Half a glass of Scotch later...

Well, here is the good news. Dasey got a serious lung infection from the property next door. the house is full of black mould and when the contaminated carpet was stacked near our fence, it is likely the dog inhaled some of the poison. In a last ditch effort to save the dog, she was prescribed some medication. The dog was showing improvement in a few hours. It is now 10 days later and Dasey is almost as good as she ever was.
I am pleased that we will be able to enjoy our dog for a little longer. She was 13 on September 1, last year.

So much for Friday the 13th being unlucky! That's great Brian, things are looking up. If you don't mind, I'll hoist my mug of India Pale Ale in celebration, not grief.

Please do. I have two Stella Artois left and one is going to lubricate my throat in an hour. Medical application, of course.
We had a Bernese Mountain Dog who drank beer. We never gave the Bernese beer, but if anyone left a glass unattended, Heidi sucked it up in a New York Minute. One beer and Heidi was going for a nap after a big burp followed by an hour of farting in her sleep.
Funny story. Heidi was looking through the chain-link fence in the back of the yard. She was the attention of a nice young lady and two kids. They were on the way to a local pre-school, the young lady was a nanny. She had a soft Germanic/French accent and said she was from Berne Switzerland. She had to ask the dogs name, I hesitated for a few seconds then she said, "Its Heidi, isn't it?" followed by, My name is also Heidi."

Wow, that's "Twilight Zone" material. Interesting neighborhood.

Great news! One thing I learned the hard way with our animals, if the local vet doesn't make much progress, bundle them up and head to the nearest vet teaching hospital (often a state run uni or collage) before you give up. It may not only save their lives, but may cost less then multiple trips to the local vet while they try and figure it out!

And.... Today I had to put down one of our cats. He wasn't with us long, but it still doesn't make it easy. He had FIP and there is no cure, he came to us blind, starving and sick. A trip to the university teaching vet hospital confirmed it. No matter how many times I have to do it, it never gets easier. ****, life seams unfair at times.

Sorry to hear that CB,

you gave him a good last part of his life, that means a lot.

Thanks BRJ!

Dasey is up and about and doing really well. The Veterinarian suggested that she is as good now as any 13 year old dog and the weight loss was not a really bad thing. The dog prefers to be hand fed now rather than walking to her eating area. Smart pooch is probably thinking, "If I wait long enough and look at them long enough, someone will hand feed me, on the couch whilst I continue to watch curling." A bag of dog food is $85.00, now. My wife got some good dog food recipes on the internet and has been making food for Dasey. We buy chicken, lamb of beef parts when they are on sale. A balance of rice and vegetables gives a balanced diet. Broccoli is optional because of the explosive after-effects.
So, we dodged the inevitable, this time. Even the Canada Poste person missed the dog for a few weeks.

Sounds like another case of the dog training its owner. That never happens here. . . much. LOL We've also made our own food at times. At least you know what is really in it. I think that calls for a celebratory glass of West Coast IPA.