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On Saturday, April 2, 2011, at 3:33pm our precious rescue dog, Palmer, a beautiful Mixed Terrier slipped away from us after a very long battle with renal disease. We had the honor of parenting him for almost 13 years. He lived to approximately 15 1/2 years. My husband and I being wellness chiropractors sought out the best advice and research and helped our son sustain a quality life on this earth until we knew that quality was no longer there. Palmer far surpassed all his doctors prognoses and did this without any drugs or surgery and with minimal discomfort. He gave us the best gifts of unconditional love and companionship and in return we will honor his memory by sharing our experiences and advice with anyone who has a dog suffering from this debilitating disease. I really wanted to start this blog years ago and chronicle his journey but my husband and I were consumed with our business and his care simultaneously so there was no time to write, just sleep whenever we could. Writing these blogposts is my way of dealing with the grief and all the mixed emotions that come with facing the end. And today (April 4th) I write with tremendous sadness and pain over our recent loss. Our goal is to help other doggie parents cope with the roller coaster ride of renal disease and help their babies have healthy productive lives, despite what they're told. Pet lovers and parents agree that we take our relationship with our animals very seriously and go to whatever lengths required to make sure they have healthy fulfilled lives. When they hurt, we hurt. Also, when WE hurt, THEY hurt. So we will also provide tips and recommendations to help you, the parent, maintain your health as well, especially through trying times of nursing an ailing pet. We want to stress we are NOT veterinarians, nor medical doctors. Our information is not to be construed as medical advice and we encourage you to consult with your veterinarian before applying any of this information to your pet care protocols. We also encourage feedback, comments and questions. This blog is to commemorate our baby, Palmer Zair. RIP: May 25th, 1998 (adopted date)-April 2, 2011

About Palmer

My photo
We were blessed with a healthy (approximately) 2 1/2 yr old mixed terrier in 1998. The first two years or so we dealt with separation anxiety and some passive aggressive behaviour towards strange men. He then matured and only his loving tendencies showed. He always had a sad look to him but I always said he was just a deeply sensitive pooch. We think in his prior puppy life he was abused so loud sudden noises startled him and Phil (my husband) couldn't shout at the TV when watching a game without Palmer scurrying under the couch. He melted our hearts every day. He was an active "little monkey" as we called him- climbing up on sofas, chasing rabbits, lizards, any small creatures and only wanted to play with the big dogs.We plumped him up from his initial 12 lb weight to a healthy 16lbs. Unfortunately the renal disease which was detected in early 2004, at approximately age 8, slowly caused the muscle wasting down to 10 lbs- probably less on his last day. We'll be posting little stories among our clinical info, tips and experiences. Let's first tell you how it all began. (Please read the first post at the very bottom or click the Stories link to the left)

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Cherishing your last few days with your pet.

Since that prior Wednesday, he remained quite weak on Thursday but Friday started to recover symptomatically. We worked Friday morning while our friend down the street, Uncle Alex came over to watch him. Friday evening we prepared his favorite foods. He already had his regular diet of baked antibiotic free chicken and steamed organic broccoli , topped with a little leftover grass-fed beef. But we made maple salmon. Palmer devoured it.  It may have been the food and treats that perked him up but often watching it made it difficult to justify our decision to have the vet come. Phil had to keep reminding me of the decline in his overall quality of life. At this point we were keeping him around for us, not him.
Wed. March 30, 2011
The weather was beautiful that week so each evening we took his playpen outside to nap in the fresh air while we watched the sunset. Or we just held him on our chest as we lay on the patio chairs. I couldnt' let him go. I wanted to squeeze him but he was so frail from the weight loss.  Friday evening our friend, Uncle Andy hadn't seen Palmer in a long time so he came over. I noticed the mild sense of shock when he took a look at Palmer- the weight loss, the dementia, the slow unsteady gait. We reminisced about the times we babysat each other's dogs. Andy and Christine's two dogs have sinced passed. In fact, most of Palmer's doggy buddies from all over the country were gone. Palmer, I think, was the last one left.
We had all the photo albums out on the coffee table and I have to say it was healing and a little joyful to look at them. Talking to Andy made us feel a little better about our decision and reminded us what a wonderful long life we gave Palmer and how he gave us the best years of our lives.
That night, he didn't sleep in his playpen. We brought him into one of our beds and cradled him all night. I spent most of that night staring at him. He only woke us up twice that night and kept kicking me in bed (unintentionally). I noticed a type of tremor kick that started the day before during his naps- similar to a dream state. So I decided to believe he was having some peaceful dreams.

When you have accepted that your pet's time is near, it's time to cherish every single moment even more than ever. Take time to just sit and relax with him or her. Unless your pet is in pain, any special diet or supplements can be shelved now. Of course check with your vet first. We gave Palmer his subcutaneous fluids up until Friday (the day before) to help flush toxins and give him a little energy. We stopped most his supplements by Thursday with the exception of B12 for his nervous system and a little Fish Oil. I did a little lavender aromatherapy and massaged him. For you, only communicate with supportive friends and relatives. This is not the time to speak to those who don't quite understand what you are going through or can't understand why you didnt do this "a long time ago". You don't need any judgmental feedback at a time like this. Just remind yourself you did everything you could for your loving pet and he or she knows it.
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