Life is busy! Thought I should keep you posted as to why I haven’t been very active on the blog though. Roxanne is failing so I have been spending a lot of time taking care of her. She went through this a couple months ago and I thought we were going to lose her then but she rallied that time. She had two feet in the grave but apparently used the other two to pull herself back out. I don’t expect that it will end that way this time but you can never count the old girl out. She had two very good quality months after the last episode.

This translates into me spending additional portions of my day taking care of her though. I wake up and put the other 4 dogs out then locate Roxanne who will be in one of her three usual sleeping areas in the house. I see if I can get her upright (not too often anymore in the morning) or then carry her outside to do her business. Even if she is ambulatory I then carry her back in the house because she can’t climb the stairs anyway and it saves time. I put her down and point her in the direction of the water bowl. She is still drinking water. When I’m sure she is done drinking, I give her the pill she gets every day. Then I find a way to get some food into her. She doesn’t want to eat anymore so this takes a long time.

After work I spend much of the evening carrying her outside and back inside. Sometimes I let her stay out for a while because she seems to enjoy it and the weather is warmer now. If she gets up during the evening and begins to wander around, I jump up and put her outside so it does not end with an accident. If I was not fast enough, or not paying attention, then I get out the mop, Lysol, etc.  and take care of it. I repeat the trying to get food into her procedure in the evening too. Right now this involves boiled chicken. If she is having “potty issues” I put her in the bathtub, give her a rinse, dry her off, and then make sure she gets to the dog bed. She may make it under her own power or I may carry her. It just depends on how well she is doing.

Who knows how long this routine will last? I know our time together is limited because Roxanne is 15 years old and she is just about worn out. This girl never ceases to amaze me though!