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Disreputable Old Troll
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#1
Occasionally I happen on an article, in PC's archives, that I hadn't seen before & that is of particular interest. The link below is to one such article. My wife & I have a 15 year old "Schnoodle". He has kidney disease which is not curable in dogs. He's doing unexpectedly well at the moment. But caring for him has, from time-to-time, been a challenge. So this article, on the stress caring for a sick pet can produce, was of interest. I thought any other pet owners, here on PC, who haven't seen the article might also like to read it.:
Stress Over Sick Pet Can Lead to Mental Health Issues __________________ "I may be older but I am not wise / I'm still a child's grown-up disguise / and I never can tell you what you want to know / You will find out as you go." (from: "A Nightengale's Lullaby" - Julie Last) |
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Anonymous48672, downandlonely, Purple,Violet,Blue
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eskielover, lizardlady, possum220
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#2
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I don't think I am getting another pet again. |
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downandlonely, possum220, Skeezyks
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Skeezyks
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#3
@Skeezyks: I have a Schnoodle too! So sorry to hear yours is sick. Mine has had a few minor bouts of sickness and i found it extremely stressful. I wound up in the hospital too with pain twinges in my heart due to anxiety! My little girl is eight. She's happy but nervous. Is your's this way too? I met another Schnoodle parent who said the same.
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Skeezyks
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#4
I have been dealing with sick pets for the last year & 1/2. First Leo was diagnosed with lung cancer. He was my soulmate. The last friday I took him to the vet, she said he wouldn't make it through the weekend & wondered if I could handle taking him home. Honestly, I couldn't have handled NOT taking him home. His older sister & younger brother & I never left his side all weekend.
His older sister is now almost 19 & requires extensive care & sometimes help eating but she is still managing to get around requiring my help to get up at times. The stressful part with this is that I know her little heart will stop any time now so I very seldom go away from home for any more than a few hours at a time. Then there is my horse Izzy. After being shipped here (2100 miles) she had major allergic reaction to chigger bites & bug bites. Her whole body was welts. Then she started losing weight from stress ulcers. Have been treating her since last August & trying to get her to an even healthier weight. Thought we were doing good in the indoor barn I just moved her to a few weeks ago. Two nights after the move she got colickey & that required treatment & all night concern. My farm has come to be known as the nursing home for animals including an almost frozen bat I rescued. For some reason this doesn't effect my mental health as I have taken on the role of nurse caregiver. However the loss of my soulmate Leo will be a loss greater to me than any of my family I have lost. Yes, life goes on & I continue to function as normal but the hole in my heart & life he left behind will never go away. That just means the love we had for each other was beyond special & I would never trade not having had that & what a treasure he was to my life for not experiencing that greater loss. __________________ Leo's favorite place was in the passenger seat of my truck. We went everywhere together like this. Leo my soulmate will live in my heart FOREVER Nov 1, 2002 - Dec 16, 2018 |
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downandlonely, lizardlady, possum220, Skeezyks
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Skeezyks
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Disreputable Old Troll
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#5
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__________________ "I may be older but I am not wise / I'm still a child's grown-up disguise / and I never can tell you what you want to know / You will find out as you go." (from: "A Nightengale's Lullaby" - Julie Last) |
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Legendary
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#6
Sometimes I think vets convince us to do extraordinary measures rather than let our animals go humanely. I had a cat that stopped eating and was basically starving to death. Instead of putting her down, the vet convinced me to have them surgically insert a feeding tube in her neck. Then I was force feeding her a liquid diet every 6 hours. She was miserable and spent her entire life hiding from me under the couch or under the bed. I would drag her out to feed her, but she was still losing weight. I finally did the humane thing and put her down. If I had to do it over again, I would not have done the feeding tube. It only prolonged her suffering.
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Anonymous48672, eskielover, lizardlady, Skeezyks
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#7
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I am dealing with this now. My cat has a terrible fear problem and he seems to look at me like the quasi vet. He doesn't play with me.. doesn't sit near me.. and every night I come home he runs under the table. Cause he knows.. he is going to have me do something to him. His fear has made it impossible to get medical treatment and so I need to put him down before he does get sick and I am unable to do it without a nasty fight. |
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#8
This is a great article. Thanks for sharing it. Caregiver burden leads to burnout and depression and anxiety and exhaustion. Last fall, my cat died while I was caregiving for my mother by living with her and not working. I got a double whammy of burnout from the loss of my cat and the fatigue and stress of 24/7 caring for my mother before getting her into a nursing home.
Pets are emotional support animals for us. They love us unconditionally. So, it totally makes sense if you are feeling burnt out taking care of your sick Schnoodle, Skeezyks. Sorry to hear that your dog is sick. Quote:
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Skeezyks
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#9
@Skeezyks: It's funny, our Schnoodles are the exact opposite! Mine is super snuggly and is definitely a lap dog. She wants to be patted constantly. She sleeps with me at night and is very stubborn about moving if i want to change position. When we had the fire alarm the other night she clung to me. She took the stairs like a pro, tho, first time for her to do stairs. Eight flights. She always likes to have her eyes on me, where ever she is resting. She tries to keep her eyes open but they squeeeeeeeeeeeeze shut! I love her!
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Disreputable Old Troll
Member Since Oct 2015
Location: The Star of the North
Posts: 32,762
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#10
Quote:
__________________ "I may be older but I am not wise / I'm still a child's grown-up disguise / and I never can tell you what you want to know / You will find out as you go." (from: "A Nightengale's Lullaby" - Julie Last) |
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Anonymous41462
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#11
Downndlonely, I'm so sorry for what you and hour cat went through. My vet is so wonderful. She's seen me through end of life stuff with several pets. She never tries to talk me into prolonging things. We work to keep my baby comfortable if it's appropriate. She will also tell me if euthanasia is appropriate.
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