schultzlc

I want to thank you all for your kind words. They have meant so much to me. Nova and I are doing alright. We are just finding our new normal, and are holding sweet Luna in our memories. I am missing my heart dog like crazy, but am so thankful for the nine years that we had together. This photo was taken on Thursday. It was a beautiful day, and we spent a few hours snoozing in the sunshine. I sat with her on my patio, talked with her, and buried my fingers into her incredibly silky fur. What I wouldn't give for another day like this one.

Today I had to say goodbye to my Luna. I will never forget how shy she was when we met. It was a unique pleasure to watch her come out of her shell, and I’m honored that she chose me to be her person. I adopted her fresh out of grad school. Together, we moved 4 times, and went on road trips spanning several states and tens of thousands of miles. Luna was always ready for an adventure and easily adapted, so long as we were together. She chose sweet Nova to join our pack. She brought me joy and laughter every single day with her zest for life and her spunky, bossy personality. My heart broke today as I let her go, and I will miss her every single day. Luna Lou, I love you so much, and I will always carry you with me in my heart. 💔 Luna- Boc’s Duchess- 5/30/2007 - 3/27/2020

A post I’ve dreaded making for years. Luna has had a really tough week, and I’ll have to let her go within the next couple of days. I’m absolutely heartbroken and wish more than anything that I could fix her and make everything okay. Social distancing has added some uniqueness to this experience. On one hand, my university has been closed and I’ve been teaching online from home since March 6, so I’ve been gifted a ton of extra time to shower my hounds with love. On the other hand, local vet offices are picking dogs up at the door and their people aren’t allowed in with them. There’s no way I could ever leave Luna alone in the end. Fortunately, one mobile vet is still operational and can come right to our home. It gives me some peace of mind knowing that she’ll be here where she feels safe and comfortable and that I can be with her every step of the way. If you could spare a thought for Luna, and for a smooth and dignified passing, I’d greatly appreciate it. For now, I’m off to snuggle with my girl and try to not show her how much I’m hurting.

Just an update on Miss Luna. She doesn’t have anything specific wrong her her that we could pinpoint, as it turns out. And we have mostly good days when she bounds around, plays with toys, and eats. Then, suddenly we wake up one morning and she’s a mess. Her breathing is short and shallow, she has trouble with walking, doesn’t really want to eat or walk, and pretty much lays on her bed semi-napping. Then, a day or two later, she bounces back and is perfect again. It’s confusing and concerning, and I wish I could identify something that triggers this, but I haven’t found a pattern yet. I understand that at nearly 13, I’ve been lucky that her health has been so good. And right now, the good days vastly outnumber the bad, so I’ll be grateful for that. Has anyone ever experienced anything similar with their seniors?

This is good to know, thank you, Rachel. Clarksville doesn’t really have a 24/7 clinic, but we spend about half of our week in Nashville with my BF anyways, so I will keep them in mind. It seems like we’re usually referred to a Nashville clinic during off hours.

Not ever what we hope to hear, but I appreciate this info. She’s such a stoic type too, that I’ve always felt that I would never know something is wrong until it’s very wrong. I had never observed any of those other symptoms, but I do feel as though my poor girl has aged substantially in just 24 hours. I’ll keep you all posted on what I learn.

Thank you all for your input and well wishes! With heart issues, could that come on quite suddenly? There wasn’t really any lead up to this (lethargy, phlegm, cough, etc). I’ll have to do some research. I have called over 20 vet clinics this morning and everyone is slammed right now. I don’t think I can put her through waiting a couple of hours at a walk in clinic, so I’ll have to keep checking. Hopefully I’ll be able to get her seen shortly. In the meantime, we’re having a lazy day at home. This morning she took me by complete surprise by demanding a walk and eating her complete breakfast.

Hi all, I am writing in regards to my Luna. She will be 13 in May, but has been all around a pretty healthy dog. Her teeth are not good, but she has always struggled with anesthesia, and after it was so hard to bring her back out of her last dental two years ago, the vet and I decided that it needed to be her last one. In spite of that, and the general loss of muscle mass and some coordination that comes with being a greyhound of a certain age, she’s still been her goofy self with occasional zoomies in the yard and pouncing on toys. She’s always been a finicky eater, but with some special add ins, that has been okay too. Beginning Wednesday evening, she has started to act a little off. Just a little lethargic, not at all interested in going for her daily walk (we were still going a mile or so a day). Tonight, I’m noticing that her breathing seems rather shallow or labored. While her breath isn’t super loud, there is more sound than normal both inhaling and exhaling. She also seems to be breathing more rapidly while resting than normal. And when she is up and moving, she is panting a bit, though she has always panted on walks even in the middle of winter. I’m going to cancel my classes tomorrow morning and have her seen by a vet. Going to the vet is such a difficult and traumatizing experience for her right now, so I may actually skip her normal vet and have someone mobile come to the house instead. I’m wondering, have any of you had a similar experience with your hounds where something like this came on very suddenly? Thanks in advance from the worried mom of a beloved senior girl.

Hi Rachel! I know it's been a minute, but I so understand your predicament. Luna and Nova will be 13 and 11 this spring (where did the time go?!?). About a year ago, Luna decided that she just didn't want to go down the stairs anymore. She would still go up fine, but she'd get about 2-3 steps down with her front legs, psych herself out, and then back up to the top again. Like Sweep, she got a clean bill of health. Vet said it was simply psychological. I wouldn't necessarily lean towards dementia, but I will say that habits have changed as my girls have aged. Luna doesn't sleep for the whole night anymore, and will usually leave the bedroom at some point, get a drink of water, snooze somewhere else for an hour or two, and then head back to bed. No telling what all of that is about, but she seems happy and healthy enough. It could be that Sweep is just finding her new normal as well. Good luck!

Thank you all so very much!!

What a sweet kitty! Congrats to you all!

I know I haven't been on here often as of late. 2018 was an odd year, and 2019 is following suit. But I wanted to share a brief post of my girls since this week marks both of their Gotcha Days. Nova Noodle celebrated her 5th Gotcha Day on March 1, and Luna Lou is celebrating her 8th Gotcha Day today! I am so grateful for the light and love these two bring into my life each and every day, and I hope we can celebrate many more years together! Here's a recent photo. Luna on the left, and Nova on the right. <3

If you can, feel free to reach out to a local Richmond group, James River Greyhounds. I adopted both of my girls with them and they are a lovely group to work with. I bet they'll have some ideas for you. Good luck!

I am so very sorry for the loss of your sweet Trevor.

I am so very sorry for the loss of your Rocket. He will surely be missed by all.