Is it Time to say Goodbye?

Cassie being guided in her harness and sling.
Cassie being guided in her harness and sling.

My good friend and work partner for the past 11 ½ years, Cassie, can no longer walk. She leans hard to the left and falls down if she can’t manage to get her left rear leg under her.

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Homemade Dog Food Recipe

Cassie anticipating a taste of a new batch of homemade dog food.
Cassie anticipating a taste of a new batch of homemade dog food.

About six months ago, my husband, Mitch, ran across a recipe for making our own dog food. It included kale, which he had a lot of from our garden last fall, so he gave it a try. With three dogs, we can really go through the dog food.

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Sebaceous Cysts

Cassie's sebaceous cyst on her back.
Cassie’s sebaceous cyst on her back.

A large hard scab stuck to the fur on Cassie’s back for over a month. We thought it was from rolling on rigid sharp crusts of ice and snow. A routine visit to the vet revealed the scab was harboring a sebaceous cyst.   Several more occurred on her right leg and ear. The vet shaved her fur and exposed a raw, oozing wound.

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Probiotics

Chipper
Chipper

I opened the kitchen door after returning home from work. Buffy and Chipper gathered by the door, wiggling their stumpy tails. They ran out the door as a familiar raunchy odor greeted me. Brown drippings and piles were all over the kitchen floor. “Not again,” I moaned as I grabbed paper towels and a plastic grocery bag and started whipping up diarrhea.

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The Ladder Command

Cassie had been tripping fairly often, at least once a day, falling on her face, or her shoulder, seemingly over nothing. I’d often stop and pet her and say, “That looks like it hurt. Poor baby.” I was afraid she’d really hurt herself one of these times, maybe even break her leg.

Cassie using the ladder command with Chipper watching.
Cassie using the ladder command with Chipper watching.

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Wash with Soap and Water

Cleaning Cassie's foot
Cleaning Cassie’s foot

I’ve had several blogs about Cassie’s sore paw and it has taken over a month to heal. I’m the problem, my vet said with her tone. When she told me to keep Cassie’s paw clean and dry – I figured alcohol would do the trick, to kill bacteria. But the vet reprimanded me.

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Snow Protection

Cassie rolling in the snow.
Cassie rolling in the snow.

This past week the Chicago area had a blizzard with about 1 ½ feet of snow dumping on us. Cassie loves to roll in the snow, creating snow angels and taking a snow bath. Over the years I’ve found several essentials for dogs:

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Cold Water and Dogs

Taking a walk to view the ice conditions along the Lake Michigan shoreline at Hosah Park in Zion, I never expected Cassie to start walking into the ice cold water. She’s usually cautious, but since we come here often in the summer, I think she was surprised at the cold water.

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