I Found It...A Dog Passing Story

I had this story stashed somewhere, and finally found it on an old computer.  I wanted to post it on here after my loss of Rowdy. 

 

A Veterinarian had a touching moment, when he went to the Belker family home to put their dog down. The family huddled around their beloved pet, as he slipped away and crossed the Rainbow Bridge. This is the story he shared about the Belker family and their thoughtful son.

“Being a Veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound, named Belker. The dogs owners, Ron, his wife Lisa and their little boy Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.

I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family we couldn't do anything for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog, in their home.”

As they made arrangements, Ron and Lisa told the Vet that they thought it would be a good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experience.

The next day, the Vet felt the familiar catch in his throat, as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm petting the old dog for the last time, that the Vet wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few moments, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.

They all sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that dogs' lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, “I know why!”

Startled, they all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned the vet. He had never heard a more comforting explanation. He says that it changed the way he will try and live.

Shane said, “People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life, like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?”

The six year old continued, “Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long as we do.”

Empty Places Missing A Shadow

It has now been a week since Rowdy has left this plane of existence. I have missed him every day and sometimes little things make me very sad. Things like seeing his Christmas stocking with his name boldly written on the top, along with his presence gone in certain locations. In other words, my little shadow is no longer here.

Many times I catch myself, looking in the directions I expect to see him in. When I come in the door, I glance toward the den, expecting him to come out to greet me. If I open a crinkly bag of chips, I anticipate to see him come running to see what I got. When I am out back in my workshop and head back toward the house, I look to see his little head peering out the door in anticipation of seeing me return to the house. Many times I glance over at his pillow bed in the corner of the den, expecting to see him lying there, while wondering if he is asleep, or looking up at me. When I scoot my chair back away from the desk, I still look to see that I don't back into him, but he is no longer here.

When ever I go to the bathroom, I wait to hear the noise of his claws coming down the hall to my location, only to be met with silence. Or when I finish up with a shower, he would be waiting, curled up on the bathroom rug. When I get up in the middle of the night, I look over at the empty space on the bed, expecting to see if my disturbance woke him up or if he is still asleep.

Though in the past, I sometimes had been forced to leave him at home, whenever I went somewhere in the car.  However, I would still take him every chance I could, which was most of the time. The empty car seat next to me has been a tough one and I have even subconsciously reached over to pet him, though he is no longer there.  I have imagined his spirit laying there for a visit and I pet the air space where his head used to be, thinking I am giving him the comfort he used to enjoy, when he was in this plane of life.

And, I so miss the joy he brought to everyone, when he was by my side in public.

These were all those little knee jerk reactions that became habit, which we never realized we did so often, until someone is gone.

Below are the last photos of Rowdy. The one where is is lying down outside, shows how weak he got, as he would take care of business and then just lie down, as he was too exhausted to keep moving around. I would usually have to go outside and carry him back in, after he was done. I was surprised that he was able to remain sitting up and standing long enough, for the other two pics.

 

 

 

 

A Very Sad Day

Today was the day that I had to make the tough decision, regarding Rowdy's fate and life. I have been dreading this decision for months, but knew it would eventually come. So today, all his ailments came to a head and I knew it was time to send him across the Rainbow Bridge.

Even though he had a good day, a week ago Saturday, he was slowly going downhill during the rest of that week, until his antibiotic prescription ended. After the dosages were finished, he progressed downhill faster into this last weekend. He was already having breathing difficulties, as I believed the cancer had invaded his lungs. Even more so, when exerting himself and he would erupt in labored breathing and wheezing, only after trying to walk 10 to 15 feet.

The last several days, he was reducing his food consumption and when Sunday came, he barely would eat any his meals, leaving most of the food left in the bowl. Monday, he stopped eating all together and wouldn't even take his favorite treat, or even eat human food, which he used to crave. It was as if he lost all desire to eat.

He was also getting weaker by the day, having trouble standing and walking. The last couple of days, he would trip, slip and/or fall, or just lay down exhausted. All of these ailments together, was telling me it was finally time, time to end his suffering. His quality of life was now gone.

This morning, we had a quiet 20 minute drive to the Vet and he lay in the seat, while I petted and caressed him all the way. At the Vet's, they got him directly into a room, but I had to wait a little bit for the Vet, as they were busy. But soon they were there and we discussed what I wanted and he told me how they do it now, as I remembered a different scenario from over 4 decades ago.

