Our new/old puppy

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UhHuhHer

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 5, 2013
Messages
667
Location
United States
Parts of this are sad, so I'm opening with pictures of our dog. He's all kinds of cute.
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Now that my friend and I have our own house, we can finally fulfill our dream of reclaiming her childhood dog from her stepfather. I'm so happy to have him safe with us, but I'm so angry at how neglected he has been all this time. But I think we're having about as much fun as him getting him used to his new home, and his new big yard and house. He still acts like a graying puppy. He's not very fast, but he likes to follow us around the house between his very long naps. He gets worn out easy, but he has a good sense of adventure. He's gone deaf since we last saw him, but we haven't gotten out of the habit of talking to him all the time. He seems to understand that we're paying attention to him when we do it though, so it makes him happy.

Tojo has been old since I met him as a 13 year old, and he's had kidney problems and allergies almost as long, but he is actually very active and excited to see us again. He loved his trip to the Petsmart to get him a clean new bed and diapers and toys. He loves our backyard, despite his trouble walking. He's thinner than we remembered, and has some problems with shaking and joints locking up when he walks, but he seemed okay and went to his first vet trip in a long time today.

There, we learned that he has lost half his body weight since they last saw him, and is severely malnourished. He hasn't had his shots or heartworm medicine in two years, and his legs shake due to muscle atrophy, and not arthritis. He hasn't had a reason to walk or play much, since he has been spending most of his days ignored and alone in the house for the years we've been away from him.

We're not sure how long we'll have him (he is somewhere between 17-20 years, is in poor health, and some of his many tumors may be cancerous) but we're so glad to have this time with him and to get to see him enjoying our home.
 
Feed him large breed puppy food. It will help him gain weight and have glucosamine and chondroitin to support his achy joints. Just start him off at 3/4 cup so he doesn't gorge!
A joint supplement couldn't hurt either.
He is a sweet old soul! I'm glad he gets to spend his senior years loved and cared for well!
 
We're gonna talk to the vet about the best joint supplements for him. He needs all the help he can get.

He has to have a very specific food for his kidneys, which the stepfather had stopped buying him a long time ago. We're upping his portions for a while, though, to try to get his weight up.
 
Ahhh, he's lovely. I'm so glad he's with people that will love him and take of care of him as he deserves. Such a sweet face. Get well soon Tojo!
 
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