[Magdalen] Prayers for Milo - update

[Christopher Hart]

Many of us have been there too, James, and I have found it among the
hardest things I've ever had to do.

On Sat, Nov 29, 2014 at 5:30 AM, James Oppenheimer-Crawford <
oppenheimerjw at gmail.com> wrote:

> I was listening to a program a few weeks ago when an author/veterinarian
> talked about his own experience with pets. He said that the animal does not
> know about death. Every day is simply now, and so consideration of medical
> treatment needs to take that into account. If the pet is not comfortable,
> and medical treatment does not make them comfortable, they have no insight
> into the possibility that they may someday get better. They merely suffer.
> And if an animal is not having quality of life, one needs to consider that
> an extended period of time in pain, with little likelihood of recovery is
> not a hopeful period for them, but merely suffering.
>
> I have had a couple of times when, looking back, I wish I had put the
> companion to sleep sooner. He said almost exactly the same thing about his
> own experiences.
>
> The first pet I ever had, a black short hair, was losing kidney function,
> and one day he went into a seizure without any warning. He lost his vision
> at that time.  I adored him, and couldn't see clearly that the best thing
> was to let him go; he was not getting better.
>
> Having said that, which may have been too much as it is, I would say that
> you are the only one who can tell when the right time has come to let your
> companion go.  And when you make that decision, you'll probably want to
> second guess yourself. Don't do it; we all do the best we can, and that is
> simply all we can do.
>
> I've been there, and your family is in our thoughts and prayers.
>
> James W. Oppenheimer-Crawford
> *“If you have a chance to accomplish something that will make things better
> for people coming behind you, and you don’t do it, you're wasting your time
> on this Earth.”  -- *Roberto Clemente
>
> On Sat, Nov 29, 2014 at 1:33 AM, Sally Davies <sally.davies at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Milo holding on this morning...after he settled and stopped crying
> (Maddies
> > Golden Hammock doing it's thing again!!) he had a quiet night, drank a
> > litte water, even got out of the basket for a drink. Now he's in his
> > favourite spot, albeit in unaccustomed luxury, basking in the sun. For
> > Milo, a sunny day without wind IS "quality of life"...
> >
> > He seems to be able to get around, back leg is noticeably weak but he can
> > bear some weight on it. Front leg that side also looks odd but it could
> be
> > compensation.
> >
> > He showed some commitment to cleaning up a plate of plain cream yoghurt
> and
> > even ate a couple of his Teckel dog biscuits - but I don't want to give
> him
> > those because they'll make him thirsty.
> >
> > Chippy managed a night outside without too much fuss. Evan's come up
> with a
> > solution: let's get another dog to be with Chipo outside and then keep
> Milo
> > inside as a "chilled inside dog". It's not a terrible idea...Milo always
> > was an "inside dog" until we got Chippy who couldn't be socialised to
> > indoor living (I haven't space to list her crimes but will just mention a
> > strong preference for secret puddles under beds and on bath mats).
> >
> > He loves to be outside, as long as it's not cold, but I'm worried he
> might
> > fall into the swimming pool. I'm also wondering if my wonderful OT
> > colleagues could help him - I can just see them setting out to make him a
> > miniature splint (we don't have any OT's on this list, worse luck, but
> they
> > are truly wonderful beings IMO).
> >
> > The diagnosis is puzzling: from what I can read up, Dachshunds are not
> > prone to spinal stroke because their discs tend to harden. It tends to be
> > larger, younger dogs. Probably a diagnosis of exclusion at this stage,
> > because we don't have access to an MRI. It could be a small brain stroke?
> > Must ask vet to check his blood sugar as well, and his teeth for an
> > abscess, his teeth aren't great and he's already lost a couple to decay.
> >
> > What to do if he doesn't recover function but seems to continue basically
> > OK...? Prayers for wise advice and for kind wisdom on our part
> > are appreciated.
> >
> > Sally D
> >
> > On Saturday, 29 November 2014, Scott Knitter <scottknitter at gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> >
> > > On Fri, Nov 28, 2014 at 8:51 PM, Christopher Hart <cervus51 at gmail.com
> > > <javascript:;>> wrote:
> > > > Holding back tears as I share in your prayers for Milo.
> > >
> > > I was very sad as I read about Milo's distress as well. I'm adding my
> > > prayers.
> > >
> > >
> > > --
> > > Scott R. Knitter
> > > Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois USA
> > >
> >
>



-- 

Christopher Hart

List Mail Address: cervus51 at gmail.com
Personal Mail: cervus at veritasliberat.net
Twitter: @cervus51