thisnewday

I am very much afraid that we're near the end of the road with our Shepherd/Chow mix, Nuba. He's nearly 14 years old, which I'm told is a fairly advanced age for a larger breed. His littermate, Athena, died three years ago of an unknown cause.

Up to that point, they had both seemed very healthy, able for much of their lives to literally leap over the four-foot high chain link fence that surrounds our backyard. While they had slowed down a bit, by the time of her death, I was alarmed enough by its suddenness to at least consider an autopsy that we couldn't afford and to do a very thorough inspection of the yard before allowing Nuba back out in it.

But in the three years since, Nuba has lost much of his hearing and has been stumbling occasionally when walking and has had his back legs collapse from under him when just standing. He has also had some scattered episodes of bladder incontinence in recent months and occasionally seems disoriented whether indoors or out in the yard.

The real problem, though, is the stairs from the back porch into the yard. They're the only way out the back of the house, they're fairly steep, and he's already stumbled going down them a couple of times. Carrying him in and out of the house would simply not be possible since he weighs in excess of 80 pounds and I have a surgically-repaired lower back. And once, when out of desperation I did try to lift him, he yelped and nipped at me like I had hurt him.

My fear is that, one of these times, he's going to take a header down those stairs and break a leg. I wouldn't be able to help him and it would take some time before someone could get here to help me get him to the vet. I really don't want to see him go through that and it seems to me both inhumane and irresponsible to simply wait for something like that to happen.

I'll probably consult with my daughter who lives in town and is a state-licensed vet tech. I know she's dealt with a lot of situations like this and will help provide a balanced perspective. In the meantime, we'll try to keep the old boy safe and hope for the best...

LPK
LiveJournal
7.20.2012