D-Day

Today, we celebrated Ophelia's 14th birthday. Our vet called this morning with a great birthday gift for princess O: She doesn't have diabetes! (INSERT HUGE SIGH OF RELIEF HERE). Unfortunately, she does have kidney disease, and that is a progressive condition for which there is no cure. I know all about kidney disease because Lilith, my 16 1/2 year old dog, also has it.

The girls a few years ago when Lilith could still jump on the bed

This week has been challenging for me. On Monday, I took Lilith to the vet because her arthritis has been acting up, so she got some medication for that, and I occuppied myself with many unsuccessful attempts to get the medication into her system. Ophelia's always been so robust that it never occurred to me that she, too, is a senior. Boy, did I get a rude awakening! I woke up three days later, and as I was brushing my teeth, Ophelia came into the bathroom and peed on the floor. I was horrified because that's not like her at all, and I was not amused by her behaviour. I thought she was upset that Lilith has received most of my attention lately, and I scolded her as I got the bottle of cleaner and paper towels to clean up the mess. Then I turned on the light to assess the situation, and that's when I noticed that her urine was full of blood. My heart sank. I called the vet right away and got an appointment for later that morning.

I got the carrier ready, and braced myself for a stressful ride in the car. We moved a few weeks ago, and I couldn't find the key to the storage locker where Ophelia's carrier was kept, so she ended up being moved ghetto style in a cardboard box with holes poked in it for air. I sang "You are my Sunshine" to her the whole way to our new place, and she barely made a sound, but this was not the case on Thursday. Ophelia is a budding soprano in the car, especially if she figures she's en route to the vet, and she knew, believe me. She did well at the vet's office, and they were very good to us. Later that day, they called me and said that her urinalysis indicated signs of diabetes, and that I would need to bring her back the following day for a blood test. After some more yodelling in the car, we returned home. The next day we got the news that her blood glucose levels were normal, but my little lapwarmer is starting to show signs of age. There is a grief you go through as a pet parent when your pet is chronically ill, and I must admit that I'm struggling with this because it's not a battle we will ever win. There is no cure. We can simply slow down the progress of her kidney disease, and knowing that this is the beginning of the end is painful. I have two pets in their golden years to care for, so I can't afford much self-pity. Now that we have a diagnosis, we can begin to cope. 

Ophelia has been put on a special diet, and she will be put on blood pressure medication to slow down the rate at which the blood is pumped through her kidneys. I'm hoping she'll eat the chewable tablets. She doesn't seem sick, and is still cuddly and affectionate as could be, so I'm going to take a deep breath, give thanks for the past 14 years, and look forward to every single day I have left with her and her canine sister.

This is what it's like to have pets in their golden years. I'm doing everything I can to ensure that my pets have the best life possible. As long as they're still happy and relatively healthy, I will do whatever I need to do to help them enjoy their senior years. I am choosing to focus on their quality of life rather than the $600 vet bill I racked up this week.