They first gave him a sedative and after it took effect, then they gave him the shot. In about a minute or two, his heart stopped and he crossed the Rainbow bridge.

After I left, I headed to the farm. I propped him in a lying down pose in the seat, the same one he rode to the Vet in, and still petted him during the drive. Though I knew he now was gone, it was comforting to keep petting him, as I was having great difficulty letting him go.

It took me an hour, trying to get motivated to prepare him for burial. I used his paw printed blanket, which he rode in the car on for years, and the old towels he also sat on, to gently wrap him up. I couldn't cover his face for several minutes, knowing it was the last time I would see him, but I finally finished and had him ready.

I had already picked out a spot for him, next to a young oak tree and overlooking a pond and the farm buildings behind some trees. It is a nice peaceful place and I buried him there. I shoveled in some soft soil around and on top of him, before using the tractor to push the hard ground to finish, and was finally done.

This ends my life with Rowdy, the most wonderful little doggy in the world. Rest in peace, my little shadow.

Now that he is across the Rainbow Bridge, he is reunited with he pal Wrigley. They are running and playing, like in this old photo of how I believe Rowdy is now. 

 

Though he reached the end of his life, this is not the end of this blog. I have more thoughts and memories I wish to share and photos to share before wrapping it up and I may never truly end this blog. It contains many wonderful memories of his life with me.

 

I Got It All Wrong

 

As it turns out, Rowdy is a year younger, than what I had remembered. I thought I took him home for the first time on January 1^st, 2010. I also thought that I started this blog on that same day. So I scrolled back to the beginning of this blog, to confirm this and found out that I did start it on the first day I bought him home, but that first day was in 2011 and not 2010. So that means that I have had him for 15 and not 16 years. Somehow I messed up, mixing up his birth year with the year he came to live with me and he is actually a year younger, than what I have been telling everyone for the last several years. Oops!

Barking Mechanism Nonfunctional

It has been several months since I heard Rowdy bark. Part of the problem is his loss of vision and even hearing. Since he can only see basic human forms and not their identity, he no longer alarms to strangers. He only ID's by scent and only after he has physical contact, making it too late to be alarmed.

However he has barked several times, in about three different dreams. It sounds like a repeated and very muffled woof, while his legs or paws twitch. It's as if he is hot on the trail of a rabbit or squirrel, or maybe running from another threatening dog. In any event, you can tell that he is very excited in the dream.

Even though now, he is so crippled by his cancerous leg, in those dreams, he is running around barking, like he was young and healthy again.

 

The Decision To Euthanize

 

No, Rowdy is still with me as of this posting. However, each day inches him closer to that decision. Twice I thought I was going to take him, but he turned around and was better for a while.

As anyone who has had, and loved a pet for it's entire life would know, making this decision, is a very difficult one. Though in some cases, some people might think it is cruel, robbing them of life, when it really is a decision made purely out of love. The truly difficult part, can be deciding when is the right time. At what point is the animal's quality of life gone. For me personally, it's the quality of life that 'is' the deciding factor.

Rowdy's best buddy, Wrigley, who was born almost two years after I got Rowdy, had to be put down last year, because his quality of life was gone. He had lost most of his vision and a good portion of his hearing and would stagger aimlessly around the room in circles, totally lost in his own mind. It was his time and I totally supported the lovely lady, who had to make that difficult decision. 

 

I have great empathy for animals, and especially for my Rowdy. I now monitor him daily, watching for the signs. I watch his physical condition, to see if he can still get around. I watch the cancer in his leg, as it is now 5+ times larger in diameter, than his normal leg, but that has not stopped him. I try to determine if he is in pain or not, though lately his breathing has become more labored. I also watch his appetite, which has for the most part been really good, but he has become more finicky over what he will eat. However, the most important measure of his quality of life, is his spirit. 

 

 

He still has strong desire to be, wherever I happen to be, and tries to follow me from room to room, even though his physical limitations may hamper that desire. He wants to go with me, every time I go anywhere in the car, even if he has to stay in the car, while I temporally leave him there to conduct business in a store, or wherever. He still gets excited over treats and will almost take your fingers off, just to grab them for consumption. He also, is partially blind and deaf, but can still mostly function in a relatively normal manor. 

