#seniorjrt

Sweet Seventeen

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.

Not Today

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.

Best Life

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!

Trilostane Day 7

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.