Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Rally

About this dying dog we have living in our house.... the one who blogs and for whom I've made a fresh vat of home made soup every week since December? Well, we took him to the "spa" (aka boarded him at the vet) over the weekend while we were out of town. First of all, they were shocked that he was still alive because he was supposed to have been gone months ago. They must have figured we disposed of him illegally (**cue cremation ash cannon here**).

Well he's apparently using some of our cat's nine lives, because she's so laz
y she hasn't even worn out her first one yet. I expected him to come back from the spa all depressed with bloody paws from nervous chewing. I carefully packed his lunches and suppers (doggy hospice soup) because he wouldn't be able to eat spa kibble. We packed his favorite blanket, so if he died while there, it would be in a familiar "spot."

But no.

He came home with a bounce in his step and a gleam in his eye and some new arthritis medicine that was disallowed under my FSA. Seems to me if we can make gay marriage legal in Iowa, we should be able to put our pets on our health insurance. All is fair in love and yard apples, right?

Then the low blow...the vet told Ron Burgundy that "the better the soup smells the more he'll eat" and "he'll have a hard time chewing."

Let's get this straight. Lucky quit eating his kibble because he couldn't chew and even softened with beef or chicken broth, it did not
appeal to him. He could no longer drink water because his mouth and tongue just can't handle the thin consistency. The soup is made from all fresh vegetables cooked to tender, chicken, and frozen egg noodles. TONS of vegetables and a whole chicken, stewed with all the bones to bring out the flavor, and just a pinch of salt to extract the flavors. No, it's not seasoned with thyme, marjoram, a bay leaf or a shot of hot pepper flakes like if I was making it for us. But he pants and drools and stands underfoot the whole time it's cooking. He waits patiently by his bowl to eat. He licks the "place mat" in front of his bowl if it's empty to get every last bit. And his coat is the healthiest and shiniest it's been in years. His coat loves chicken fat, apparently.

But the vet apparently doesn't think it smells good enough.

I wonder if he tasted it?

Yeah, it needs more salt. Just don't tell Lucky.

Somebody forgot to tell him he's dying, too.


Tea tonight: Green Ginger

18 comments:

Sherri Murphy said...

Awww. Do you want me to post this doggie soup on my food blog?
(RR style?)

If so, I will.

You're a good momma.

Billy Coffey said...

Now THAT is a dog!

I have a really good friend who is a vet. College educated and very smart. He told me once that a dog is the hardest animal to diagnose and treat because in the end, it's the people they live with rather than the medicine or food they eat that keeps them healthy and happy.

Me, I think he's healthy and happy.

Candy said...

@ Billy - Now if that ginormous tumor would leave his snout....poor baby.

Eyeglasses & Endzones said...

Well...I have to say that you are a really nice Mom to do that for a puppy...to be honest with you, I have a hard time cooking a restricted diet for my kids sometimes!

Beth in NC said...

LOL ... poor dog. Candy, he's just fooling all of you -- and getting special care and some great food to boot!

Elaine at Matters of the Heart) said...

That darn vet. You are the best doggie mommy I know. Wow, that soup is amazing, I'm sure my big doggie would love some of that right about now..

Sherri Murphy said...

Where was this soup when Roxie was eating carpet padding? (God rest her soul)

Helen said...

It's all in the tone. He probably wanted to say something encouraging about Lucky, but from a trained, medical standpoint, he didn't know what to say, so he said in effect "make sure the soup smells good." The vet is probably surprised that you make Lucky homecooked meals. Don't take Doc's statement personally. It is more about his lack of bedside manner than Lucky's food.

Stephanie Wetzel said...

Helen, you are such a wonderful peacemaker. I bet the doc didn't mean any harm either.

And Lucky is definitely lucky to have you and Ron Burgundy as his "parents."

Beth E. said...

I think the vet needs to take some instruction from YOU, Candy! LOL

Lucky seems to be doing just fine. He's being well cared for by loving doggy parents. Seems to me he's living up to his name. :o)

Please tell Lucky that Blondie (our dog) sends her love!

Candy said...

@Steph - that would be "pawrents" in doggy talk

@Beth E - muh-WAH from Lucky to Blondie!

Finding Normal said...

Thanks so much for your sweet email. I turned comments off from that post so that I don't spontaneously burst into tears every time I open my email to a new comment. My way of putting this in a box, I suppose.
It's been a rough day. So quiet. I keep thinking he'll just come strolling out of the bedroom. I do wish I'd known so he could've had a whole slice of pizza last night (like he wanted) instead of just the crust.
Hang in there. It just gets harder. But I suppose it'll get easier eventually.

Boozy Tooth said...

Not only do I love you and your blog more dearly than I can say - but I love how YOU love.

Lucky is a trooper and deserves the zooop! Don't listen to that dumb vet. They, like professional athletes, make waaay too much money for what they do.

Augie sends wet kisses to Lucky.

Jennifer said...

They actually do have pet insurance. My Madison has had it for years. http://www.petinsurance.com. My baby boy will be 15 in August, and we're not sure how much longer we'll have him. So nice to see a mama who loves her 4-legged children as much as I love mine!

Holly said...

Poor dog! It does seem like a very strange situation! o.O

Nick the Geek said...

I have considered getting pet insurance for my dog. There was a time my wife and I didn't have insurance but we were considering getting it for the dog. The thought process there was that if something happened and we got huge hospital bills it would be easier for us to get those settled/waived than vet bills.

My dog got spoiled for a while there. When we moved out here Lilly, my parents dog, wasn't able to eat her food either so she got yummies to soften and flavor her food. I guess he found out about it somehow and started refusing to eat. We tried putting yummies on his food and he would eat, but forget them and the food sat there. He never ate around Lilly nor she around him so dogs must have some means of communication. I'm guessing he smelled her food with yummies on us sometime and decided he should get it. After she passed he started eating his food dry again. Weird.

Mary Humphrey said...

What matters most is, your loyal friend is surviving with the loving soup that you make for him. The vet could be a "books" type of person, and wouldn't be one to prescribe that type of treatment and care. I have said it a few times, I wish these wonderful animals could live longer than us. God bless.

Grace said...

I'm having a hard time understanding why the vet would tell you what you already know...and what is obvious. Whatever. Lucky is lucky to have you.

Topic aside, you're a great writer. So glad to discover your blog! Blessings!

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