by all means, if someone is well-versed on fluffy little dogs and sees anything other than the entertainer in Lily, please speak up.
Here’s the full breakdown. At least she is 25% terrier and 25% hound?
I’m not sure the CLD folks would agree they are hounds. They also are serious protectors, which explains what I had been trying to manage as reactivity; Lily protects me like she’s special forces and all the world – leaves, birds, squirrels, neighbors – are serious threats.
Lily IS a lot. We say that almost daily, but she’s also over the top with affection, intelligence, her sensitivity to our moods, her athleticism, her silly antics and more. She’s teaching us about reactivity and patience, she’s showing us how to live life to its fullest, and she’s the biggest breath of fresh air we didn’t know we needed.
On August 29th, Lady Gretchen Greer, aka: Bubby, Puppy, Gg and more, celebrated her 15th birthday. It’s a huge milestone for any dog, but Gg’s been through a lot and keeps on keeping on. Anxiety, low thyroid, Cushing’s, cataracts, incontinence and she’s still be-bopping and barking her head off with joy when we get home.
On October 23rd, we honor her Gotcha Day by finding this post and hitting publish.
Actually, she’s living her best life. I don’t remember her last panic attack, and that’s saying something, given that we went to the vet in mid-August for her routine Cushing’s bloodwork. Some of it is due to her increasing blindness; she totally missed the giant poodle that quietly exited almost under her nose, and she wandered into a corner (on the cat side of the waiting area, but she’s well-known at the vet and no one minded) and staged herself on top of the pheromone diffuser.
She still likes a good walkabout, but most of them are self-guided, short strolls in the yard. The intense heat and humidity, along with Lily’s reactivity have kept us close to home anyway. As fall approaches, I’m trying to decide whether Gg wants a backpack, sling, etc. so she can walk with us and then stay with us while we continue our walks. She’d probably most prefer a stroller, but Lily often requires both of my hands, and getting out of the road often means heading up an embankment and/or over a ditch. I welcome all suggestions!
Edit to add a friend gifted us a K9 Sport Sack and if I can master “getting her dressed” by myself, it’s going to be great for the early morning wogs, as we’ve figured out that Gretchen HATES walking in the dark. As fall marches on, we might need it in the evenings too.
She doesn’t hate Lily. In fact, once in a while she overplays her hand and shows she actually likes having the little bull in our china shop. When we got home from the vet, she was at Lily’s crate, putting her nose to Lily’s, before I could get there. And at night, she waits for Lily at the top step, and then they descend, shoulder to … front leg.
I most miss Gg’s snuggles, but thanks to two Cushing’s dog Facebook groups, I know that many of them run hot and are no longer as into cuddles as they once were. I treasure the sweet kisses I get most nights when I tuck her in (at my side) and in the mornings. The cool fall weather has provided for some sweet early morning snuggles!
Nothing makes her happier than feeding time, unless it’s when her people come home. She barks and barks and tells me all about her day. We both miss the days when she went with me to the gym and to work, but we’re grateful for those memories, and again, her anxiety is mostly a non-issue after a lifelong battle.
Happy 15 years together, sweet Gg. I’m still insisting you’re going to live to be 20 and looking forward to making that little nubbins of a tail wag in a blur while you tell me about your day, while you bebop on walks and anything else that brings you joy!
Yikes! I never introduced Lily to the blogosphere. For quite some time, I’d been looking for a companion for Gg. I still think she would have preferred a cat, but we have a doggy door, coyotes and I’m allergic, so we added Lily on November 15th. We got her from a rescue, and we know her mom was a Jack Russell, and dad is a presumed hound. The rescue thought maybe a basset hound, but I’m not sure at all…
The first ride home…
The rescue folks were calling her Lily, and as we’d already considered that name anyway, we kept it. But my dogs get middle names, and six months in, Lily’s remains elusive. Here’s a list of what we’ve tried on already:
Pawlitzer – a nod to Lilly Pulitzer, as the girl resided near a country club when we picked her up.
Bean – as in LL Bean – because she’s definitely more rugged outdoorsy than prepster society girl.
Lagertha – as in the warrior from Vikings; Lily loves to play rough and doesn’t doubt herself.
Brienne – as in — of Tarth from Game of Thrones. Lily is a GIANT of a JRT mix, and not done growing!
Mae – as in Ellie Mae Clampett – because Lily loves to wrestle.
Limo – because she’s really long in the body.
