My senior dog left pink spots on the snow after she peed. I knew instantly what it meant—she had blood in her urine, likely from a urinary tract infection. My first thoughts were: Why did she get this? If I hadn’t walked her, I may not have caught it. If untreated, a UTI can lead … Read more
Taffy, my sister’s 16-year-old cocker spaniel had several bumps around her mouth. Her vet said they were just warts and would go away on their own. But they didn’t. They got bigger and became bloody when she bumped them. Then Taffy would shake and blood spattered the walls, floor, and furniture. My sister didn’t want … Read more
Anyone who’s owned an older dog knows that feeling of panic when they pet their dog and find a lump. Is it cancer or just a fatty tumor? We try to feel if it’s isolated or connected, hard or soft. Every time we pet the dog we feel for it, trying to gauge if it’s … Read more
“I’m afraid your dog has bone cancer,” my veterinarian told me back in 2001. “Amputation followed by chemotherapy is the best option. Most dogs, even with chemotherapy, survive only six to eight months.” A death sentence. Cancer is the main cause of death in dogs over two years of age. Bone cancer affects 10,000 dogs … Read more
At 3 am on Monday morning, Buffy, my 9 year-old cocker spaniel, walked around my bedroom bumping into things. When I called to her to direct her down the stairs, she acted confused and disoriented, terrified of the stairs. Buffy is recently blind from glaucoma so she often bumps into things, but her confusion seemed … Read more
Until two years ago, I never found a tick in my yard. Now with Buffy being blind, she mostly stays on the grass and hardly walks into the shrubby areas, so I was shocked when I saw a tick on her. I found another one on me after I had walked her around my residential … Read more
With every dog, I seem to learn about different diseases. My parent’s dogs never seemed to get sick until they were quite old, and then they’d euthanize them. My sister’s cocker is still very healthy at 15. Maybe I just have bad luck. I feed them a higher quality dog food than the rest of … Read more
