The Life of a Geriatric Dog

We’ve had Genevieve since she was four years old.  She’s a rescue dog and has had a total of three owners  — with us being the longest she’s been in a pack.  If you read Julie’s blog,  you’ll know that poor Gen went from this…

…to being completely blind. She’s also had a few health issues and one near death experience that has had us going to the veterinarian more times than I wish were the case.  Her latest problem is a common one among older dogs:  skin tags. Sometimes the tags just grow to a certain size and just kind of stop.  Other times they get bigger and bigger — which is what happened to Gen. In fact, one got so big, it kind of burst when I was giving her a bath at Pet Food Express (they have these really great bath tubs for dogs). Anyway, we took her to the vet and they were able to take out two tags, but couldn’t do anything about the one that burst until the swelling went down.  Well, she was on anti-inflammatory meds for a couple of weeks and the swelling finally went down.  Julie took her back to the vet and they were able to get the other tag off.  But here’s the gross part:  while the removal of the other tags required only one or two stitches (which are now off), the other tag required more slicing — which resulted in Gen getting about 5 to 6 stitches.

Okay, if you’re eating, don’t look at these pictures because one is kind graphic. So, you’ve been warned, right?  You’re “in the loop” when it comes to what’s coming next… so we can now proceed.

She’ll be getting the stitches off by the 29th of this month (just in time for her visit/vacation with her friend, Katie).  I sure hope after this, she doesn’t have to go through any major stuff like this anymore.  Considering she’s on drugs to control her bladder and her bowels, having all the pain meds just adds to the general blech of being an old dog.  She’s a trooper, though.  As long as her pack is nearby, she’s a happy dog who sleeps a lot, enjoys short walks, and, of course, eating as much food as she can get.