Baby Joshua

[Eadwine Rose]

Yep.. I am hoping for the showing up one day. I have already determined that when that happens, it is coming with, straight to the vet to get checked over, and staying :)

[JayM]

I was finally able to take Joshua in for his follow-up exam this morning which included complete blood tests and a chest x-ray. He weighs 35.8 kilos so he's gained all his weight back, his heart isn't quite back to normal but it's way, way better, his blood test results were all OK, and he got his rabies and 5-in-1 vaccinations that he was way behind on (one dog down, four to go.) He had to have his diuretics' dosages adjusted for the weight gain and he goes back at the end of May for another weighing, blood tests, and possible dosage adjustment. As soon as he got home he crashed on the floor and is still sound asleep. (They're always sleepy after vaccinations.) I suspect what heart congestion he still has is due to the wight gain which caused his medicine dosages to be not quite enough. He's been cardio-coughing a bit again, beginning on last Friday, after not having done so for a month or two.

Next week I plan to bring Rahab, the female Doberman who's several months older than Joshua, to be examined as she's also been coughing and gagging lately. If she also has heart congestion (which I suspect) I want to start getting it treated soon, before it gets as bad as Joshua's was. After that, the rest of the dogs will be seen, one at a time, just for general exams and vaccinations as they're all rather old: the youngest of the pack is 8 already. It won't hurt to have everyone checked out by a doctor.

[JayM]

Just a follow-up: sadly, Baby Joshua our huge, always happy, male Doberman passed away in his sleep during the night of 26 October, 2021, just 5 days before his 12th birthday. I think all the strain on his heart was just too much and it failed. I took him to be cremated the following day and his urn is on a shelf in our wardrobe that I've reserved for such things. I really miss that dog! He was such a well-behaved sweetheart. I didn't post about it sooner because I was too heartbroken and numb, then Typhoon Odette happened last December, then real life got in the way.

His kennel mate and best friend Rahab, our female Dobie who we got as a puppy in 2009 and is our first dogHer condition, was diagnosed with beginning stages of congestive heart failure as well, which is a congenital thing with Dobes, and has been under treatment with furocimide diuretic tablets. Her heart condition wasn't nearly as bad as Joshua's was because now I that I know a cardio cough when I hear one I was able to got her to the vet sooner than Josh, before it became life-threatening. She's doing well but 3 1/2 weeks ago began having issues with her hips, another congenital issue. Once or twice she fell sown and couldn't get up again. I began giving her a hip and joint supplement, Pet One Natural Response, containing glucosamine HCL, cetyl myristoleate complex, garlic and ginger and she's doing much better. She still occasionally stumbles over something and falls but she's able to get up again under her own power. She has from 1 to 3 weeks left getting the initial daily dose of the supplement tablets then will get a maintenance dose of half the current amount, which is 6 tablets a day. Rahab will turn 13 in two weeks, God willing. That's very old for Dobermans, over 80. The median lifespan for the breed is around 9 years. She still has a great appetite. She used to be the feistiest one, more likely to pick a fight with another dog and to misbehave, but since Joshua died she's become more mellow and better behaved, also more considerate, going in her cage when asked to without a struggle.

[Eadwine Rose]

Wow yeah, that IS old. Glad she is still around and kicking. :)

I am so sorry about Joshua, losing a pet is very hard. :(

[JayM]

Wow yeah, that IS old. Glad she is still around and kicking. :)

I am so sorry about Joshua, losing a pet is very hard. :(

The misery of keeping a dog is his dying so soon. But, to be sure, if he lived for fifty years and then died, what would become of me?

-Sir Walter Scott

[Eadwine Rose]

Well I prefer a little older. Given my bad luck.

[Rannug]

I'm sorry for your loss.