 

 

So looking at all the stat's, is he bad enough now to send him across the Rainbow Bridge? Am I being selfish and cruel, keeping him around longer? Would someone take one look at his cancerous leg and say, I should have already had him put down? In my opinion, as long as he is still receiving some enjoyment from life and is receiving my love with happy enthusiasm, then I cannot rob him of that enjoyment of life. 

 

Even with all this said, I know that Rowdy will soon be crossing the Rainbow Bridge and reuniting with his buddy Wrigley. They will both be restored to health and run and play, until the time when we rejoin them.

Wow, The Tail Still Works

Rowdy has recently deteriorated, to a point where I believed his quality of life was all but gone. He just laid around mostly lethargic and had developed urinary incontinence, for which I have had a to put diapers on him for. He also appeared like he had total brain fog and was starting to lose his appetite. So I have been very close to sending him across the Rainbow Bridge.

Four days ago I noticed that he had some unnatural discharges in the diapers, so I was thinking he had an infection. I still had some antibiotics that the Vet prescribed for him a couple of years ago, and started dosing him with the remaining half of the prescription. I also pulled him off the steroids and put him back on his pain meds.

He's been on them for four days now and what a transformation. I noticed substantial improvement by the 2^nd day, as he has come back from the fog and is a little more active, even in his disabled state with the cancerous leg. He has stopped wetting his diapers, though I still leave them on and only remove them, when he goes outside to do his business. He is also more interested in his food.

To me, the most amazing and uplifting thing he did today, is he came to me with his tail wagging and it fired up wagging must faster, when I greeted him fondly. I had not seen his tail wag in over two months and I was elated at his friendly and happy gesture. It was as if my lost doggy finally returned home.

 

Our Anniversary

Edit; 1/21/2026,  I was incorrect with the beginning date of our relationship.  Rowdy was born in 2010 and I brought him home on January 1 2011, which means that I had him for 15 years, not 16 years.  So the dates in the below post, were incorrect.

 

So, January 1^st, 2026 is Rowdy's and my Anniversary. We have been together now for 16 years. In his condition, I wasn't sure he was going to make it, but he did. This did my heart good.

Over the years, I never much thought of our anniversaries. It was just always New Years Day and a day lost in the human celebrations. However this year, with his cancer and declining health, my mind has brought it to the forefront. It has also brought back memories of when he was still just a pup, that showed up on the family farm one day.

I had not thought of getting a dog, as I had never lived in a location that was suited for pets. Even though I may had been able to made it work, in most cases it was not worth the risk. However, when Rowdy came along, I now had a decent place with a fenced yard, so I could actually get and properly take care of a pet.

Showing up as a stray, we could only guess at when he was born, probably in February or March of 2009. I don't remember when he first showed up, but I was thinking around the end of June of that year. My father always had a soft spot for strays and he took Rowdy in. Based on his looks, he named him Short Stop. When I took him to be mine, I changed his name to Rowdy, reflecting his personality.

Rowdy had such an ingratiating personality, that I quickly fell in love with him. I was at the farm almost every weekend at the time, only skipping one here and there. Rowdy would run up to greet me with such happiness and enthusiasm, whenever I would clap my hands, whistle and yell out, “Hot Dog” when he came running. Since at the time, I though he was part Dachshund or wiener dog, he was my little Hot Dog. I was usually pulling a small trailer, hauling things back and forth from the farm, and he would run jump on the trailer and put his paws up on the rail, to elevate himself closer to me. These were very fond memories of his early days.

So I made the decision to bring him home with me on January 1^st of 2010, to start our life together, which is also when I started this blog. Happy Anniversary little buddy! 

 

 

Bittersweet Christmas

 

All things considered, we had a pretty good Christmas. Rowdy rested most of the time away from the noise, while tucked in the bedroom. I did however keep a close eye on him, making sure he was comfortable. The only problem I had, was that we were gone overnight for the holiday, and I forgot to bring his steroid meds, so we had to leave earlier than planned on Christmas day and I had to skip the evening dinner. I tried to pre-plan and have everything packed up the night before, but somehow I forgot about them.

This is of course is Rowdy's last Christmas. I am blessed that he made it to Christmastime, as I was not sure how long he had after the cancer diagnosis. So I was feeling a little sad during the quiet times, thinking about him and what little time he has left. I know it has been awkward for him, trying to carry around that huge cancer ridden leg.

