ramonaghan

Also: oh, Milo.

Ellen . Try to extend yourself some grace. None of this is easy. It's been a rough weekend here too emotionally, and I'm trying to tell myself the same. Unfortunately, we're not dogs living in the moment but merely poor flawed humans doing the best we can. Milo is probably sensing the stress (Richard the cat has also been quite the turd lately). I hope the Entyce works and that the news tomorrow brings some hope.

LAST CHEMO DONE. LUNGS "CRYSTAL CLEAR." STINK-EYE GIVEN. —Lubs, Sweep

Maybe mirtazapine would help more with his appetite? It has worked pretty well for Sweep after chemo, in conjunction with Cerenia. Might be worth asking. Mystery illnesses are the worst. Hopefully Dr. Couto will have some insight.

Thinking of you today and hoping for a good report.

Thanks, everyone, that makes me feel better. We'll let her dictate the pace (who am I kidding? she always has) and work on accepting that walks might be a thing of the past. We're all still figuring out this new normal.

Thanks, MP. Sweep does seem to have figured out that moving faster is much easier than leisurely walking. And just in the past few days she has learned that she can still sit, so she takes a break when she needs to!

Thanks! She's a back leg amp, actually (back right), but everything you said still makes sense. Maybe after Thursday's final(!!) chemo she'll get a little more pep in her step.

Is anyone still using this thread? (I'd love to think that's a good sign.) Posting here with a question in case helpful for others later. Anyone who's gone through amp with a senior: how long (if ever) did it take to build up their stamina? We're about two months post-amp, and while Sweep seems generally happy and comfortable, she has no stamina whatsoever. Walks of any length are out of the question. We make it about halfway down the alley before her back leg is buckling and we have to turn around. She enjoys the smells, I'm sure, but it's hard to watch. I don't know whether it's naive to hope for improvement with a just-turned-12-year-old or we just let her out for quick potty breaks and sunbathing sessions in the yard for the rest of her life. She is perkier with the fall temps and even attempted a senior version of a zoomie the other day, so again, I do think she's feeling mostly good, she's just weak. (It doesn't help that pre-amp we weren't doing walks because of the summer temps, so she wasn't in peak condition by any means.) Thanks for any insights.

No! I'm so very sorry, Mary Pat. Rest well, sweet girl.

Not the update we wanted. Holding good thoughts for you both.

Thank you, frens! Sweep had a faboo birthday, and best of all NO thunderboomers as predicted, just rain. Today we are snoozing in the sun, sniffing the fall air, and enjoying the beautiful weather and long-awaited cooler temperatures!

Liverwurst, bull pizzle, chicken feet, and lamb ears are all things one might find in your kitchen. Conversations about poop quality are a normal occurrence. Chattering, roaching, trancing, and GSOD are all part of your vocabulary.

You get ice cream for lunch on your birthday.

I was thinking "Be a dear, would you, and bring me another mai tai." But yours is probably more accurate.