Cooking for my Dog
Daisy is a small gray schnauzer, age 13. She's been in our family since she was a puppy, and she's in all the grandchild photos and videos. She's quite a good dog, smart; she worries sometimes.
Lately Daisy's been under the weather, just not eating and moping around. After waiting for her to perk up I finally gave in and took her to the vet. The vet found Daisy constipated, obese, and with a low platelet count. She could be on the verge of a decline into anemia if I don't follow a careful health regime for her.
Daisy now has to be walked twice a day, not just once. She doesn't want to go out twice, and this morning even on her favorite trail I had to cajole her along. "Come on, Daisy, what you don't use you lose, you know you like this trail," and I'd turn around to see her just standing there, far back from me, and waving her head towards the car.
(Denny and I used to joke that some of Daisy's strange behaviors came from spending her formative weeks as a cat. When we first got her we lived in a condo where dogs weren't allowed, so we pretended our little six-pound purebreed was a cat. When it was time to take her out for a walk, we'd put her in a coat pocket.)
But the main new regime for Daisy is her special diet. She has 1/3 cup rice, 1/3 cup pasta, 1/6 tsp. olive oil, 1 soft-boiled egg, and 1/4 of a Tums twice a day. Plus I have to give her a liquid B-vitamin concoction with a syringe, and vaseline on a dog biscuit twice a day. I now spend a lot of time cooking for my dog.
It's considerably more trouble than opening a can; but Dr. K, the vet, says if Daisy follows this regime she'll live forever. So that's a relief.
Lately Daisy's been under the weather, just not eating and moping around. After waiting for her to perk up I finally gave in and took her to the vet. The vet found Daisy constipated, obese, and with a low platelet count. She could be on the verge of a decline into anemia if I don't follow a careful health regime for her.
Daisy now has to be walked twice a day, not just once. She doesn't want to go out twice, and this morning even on her favorite trail I had to cajole her along. "Come on, Daisy, what you don't use you lose, you know you like this trail," and I'd turn around to see her just standing there, far back from me, and waving her head towards the car.
(Denny and I used to joke that some of Daisy's strange behaviors came from spending her formative weeks as a cat. When we first got her we lived in a condo where dogs weren't allowed, so we pretended our little six-pound purebreed was a cat. When it was time to take her out for a walk, we'd put her in a coat pocket.)
But the main new regime for Daisy is her special diet. She has 1/3 cup rice, 1/3 cup pasta, 1/6 tsp. olive oil, 1 soft-boiled egg, and 1/4 of a Tums twice a day. Plus I have to give her a liquid B-vitamin concoction with a syringe, and vaseline on a dog biscuit twice a day. I now spend a lot of time cooking for my dog.
It's considerably more trouble than opening a can; but Dr. K, the vet, says if Daisy follows this regime she'll live forever. So that's a relief.
posted by Pat at 10:45 PM
1 Comments:
My best wishes for Daisy's full recovery! Shortly after our marriage, my husband and I bought a blond cocker spaniel and named him Mike. Through all of my pregnancies he would sit on the couch beside me and rest his head on my greatly enlarged tummy. He also heroically protected my oldest son from falling from a window. Mike also is in all of our family photos of that era, a very beloved member. He was killed by a car at age 13 and I still miss him. He even had a namesake in the next generation, "Mike, Jr."
Bon Appetit to Daisy! Sarah
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