In the photos, I only got him to sit up long enough for the one shot. The other photos I tried to take and did take, he would not stay sitting up and immediately lay back down, before I could get the camera on him. It was a little silly and funny, the way he would just lie down every time I tried to focus the camera on him, which appeared like an image of the non-cooperative pet, but he also did not have the energy to sit up very long. After several tries, I gave up and let him rest.

My Christmas gift to him, is to make him as comfortable as possible in his final days. His gift to me, is the blessing of a few more days of his companionship. 

 

 

Mixed Feelings

As I watch Rowdy struggle thru his final days, with his leg tumor increasing in size, I have been second guessing what I should do, about having the leg amputated. Weighing the options, there is only a small chance that it would be of benefit, yet I hate to see him struggle, trying to carry the bad leg while only using his other hind leg to balance himself on. I should mention that the bone cancer tumor, is not an extra growth attaching to it, but it's increasing the size of his leg bone itself.

The Vet I use, has reasonable costs for the amputation, so the money is not an issue. It is the issue of recovery, or lack there of.

Result one; Remove the leg and he does not recover.

Result two, Remove the leg and the cancer spreads quickly to his lungs.

Result three, Remove the leg and he has a difficult time recovering, if he ever does, which may add unwanted pain to his final days.

Result four, Remove the leg, he recovers well and it extends his life with a little better quality, till the end.

Doing the math, he only has a 25% chance of a better outcome, for which the odds are not in his favor. So I believe it is best to just let him continue the way he is, even though it breaks my heart to seem him struggle so much. I can see small daily transformations in his deterioration, which tells me his days are numbered.

His vision and hearing losses are adding up and he seems to struggle finding his way around the home, but still somehow seems to manage. He has not yet had another blindness episode. What I believed happened that night, was that he was lying in the seat of the car during our 30 minute drive home, with his head propped over the armrest. I think that in that position his neck pinched the optic nerve and it took the night for it to relax and restore his vision. Since then, I have been careful not to allow him lay that way, in the car.

His appetite is good, as I have been feeding him tasty food and had increased his meals from two to three per day, trying to keep some weight on him. Though I wonder if I am only feeding the tumor.

 

Not Yet

Rowdy seemed to have regained his minimal sight and was able to navigate around the house today. So I preempted his trip to the Vet. He still is somewhat blind, but regaining his mobility means that he is still okay and not ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge yet.

I have determined that he only has night blindness, as after the sun came up, his vision improved. Tonight, I am expecting for him to have trouble again, but we will see.

From now on, it will be a day to day struggle and daily determination of his health, until his time.

 

Bad to Worse

 

After almost a month, my treatment for his cancer was not successful. I actually didn't think it would be, because I was doubtful that it was going to do anything for bone cancer. It was really for other types of cancer, but I thought it was worth a try.

Rowdy has quickly deteriorated over the last month, losing a lot of weight and his vision has also been deteriorating. He has stopped eating his dry food and would only eat one meal a day with his wet food on top of it. I have been supplementing extra wet food, including adding an extra meal, and he has been eating plenty now, but still losing weight.

This evening, he all the sudden lost all his vision and is now completely blind. He is unable to function, especially with the cancer in his right rear leg, for which he can no longer walk on. Also, with a large loss of hearing too, he can only hear claps or whistles, but now hunts for where the sound is coming from. I will take him to the Vet tomorrow, however I believe his quality of life is all but gone. I will comfort him as best I can, till tomorrow.

Bad Diagnosis And Prognosis

As Rowdy has been limping on his hind leg, on and off for months, a previous diagnosis told me he had arthritis. Back then, the Vet gave me some pain meds (Vetprofen) to give him, whenever he was limping to help him cope. The last couple of months, his limping and loss of the use of his right hind leg, has greatly increased, so I took him in yesterday, to see if we could do anything to help the problem.

The x-ray showed that he has bone cancer in that upper leg, and it had swollen to about twice it's size. His normal leg thickness is about 48mm., while his cancer ridden leg is at about 85mm thick. Quite a difference. I'm personally surprised that I didn't notice the swelling, as when he walked or sat, he kept the leg tucked in so it appeared normal.

There is no good treatment for this. The Vet could remove his leg, but at his age, would be extremely hard on him and he possible would not survive the surgery. Plus, the Vet said, doing so could possible cause it to quickly spread to his lungs, though I don't fully understand why. Besides, he does still have some use of it. We decided the best course, is to give him steroids (Prednisone) to help his quality of life, for the remainder of the time he has left.

