Since I first posted about Happy's illness, we went through one horrible day where we seriously considered the inevitable and calling the vet, because Happy was so sick and vomiting and weak and suffering! I prayed for guidance and it became clear to me that even although Happy was suffering several hours a day, he still enjoyed his walks and food and has good days and bad days. Now finally his good days outweigh his bad days. Clearly Happy is ailing, but he is still with us and his hours of suffering (phlegm and wanting to vomit) have narrowed down to maybe one or two hours a day or not even - not bad compared to before when we thought for sure his death was imminent. His latest urine test says he is not diabetic and that there is still a little bit of a urinary tract infection. We have kept him on the medicine for that infection the whole time, though we switched from the antibiotic, Ciproflaxacin to Nitrofurantoin, which he seems to tolerate better. Happy has been struggling with eye and ear infections and skin fungal infections on his feet, which is common here, especially in older dogs. It is as if his immune system is not doing too well in combating infections. We are also deworming Happy just in case. Happy has a great deal of trouble drinking without doing the reverse wheezing afterwards, which is quite distressing to listen to at times. I raised his water bowl and that seems to have helped a great deal. He has a huge growth under his chin and maybe that has something to do with it. He has other benign growths that are big elsewhere too. It really is not fun getting older - not for dogs either. I have not been dealing with Happy's illness very well. I know it is inevitable that he will leave us, but I've been a bit of a wreck at times and I wonder maybe if it has something to do with menopause and hormonal issues. Everyone else in the family is doing better than I am. Anyway, we are very grateful for every day that Happy is still with us and seems to be coping well and not suffering unduly.
For the record, I know this ongoing story about my doggie is not about low-carbing as such, but Happy is eating quite low-carb and totally homemade cooked food, because he does not have the strong, healthy teeth to eat dry dog food anymore. I've been doing this for him for about 2 years.
The photo is of Happy enjoying himself on an outing on his 14th Birthday - 8th of September, 2009. He had a wonderful day and a wonderful night - exactly what I was hoping and praying for. (smile)