I haven't been keeping everyone updated on Eli lke I said I would. We got 20 more pills of the Deramaxx the other day (at $30 plus the bag of dog food I also had to get) and got him some glucosamine/chondroitin complex vitamins (for humans), Alice at DRON told me to get him those. We also got him a heating pad. He seems to be doing fairly well on all of that, which makes it harder to know that we're going to have him put down probably by the end of the month. I'm starting to just deal with it and accept the fact that we cannot afford the $50 or so a month for these pills. Plus heartworm preventative that we'll have to start here in about a month. We decided we wanted him on the pills when we put him down because we don't want him to have to go through the pain, we want him to be comfortable right up until his last minute. I just counted 18 1/2 pills left. That means we have 20 or so more days with him. We do need to up his dose from 1/2 pill in the morning and 1/4 pill at nite to 1/2 and 1/2. He's really stiff in the morning. I did account for that. So we're doing our best to spoil him and keep him comfortable and not be "lazy" about it. We love our dobe very very much. He's been so special to us and he's become such a part of the family that we cannot bear to see him in such pain. So, I guess we have decided that we are for sure going to put him down by the end of the month. Thank you all for your good advice and well-wishes in helping us deal with this troubling situation.
Thank you all for being so understanding of what we're going through. Alice emailed me today and said she would send a check for some more Deramaxx for Eli. I told her that it was a great offer but I just wouldn't feel right taking money from a non-profit organization when there are so many other dobes out there that don't already have a home and are in perfectly good health that she should be spending their money on. Then she called and talked to my dh and he told her pretty much the same thing and then he told her that we've decided on it and we're just trying to keep him comfortable right now and pain free and she finally understood that we just don't have the finances right now for this medicine. I'm glad she finally understood it after talking to Brad on the phone. You just can't get the same emotion from an email that you do when you talk to someone in person. It is sad and we are going to miss him but I have to think of it as him dying for another dobe to live, I guess.
You have my sympathy. I'm glad Eli is doing a little better with meds and heating pad so that the quality of his limited time with you will be better than it has been.
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"Thought is an invisible and subtle power that mocks all the efforts of tyranny." Alexis de Tocqueville
I'm starting to just deal with it and accept the fact that we cannot afford the $50 or so a month for these pills. Plus heartworm preventative that we'll have to start here in about a month. We decided we wanted him on the pills when we put him down because we don't want him to have to go through the pain, we want him to be comfortable right up until his last minute. I just counted 18 1/2 pills left. That means we have 20 or so more days with him. We do need to up his dose from 1/2 pill in the morning and 1/4 pill at nite to 1/2 and 1/2. He's really stiff in the morning. I did account for that. So we're doing our best to spoil him and keep him comfortable and not be "lazy" about it. We love our dobe very very much. He's been so special to us and he's become such a part of the family that we cannot bear to see him in such pain. So, I guess we have decided that we are for sure going to put him down by the end of the month. Thank you all for your good advice and well-wishes in helping us deal with this troubling situation.
"Thought is an invisible and subtle power that mocks all the efforts of tyranny." Alexis de Tocqueville