Though I am uncertain of it's success, I am also trying another type of treatment. It is harmless to him, but it may help. We'll see, as I will closely watch him and his progress. If it is successful, I will share it with everyone. Though I am not confident in it's success, it still gives me a little hope. However, Rowdy has already outlived most dogs at his age, now pushing 17 years by a couple of months, so I do believe his time is near. 

 

I am quite sad and I feel such empathy for him, as I only want him to feel good. He still has his spirit, but he also shows some distress in his facial expressions.

Minor Surgery and Veterinarian Rip Off

 

Back in the beginning of August, I needed to get a growth removed from the side of Rowdy's cheek. From messing with it and Rowdy scratching it, opening it up and making it bleed, I knew it needed to be removed soon. The problem was that I could not get it done with my Vet, until September 18^th. That was a long wait. They said the procedure would probably be around $200 dollars. I went ahead and made the appointment, and if I got it done sooner, I could always cancel it. Besides, with what needed done, in my opinion, it should have only cost around $120 dollars.

So I searched other Vets in the area, but they wanted up front costs just to tell me what they charged, and still I wouldn't know when they could fit him in. I decided to take him to a Vet, who was an hour away. Rowdy had been in this clinic a number of times in the past, and once recently back when I found out that he had vertigo. This is a walk in clinic, and I thought that it was an emergency situation back them, and it would be a week before I could get him into my Vet.

I was shocked when they brought back list of fees for the procedure, totaling $880 dollars. A whole list of things, not really needed for this surgery. They said they could drop half of the items, for a cost of about $480 dollars, but would not perform the surgery, without these other things being done. I argued the point with them, saying that it is only a small growth (about the size of three almonds squished together,) and it was only attached to the skin and not rooted deeper. The procedure would not be that invasive, and could probably be done with a local. They told me no, and lied to me about what they had to do. They also ripped me off for $47 for the visit. I will probably never return to that Vet now.

On September 18^th, Rowdy got the surgery and the growth removed. It worked out great, as I dropped him off in the morning and picked him up that afternoon. And guess what??? It only cost $120 dollars, including pain and antibiotic shots. Exactly what I imagined that it should have cost.

Return Of The Chirping Monster

It has been a number of yeas, since the smoke detector's low battery alarm, had bothered Rowdy. I had a hard wired detector, that had a battery backup, and it started occasionally loosing connection to the battery, when it got cold in the house. I would have to remove and reinstall the battery to get it to stop. The situation progressively got worse, until I finally had to replace the entire detector.

Lately, when the low battery alarm would chirp, it started causing him distress again and he will run to me for comfort. The noise used to bother him in the past, and after he lost some of his hearing, I didn't think he could hear it any more. I thought he became tone deaf to that frequency, but apparently he can still hear it.

 

Vertigo

 

On Saturday, April 14^th, when we went to bed, Rowdy was just fine. Sunday, the next morning, he couldn't hardly walk, without stumbling. He would stumble and fall on his face with his front legs, and had great difficulty walking on his back legs, with them constantly slipping out from under him. When he looked at you, his head seem to be locked in a odd angle and could not hold it level. It's like he tried to focus on you, but then his head and eyes would wander slightly off, with loss of control.

So Monday, I called the Vet, but could not get an appointment until the next week, even though I deemed this to be somewhat of an emergency. This is the second time I have been put off by this Vet, or their office, when I deem it necessary for an immediate visit.

They have a sister clinic an hour's drive away, that take walk-in's, so I took him there instead. I should also mention, that I had to drive by the first clinic on the way to the other one, and very few cars were out front. Didn't look like they were that busy, unless the Vet was out on call with farm animals. Either way, I'm still not happy with them.

The Vet did an extensive blood test, checking for organ functions and infections. Everything came back normal, so she decided that he probably has vestibular disease, as in dog vertigo. She said, this can come on all the sudden to older dogs and he may, or may not totally come out of it.

He also wouldn't eat his normal food, but would only eat something that tasted real good, like his wet food I treat him with every two weeks, or with his treats.

Over the last month, he has got much better. His head is held much straighter, and he doesn't stumble near as much. His playful attitude is back in full force and he is finally back to eating his normal dry dog food. However, now in the evenings, I still put a half serving of his wet food, on top of it. I guess this will be a permanent thing from now on, as I just don't have the heart, to totally remove it from him. It's sort of my way of providing him some extra comfort and excitement, in his old age.

