My old girl, Sleet, is showing more signs of her age. I don't know for sure how old she is, but she's at least 14. Her eyes are cloudy, her left hip is stiff(the right hip is still has a full range of motion) and she has athritis in her spine that sometimes makes her a little unsteady on her feet. She's already on pain meds for that stuff as needed. For some extra fun, she recently started peeing in the house and on her bed.
So I had the mobile vet come out last Thursday. Sleet freaks out at the clinic. It's well worth the extra 40 bucks to have the mobile vet come right to the house. Testing showed that Sleet didn't have a bladder infection; her kidneys are functioning fine; she's not diabetic. Sleet was spayed at about five years old and I know of two litters before she was spayed. So she's a prime candidate for loosing bladder control.
Friday afternoon, I started her on DES. One pill once a week. The vet said if it was the right drug, it would work very quickly. Saturday she peed in the house. It hasn't happened since. Her bed is dry when she gets up. She's not giving me that "I'm so embarassed" look! Sleet was an outdoor dog until she got to me, tethered in a sled dog yard. She loved being allowed inside and was almost instantly housetrained. She wasn't any happier than I was about the pee in the house! Fortunately, we have easy to clean floors!
The irony part--My mother took DES when she pregnant with me and my sister. It was supposed to calm extreme morning sickness and reduce the risk of miscarriage--it didn't, but it had all kinds of other side effects. It's caused all three of us a great deal of grief, stress and medical issues. That same drug will allow my sweet girl to maintain her dignity and comfort in her twilight.
