The Old Man Dog

Squirt went to the vet yesterday for his annual exam and his vaccinations. I took him back to the vet who took care of him last year when he had such a terrible episode with his heart. The vet was impressed with how well he's doing in spite of his congestive heart failure, but he did mention Squirt had some fluid in his lungs. He also commented on Squirt's cold paws being slightly blue as well - a sign his heart wasn't working optimally. We may need to bump up his heart meds for that.

Lately Squirt has been having some rough periods of yelping when we pick him up and having some trouble with the stairs. I wasn't surprised when I told the vet and he suggested we start thinking about some options for arthritis pain relief. We're looking into giving him a joint supplement to help with that.

All in all I know that he's amazing for continuing to be happy and relatively healthy for being 12 years old. I love all of our dogs, but he's my first dog child. He came into my life and brought so much joy into my life during a time of adjusting to a lot of newness. He was my best friend and my family all in one then. He even helped me meet my husband and Danny-Dog. You can bet this little guy's always going to hold an extra-special place in my heart.

Squirticus the Old Man Dog chilling on a gorgeous summer night.