Not A Squirrel Chaser Anymore

 

With Rowdy's age, even when he notices a squirrel in the back yard, he only lunges at it for a few steps and then quits.

I think the thing that most effects I this is his partial blindness. I don't think he can visually tune it in, or follow where the squirrel moves to. It is like he looses site of it after it moves a little, so if there is not a substantial opposing background, he can't seem to follow it.

Of course there is the thought that he no longer figures it is worth the trouble, to chase them anymore.

I haven't seen him actually chase a squirrel for some time now, so I guess his squirrel chasin' days are over.

Arthritis Attack

 

Poor Rowdy had a terrible night a few months ago. I don't know why, but his right rear leg started bothering him. To my knowledge, he did not have any kind of accident or injury, but his leg was hurting him something awful.

It started in the evening, as he was laying beside me, while I was on the computer. He kept getting up and laying down and could not seem to get comfortable. I watched him as his right rear leg would slowly start shaking and then get worse, until he couldn't stand it any longer and had to get up and lay back down. He just couldn't find a comfortable position where he didn't hurt. When he got up and walked, he couldn't hardly put any weight on it and hopped on his other rear leg.

The only thing I had to give him for pain, was a Tylenol PM, so I gave him half a pill, in hopes that it would help. Human pain relievers are not good for dogs and can cause liver damage, if taken in volume, so I wasn't going to give him any more.

This went on for most of the night, as he was groan breathing, because he couldn't get comfortable. He kept me up for over an hour and a half, till he finally found a sweet spot and went to sleep. However, if he moved, the process would start over and it would take a little time before he found that sweet spot again. This also woke me up off and on, so I was aware of what was happening to him.

By morning, I decided to take him to the vet, but none close to me were open and the one I take him to was also closed, because it was the weekend. The only ones open were an hour drive away, and I was short on cash and my local bank branch was also closed. (I do not use bank cards)

He did however, start showing signs of improvement, as he was putting a little weight on his leg. Monday, I finally got a hold of my vet, and made an appointment, but it was for several days later, on Thursday. By this time Rowdy was progressively better and by appointment time, he was back to using his leg, but favoring it a little.

The vet thoroughly checked his leg and found no evidence of injury. At his age, he thinks that it was just an arthritis flair up and the he could have just stepped wrong and caused a disc or something, to slip or strain, causing the pain. He gave Rowdy a shot for the pain and some pain pills to give him, if he has any more problems.

What he prescribed, was called Vetprofen 75mg and I am to give him one half pill, twice a day, if he has another flair up, or if he seems to be suffering form pain.

After the shot took full effect, he was like a new dog. Though still favoring that leg a little bit for a week or so, he has now come totally out of it and is doing fine at the moment.

Getting In The Car

 

Rowdy had never had any trouble jumping up in the car, whenever we would go places. Now, with his mobility reduced at his age, he has been having a little more difficulty, but I think that part of it is mental and not physical. His inability to jump in the car, at first varied with location. It started when we would leave the house and he would need help getting in the car. I don't know what started it, but all the sudden he wanted help to get in. However, whenever we were out somewhere, he could jump in the car without any problems.

Now, he has started to want help, almost every time we get in the car. The last several times he got in on his own, he would stumble and catch his feet or land face first into the seat. So he has started wanting help all the time now. I just do it, like I do getting him up on the bed and I grab his hind legs and give him a little boost.

Joint Supplements

Since Rowdy had had some difficulty in getting around in his old age, I have been trying some joint support supplements with mixed results. 

The first one I tried was Revive Mobility.  Though he showed improvement and I was happy with it, he apparently was not.  About halfway thru the first bag, he quit eating them.  Something in the taste was off-putting to him. 

The next thing I have tried and are still using, is called Joint, by Imperial.  These are in a stick form and so far he really likes them.  I give him half a stick a day.

A couple of others I have, are VetIQ, Hip and Joint and one supplement I use with the Joint stick, is Hemp, Hip and Joint.

The Joint sticks seem to help with him getting around and he can do more, like he did when he was younger.  If I notice that he is in some pain, then I will give him the Hemp product. 

I find the Joint brand product at Atwood's.  It comes in a green bag, that either can stand on a shelf, or be hung up depending on the store.  VetIQ is found in many locations, like Tractor Supply and Atwood's.

The Hemp product, I found at Pet Smart.