Miko's Health (updates and more)

Silaria said:
The nice thing about down is that it doesn't have to be thick to be warm. If you can get him wrapped up in it he should be nice and toasty.
Click to expand...

I wrapped him up in it. When he wanted out, it was toasty inside. And then he pooped on it. Yuck. Then as I wiped it down, I had a sneezing fit. I wonder if I'm allergic to it. Weird.

Tangent.
On the food end of things. Miko didn't eat his dinner :( I'm making him rice to go with his eggs. And I got him some other greens to try out. Fingers crossed he eats. Waiting for the rice to finish cooking, then I'm going to see if he'll eat a bit.
 
Yay! Miko at his food.

Miko got a plateful of rice, one egg, and spinach. He ate almost all of the food on the plate. Maybe left 1/4 of it. I gave some to Koji and now he's in my face for more. Crazy dog.

I honestly don't know how healthy it is, but at least he's eating. I'll have to add his vitamins to it tomorrow though. I've been skimping on it hoping he'd eat, but he hasn't.

Fingers crossed he likes the same thing tomorrow, since that's what I'm frying up for him in the morning. Well, maybe mid-day since I just fed him at it's 1am here. I'm going to take advantage of his food coma and go to bed. I'm just happy he ate more than his normal.

I suppose I need to find foods he wants to eat. Ugh. And hope that it won't shut his kidney's down. Maybe I'll go buy some steak. That sounds good for dinner. ;) BTW, my dog eats better than me.
 
Good boy Miko for eating up :smile2:

Just a thought with the diahorrea - have you tried an alternative protein source to chicken? Two of mine don't do well on chicken and were loose frequently, but on rabbit and turkey variety they are fine. I've believe some dogs can develop an intolerance to chicken even after many years of eating it.
 
seashel said:
Good boy Miko for eating up :smile2:

Just a thought with the diahorrea - have you tried an alternative protein source to chicken? Two of mine don't do well on chicken and were loose frequently, but on rabbit and turkey variety they are fine. I've believe some dogs can develop an intolerance to chicken even after many years of eating it.
Click to expand...

Thanks. The hard part is to find a protein that won't further complicate his kidney disease. I have to take a look at my list of approved foods. That's also why I can't just give him anything. I don't want to shut down his kidneys, but I do want him to enjoy his food.

I was also told he could have developed an allergy to the peas. Same reason. I've been feeding him it since Jan 2012. I couldn't forgive myself if I made his kidneys shut down because of the food I give him. Sigh. Right now, it's all about balance to keep him happy, but not kill him. Ugh!

ETA: oh good, just looked at my list. I have a lot of options. Beef, pork loin, tuna, rabbit, and turkey. Pork loin sounds good, I have an awesome recipe if Miko will share some of his pork with me. Hehe. Looks like he may get his steak. Gotta figure out what cut will have enough fat.
 
Last edited:
Disclaimer: I'm babbling away. Sorry. I can't seem to form a cohesive paragraph. And I was applying to jobs tonight? That may not have been a good thing, hehe.

It's been a few days, so I thought I'd post a quick update.

Things aren't looking up, that's for sure. I am so confused as what to do. I haven't gotten "the look" yet but I keep thinking, is this a way to live? Ugh. This is not easy.

Miko hadn't eaten anything for 24 hours. I tried everything. The new food I was making, the old food, any food. Nothing. :( My friend said, "give him chicken noodle soup" and I had some, so that's what I gave him. He actually ate some. Not a lot, not even much to say he ate, but he went for it. At least he got some chicken, noodles, and veggies in him. Can't say the broth was healthy, but whatevers, it's food.

He's not sleeping again. Which means I'm not sleeping. I'm not sure why. He's warm, he's on my bed (on top of a ton of blankets and fluffy comforter) which means he's probably not sore from lying on something hard. I've been on the computer for the past 5 hours applying to jobs, Miko hasn't been "comfy" for more than 20 mins. Talk about frustration.

The reason I'm frustrated is because he can't walk well either. He can no longer walk straight, he just makes circles. He can't seem to really direct himself (he can, but barely). And then he bangs into the walls. Gawd that is depressing. The other day, I was petting him, hoping to calm him down and get him to sleep some....and I found two more scabs over his bones. Which means he rubbed against something enough that it bled. :( My poor baby is literally just skin and bones.

So now I think....if the animal communicator is right, and he's not ready to go, then me putting him down now would just be mean. But as he walks in circles, running into everything, tripping over his own feet, falling head over feet, and I swear I think sometimes he's going to break his neck or back in the positions he falls over into, talk about neck under his body, craning some awkward angle, yikes. But he doesn't act like it hurts, just not happy about being stuck like that. Anyhow, I was saying, it's hard to watch him walk around like that. He wants to stand up, I stand him up, help him around or else he walks into things or trips over things. I just ask him, do you really want to live like this? Do you really feel things will get better?

