Miss Lucy Dawg Is Getting Old (and So Am I)

+JMJ+ Those who follow me on Twitter may have seen that Miss Lucy Dawg (my little miniature Chocolate Dapple Dachshund who I inherited when my father passed away in 2013) had some trouble with her back legs this past weekend. Well, of course it’s more involved than that. We went to the vet (and that is part of a saga in itself, a story for another time) Friday and got a bunch of new meds for her. Previously she was only on something for her liver. She’s got more than that now! Good thing we traded pill organizers a while back because she needs way more room than I do in one of those.

She’s sleeping right now after taking some of her meds: muscle relaxers and something to reduce the inflammation in her discs. (Vet didn’t say this but she may have the same thing Abby had, something a lot of long bodied dawgs get: IVDD, Intervertebral Disc Disease or it may just be that the discs have worn out. She’s not one given to climbing and jumping off of things but she is fifteen years old.)

When Miss Lucy Dawg wants a siesta (or I want one for her), I play this music for her (see video below). It worked for her sister Abby when she had panic attacks, and it chills our cats right out, too. We play it every single night when it’s their bedtime. A Composure treat and this music and it’s lights out for Miss Lucy. Major Tom and Miss Kitty don’t require Composure treats. Miss Lucy doesn’t either, she just likes ‘em. Abby required them if there were storms about. (Yeah, if there were storms anywhere within a 100 miles radius, mom.) Haha, funny, Miss Lucy Dawg, funny and true. And, in case you don’t know, no one needs to tell me I’m not really Miss Lucy Dawg’s mother because I KNOW THAT. But she doesn’t, so shush!

Video, Brian Eno, Harold Budd – Ambient 2: The Plateaux of Mirror Playlist (That’s a screenshot below because the video had a message that the videos wouldn’t play here, gotta play them on YouTube.)

That’s the beauty of ambient music Eno-style: I can listen to it, relax to it, sleep through it, or work through it, whatever I need/want to do. It can float in the background or come to the front of my attention, when I want it to. I’ve been listening to this stuff for many years. Highly recommended to those who enjoy this sort of thing. Not everyone does, more’s the pity.

Miss Lucy is going to take it easy as much of the day as possible today (and for a couple of weeks), take her meds, and when her crate arrives (was supposed to be here tonight, now hopefully tomorrow), she’ll be on strict crate rest. I’ll use a sling to take her out for potty breaks. (Read about “sling walking” for dawgs with IVDD or other back trouble.) Ordered one and got it on Sunday. It works pretty well but I wish I had a younger, stronger back. Oy. Yesterday I put her in my rollator under-seat carrier basket thingy. She didn’t much like it much but it worked. I can’t carry her, my portable O2 machine (which seems quite heavy, to me, even when I use the smaller 4 hour battery, but I have the 8 hour battery on it right now, oof!), and push my rollator at the same time unless I put her in it, my O2 machine on it, and at this point, lay on it because that’s how tired I am.

And these days…it’s just the way I roll. Ha! Sorry, not sorry. Couldn’t resist.

Thanks for visiting the blog and reading. Your prayers are welcome! Know that you are always in mine. May your little (or big) furry friends be a blessing. I know Miss Lucy Dawg has been and is a blessing to me. God bless you, and may His peace be always with you. +JMJ+

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Notes and Links

Learn about canine back pain: Dodgers List, Home to all things IVDD.
Read about “sling walking” for dawgs with IVDD or other back trouble.
Sling I ordered: GINGERLEAD Dog Sling Hip Support Harness (Amazon affiliate link, see Full Disclosure below).
Crate I ordered: MidWest Life Stages, recommended by my best friend (Amazon affiliate link, see Full Disclosure below).
Reusable Potty Pads for her crate: Caldwell’s Potty Pads, also recommended by my best friend (Amazon affiliate link, see Full Disclosure below).
Harness I ordered: Joyride Harness, you guessed it, also recommended by my best friend, and not an Amazon link. Joyride says: “Exchanges are now free so if you order a harness and it doesn’t fit, we’ll cover the cost of sending it back with a free pre-paid shipping label.” Pretty cool, that.
Harold Budd and Brian Eno, Plateaux of Mirror: CD on Amazon (Amazon affiliate link, see Full Disclosure below), MP3 on iTunes.

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Image: Miss Lucy Dawg Herself when she was a younger dawg and felt better and could run circles around me or anybody else and wanted to run and play all day. Fortunately, Miss Lucy is also a Dachshund and remains highly food-motivated so giving her her meds is very simple: stuff a pill in a pill pocket and she will gladly devour it. And maybe half of your finger when she gets a little too excited.

Full disclosure: When you make any purchase through my Amazon affiliate links (or my general Amazon link) on this site, I may make a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you. And thank you for your prayers and support.