I'm really quite surprised (pleasantly so) that after two weeks, there has not been a serious and noticeable decline in Chili's health or attitude. There have been what seemed to be a few setbacks here and there, but any time one area of his behavior seems to deteriorate, another improves. We've been back to the vet twice since the sonogram just to check in and get a professional and non-biased assessment of his current comfort level and well-being, and he seems to be doing as well as a dog in his condition can. I can usually get him to eat two small cans of his prescription food a day, plus some pieces of chicken and beef, some dried chicken breast treats, and a Greenie. That's significantly more than he's been eating for the last few weeks so I am happy. He'll only eat from my hand, and there is some coaxing involved at times, but I'm just happy to see him eating more. Although the liver-intense canned food is quite disgusting to touch and smell, I much prefer him licking it out of my palm to squirting it down his throat with a large syringe. He does too. He also prefers his meat fresh, not refrigerated and reheated. Such a picky little Princess he is. Just like his Mama... ;)
I'm doing quite a bit better as well. Although we are still on a daily basis and I feel like we're stuck in limbo, we have kind of settled in to a groove that is working fairly well right now. He goes with me everywhere these days, just like he did years ago when he was my only dog. His brother feels a bit neglected when he gets left behind, but I figure he will have plenty of special attention once Chili is gone, and he needs to get used to being alone now before his hetero life-mate is gone for good. I started seeing clients again last week and am very happy to be working again after taking a brief hiatus to deal with this situation. The first round of vet bills pretty much wiped out everything I had saved up since moving back from Canada in February in a matter of days. Yikes. So being able to get back to work and start rebuilding my finances has been a big relief. Not to mention my job is incredibly therapeutic! I spent 12 hours at the dungeon on Monday, about half of that was in session. The Mistress whose dungeon I session out of is an animal lover and knows my boys from when she sessioned out of my dungeon, so they get to go with me. That makes things so much easier on me, as I can work for hours and still keep an eye on Chili and not feel like I'm sacrificing too much of the time we have left.
The best thing to happen so far came on Sunday. While we were at the vet I asked about switching his pain medication from Tramadol to Rymadil, which is what my other dog is taking for arthritis. Where the Tramadol didn't seem to affect him much more than making him a little out of it at times, the Rymadil seems to be making him feel pretty good. He'll actually come in to the kitchen now when he hears me feeding Simon or opening a bag of their treats. That's the first interest he's shown in food in several weeks so I am extremely happy. He can only eat small amounts in one sitting, but he's actually showing interest in food again! His energy level is also significantly higher, which is really good. He's not exactly his old self, but he is noticeably more active and doesn't spend all of his time lying around. He's even barking at other dogs again when we're driving around. He still has difficulty breathing, especially if he lays on his side, but there is not enough fluid built up to warrant draining him again and he seems to be getting by pretty good, all things considered. (As I'm typing this he is gnawing away on one of their hard bones, which he hasn't touched in a while.) The difference the new pain medication is making is just astounding, and makes me feel so much better because I can tell that he is feeling better. It's more expensive, but well worth it for the peace of mind. I don't want him to suffer, but I don't want him to spend his last days in an over-medicated daze and it seemed that was what the Tramadol was doing. I want him to enjoy his last days as much as possible, to live like a king and be happy until the end. That seems much more possible now.
I'm still not ready to lose him, but I'm trying to prepare. And just cherish the time that I have left with my beautiful boy.