Sigh. When he wants to stand up, he gives me the look of, "I want to stand up" and when I stand him up, he seems relieved. Then he walks around, runs into things, falls over and looks at me like, "wth just happened, dangit" and then I help him up and he is again relieved. So, I don't think I'm getting the "let me go" look yet. Just the, "I'm frustrated" look because I'm dizzy.

Today has been hard. He isn't sleeping. I may try to lie him on top of me, it seems to be the only thing that works for hours. Otherwise, I have to give him his pain meds which knocks him out and I can finally sleep. It's sad, but that's what I've been having to do.

All three of us have been sleeping from about 2am to 5pm. I'm dead serious. It's not straight sleep, that's for dang sure. I wake up and I am exhausted. I finally got out of bed at 6pm tonight. And I'm about to go to bed, just so Miko will sleep (it's 1am). Wow. He's actually been sleeping for more than 15 mins. I'm amazed. Too bad he fell over into Koji's bed, with Koji in it. Koji was not happy, I could see that. Poor Koji.

Dare I say the couple of months given may not come to fruition at this rate. I don't think this is living anymore. If anyone thinks I'm not doing it because of my emotions, it's not that, it's that if you saw his eyes when he wakes up and stands up, you wouldn't do it either. I can see it in his eyes that he's not ready, I think that's why I'm having such a hard time watching him like this. The humane thing would be to end it, but I can't do it when he looks at me like he does. Not yet anyways.

We'll see how things progress. Things were getting better, but alas, it seems as though it's not anymore. Let's hope his appetite returns, but if it doesn't, well, we all know where that will go fast.
 
My heart goes out to you both.... When I looked at my Louie's pictures after he died I could see he had been in pain and that he had been ready to go long before I let him. I think my love for him clouded my vision and I didn't see it, I pray that it will not happen for you. He may be staying for you because he is concerned about you, it is so hard to know the right thing to do. Everyone says you will know but in my case I couldn't allow myself to see it. I pray that it will be clear for you, you are a good Mom and he sure is lucky to have you. Xoxo
 
I think Miko loves you and that is what you are going to see in his eyes - right up until the end. It is clear, to someone who does not know Miko and is only reading your descriptions, that he has little quality of life right now. Pets do not "know" that euthanasia is possible, they hang on until they no longer can, and that can entail a great deal of suffering we cannot "see"….please do not let this go on much longer, for either of you.


Eva

PS: I am thinking of my dad who died of lung cancer and lingered 6 weeks longer than the doctors thought he would. It is true that there were some good moments in those 6 weeks, but mostly it was
horrendous pain for him and all of us watching. The kindest thing would have been to give him sufficient morphine to end his suffering even if that meant he would not wake up. Having been in that hospital room every day and many nights throughout that time I can say without a doubt that I would not wish that kind of passing on anyone.
 
Last edited:
I don't think it would be mean to let Miko go. He sounds as though he's past the point where he's going to get much better, and past the point where he can do the things he used to enjoy. I'm sure he knows how much you love him. I don't think dogs respond well to their owners unless they feel safe and know on some level that the owner will see to their needs. He won't feel you're being cruel towards him.

As EJHUNTL said, he doesn't understand that another option is out there. He only knows what comes naturally to him, which is to hang on until the very end. Miko doesn't understand what is happening to him, He probably only understands that things hurt and he doesn't feel like eating, playing, etc. I'll be in this position with Fasb sometime in the coming years. I expect that I will worry that I'm ending Fasb's life before he's ready, but I think the overriding concern will be that Fasb is hurting and wondering why I haven't done something about it. He's looks to me to protect him from threats big and small, feed him, make sure he's warm, etc. I assume it will be the same when he starts to feel really bad.

It's a hard decision. I dread having to make it for Fasb. But it will be my job some day. I think I'll be able to deal with the eventual loss better than watching him suffer. Whatever happens, whenever you make the decision, Miko's last thought towards you will be love and affection. He won't be questioning your decision.


Good luck.
 
K9kreationz:

Other than my prayers, I have very little to offer you in the way of help. I can feel the pain you feel in the words that you share with us here. It sounds like you have done all that you know how to do in this situation, and to that end, I also pray that you will take solace in that fact and stop beating yourself up. One can only do what one can do.

The only real suggestion I have for you is this: reread you "Disclaimer" post. Try to read it as if someone else had written it. THEN, decide if you are doing the right thing or not. Then be at peace with that decision.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top