Lizzo – because she’s bold and it sounds like limo, AND Gretchen was named for another singer, Gretchen Wilson.
Beth – as in Beth Dutton, because this dog makes Beth D. look like she DOES have impulse control!
She’s a smart, sweet girl who has no concept of personal space, but she is a handful and requires a firm hand and needs more training and exercise than she’s getting most days. It’s even more complicated because she is hyper-alert and EVERYTHING triggers her. Leaves, squirrels, cats, neighbors walking on HER road… I’m supremely grateful for the co-workers, gym friends and neighbors who have tried to help us help her learn to trust and work on her impulse control, but I’ve had to stop walking her in public, which includes our road, because she’s gotten so big it’s just dangerous to have her flip out – literally. So until we can get her with a trainer who can help us get this managed, we are limited to walking around the house unless I think she’s in a place where we can risk a walk on the road.
Big girl has her first birthday on the 5th. She’s a lovebug, but… Lily is a lot. I’m positive she’s going to mature into an amazing pup, but right now, she’s more work than any other dog I’ve ever had.
She is more “handsy” than any dog I’ve known. Not only does she need a tremendous amount of physical contact, she uses her front paws like hands and will hold hands, pull a hand to her chest for a chest rub (more desirable than a belly rub, evidently), boxes, throws hands, grabs, etc.
She’s brilliant – no, really. She’s a fast learner and tries to anticipate what we might ask of her. She knows at least two versions of most commands (paw and shake, for example, if you want her to put her paw in your hand), and yet… she has no impulse control and cannot execute proper leash manners when temptation strikes.
She is very willing to please, as long as she’s not on one of her tangents. She’s clean by nature and once we cleared her giardia, she’s been perfectly housebroken and crate trained, in spite of living with a cranky, incontinent old dog (Gretchen Greer). When she did have accidents in her crate, she cleaned them up AND folded the mess up in the towel in the crate.
I haven’t been able to have a “made bed” since she came here. She can’t help but tunnel and flip and dig in the covers. See above – she’s brilliant, wants to please us BUT her lack of impulse control rules her brain.
She chews. Oh how she chews. Thank goodness there are fabricated sticks, because those are her favorites, except when she wants to play fetch with a squeaky ball or a plushy toy. She’s not allowed to keep either of those in her reach though, because … impulse control. When the switch flips in her head, she MUST destroy the ball/stuffie and she can do it faster than I can blink. She ate the sole out of several socks before she decided I was SERIOUS and she ought not to do that ever again. She also ate the buttons off of several blouses, shredded roughly a dozen towels (so now her crate is bare), and yet, we can leave her loose in the house while we cut grass and nothing other than her toys has suffered for it.
We feed her via puzzle toys now, to keep that brilliant, mischievous mind working. We walk and play fetch, and we’re trying to find a trainer to work with us, all while still managing a senior Cushing’s girl with baseline anxiety and thyroid issues, who is losing her eyesight, hearing and bladder control. But otherwise, Gretchen is a happy girl who still likes walks, albeit shorter ones, who still gets excited about meals, and has her humans at her beck and call. Gg’s greatest joy is getting Lily in trouble, second only to greeting her people when they return.
It’s not an ideal mix, this senior mess and the wild pup, but they are well-loved and pampered. Gg even has her own credit card now, and paws are crossed Lily remains healthy. Evidently, my motto should be, “No low-maintenance dogs allowed!”
For the first time in YEARS, Chan Knits has an update. If and when I do knit, it seems I’ll put my finished objects over there. In the meantime, here’s the link and a sneak peek!
… sorta’. We skipped a dose early on because she was being weird. We skipped 2-3 doses (once daily) in the last week because of her trip to the emergency vet. She binged Thursday with the help of our co-workers, so I didn’t worry when she was very tired and not as hungry on Friday, but as Saturday ticked on, she lost mobility and moved into lethargic levels, to the point she wouldn’t/couldn’t walk. I didn’t feel like it was Addison’s, but I knew with her Cushing’s diagnosis, everyone (read: urgent or emergency vet) would have to rule that out first.
She had a little “ruffle” on her left hip, right at her lump of scar tissue from that dog bite long ago, and I thought nothing of it until I actually touched it. Turns out once the vet focused on that too, we found the problem; a NASTY, under the skin infection. We will likely never know what caused it, but a week of antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory pain killer our regular vet added on Monday, and she’s back to normal, her new fussy about how I take my meds aside.
This little crisis has shown me how blessed we are. We have great veterinary care, and my co-workers are the most amazing, kind, supportive, animal loving people ever. Gg HATES the cone (e-collar, or whatever you know it by), and she’s been a good girl minus two nights, but work has been quite easy, thanks to a pack ‘n play we’ve been loaned indefinitely. It’s kept her clean and safe, and she seems to like it! She gets even more pets and attention than she gets wandering around on her own.
She doesn’t know she’s fourteen years old. Most of the time, she doesn’t act like it, but she is a very senior dog. She is slowing down, she sleeps more, she takes more medications, but she’s still my spunky, sweet, utterly devoted sidekick. I miss our runs and wogs, but I’m hoping as the temperatures cool, she’ll want to trot down the road a bit now and again. It’s truly an honor and a privilege to be her person, and I’m a better person because of Lady Gretchen Greer. Here’s to many, many more years together!
Or is it Day 6, since we skipped Friday, Day 5? Gretchen wouldn’t eat her breakfast, so I called the vet and they advised that I skip her dose for that day, as the side effects we’re monitoring her for include decreased appetite and lethargy.
Her tribe concurs that it’s likely heat and long work days that caused her behaviors, but there’s no denying the girl is off her game. She didn’t go to Ladies Group (workout) yesterday morning. Her humans had decided she wasn’t going because she hadn’t eaten, but she also made no effort to come with me until I was basically out the door, so she somewhat opted out; she didn’t know we had decided she wasn’t going.
She always sleeps a lot on Sundays, so it’s hard to judge what’s going on today. It’s also hard to say whether we’re seeing positive changes, because her routine is so far out of whack, but that’s necessary because she needs constant supervision for the first couple of weeks on this medication.
This is hard. I trust our veterinary team explicitly, but in the end, it’s up to me to figure out what’s working and what gives Gretchen Greer the best quality of life. We’re waiting for the next round of testing to see what the labs say, because Gg’s Cushing’s journey is so muddy and muddled because the symptoms are so very similar to the anxiety issues she’s had her whole life.
Have I even blogged about Gretchen’s Cushing’s diagnosis? (I mentioned it, but barely.) So, let’s recap:
The week after Thanksgiving, Gretchen had a binge bender than brought me home mid-day to figure out why the puppy cam was upside down. She did some impressive at any age table-surfing and found her “headed out the door”dog treats, AND an old powerlifting meet gift bag that included some (non-chocolate, thankfully) KIND bars in various stages of all gone and what was left was in shredded plastic! She repeated that feat again on Saturday morning (but with no nommies found), and then came absolutely unglued when she was crated (rare, but she was crate-trained) while we went to the work holiday fete that night.
To the vet we went, and we were all surprised when this healthy-looking gal tested positive for Cushing’s Disease. (I’ll probably add her results here at some point so they’re all in one place.) At the vet’s recommendation, we went holistic, in part because she was back to being all but symptom free by then AND because our vets are friends and they KNOW I’m resistant to certain big pharma medications. That went really well for several weeks, and again, I’ll almost assuredly create a Cushing’s page here to track it all, but then in late April, she began having acute anxiety again. On May 31, our holistic vet broke up with us. (No, not really, but I try to keep things light, and when the holistic vet tells you it’s time to use conventional pharmacology, it’s sobering.)
And somewhere in the midst of all of that, baby girl was also diagnosed with high blood pressure. She’s on a microscopic dose of Amlodipine (2.5 mg tab QUARTERED, and one of those pieces twice daily), and while it dropped her BP a bit, it remains a little higher than desired. With everything else going on, we’re going to re-evaluate THAT when the vet tells me it’s time… I think in September?
So, today is day one on Trilostane. She’s on a whopping 15mg compounded into a chicken flavored chewable tablet that the princess rejected as a “treat” but thankfully, she did gobble it down with her breakfast. Yes, that’s a high-maintenance, home-made meal, which I’ll also include on the Cushing’s page. She loved it at first and seems bored with it at this point. I know there’s plenty of room for discussion; my dogs have put me in camp “we like variety when a slow switch is done”. They definitely seem to get tired of the same flavors day after day, week after week.
So far, so good. She’ll be at my side for the next 10 days, until we do her first monitoring bloodwork to assure this is the right dose for her. Despite what I’ve read, I’m still insisting she’s going to live to be 20, and have a happy, healthy life until then.
Chanpagne 