Dog Tales

I'd like to tell you about Beethoven, my geriatric Golden Retriever. Last year I told you about his vestibular syndrome. I am happy to report that he has completely learned how to live with this condition. The vets think that this is something that never goes away--the vertigo is always present--but that dogs either learn how to live with it or they don't. Beethoven has learned to compensate for his whirling world, which is amazing at his age. He is on 4 different meds and has special food and he still acts like a much younger dog. He jumps up and down at meal time (food is a powerful motivator for Big B!) and he moves quickly up and down the stairs. Sure, he sleeps a lot, but he is pretty old. I am a bit concerned at how he'll do at the new farm since we'll have 5 dogs all together. There's my 2, a rat terrier, a shepard mix, and an Italian Greyhound. We call him Weasel Dog, although his real name is Jack. He's kind of a menace...

Anyway, Beethoven has had quite a life. I got him from the local GR rescue group when he was almost 6. He was about 30 pounds overweight and had zero training. I'd say "sit" and he'd say "feed me." We went to obediance class together and he learned quickly. He has this endearing habit of sitting in front of you and slowly rotating so that you can easily scratch him all over! And he has the Golden Paw action down to a T; you can't ignore him because he will gently place a paw in your lap and leave it there until you pay attention.

He has an iron stomach, too. I've lost track of the disgusting things he has eaten. The 2 most notable were (1) the large, frozen, dead bird that was pretty much swallowed whole (the only evidence of illness was little pile of feathers on the floor the next morning) and (2) the deer leg. That was was pretty funny. One winter night I kept calling him (this was before he lost his hearing) and he did not come in. I got my boots, coat, and hat on and went looking for him. We had 2-3 feet of snow on the ground, and I had 3 acres to explore in the dark. I found him laying in a drift munching on a deer leg. He had it wedged between his paws, hoof sticking up in the air, and he was busy trying to work through the skin and fur to get at the meaty goodness within. It was with difficulty that I got him into the house, sans the snack item. I assumed that the rest of the deer was under the drift, and I spent some time fretting about how I was going to get rid of it, but fortunately I discovered that it was just the leg!

Another grand adventure was the time I found an empty, gnawed bottle of pills on the floor. These were my other dog's pills; their function was to speed up her metabolism. It was a new bottle, so there were 60 pills in it, and all were missing. I knew it was Beethoven. The thing is, it was 4:45 am and I was heading out for the airport to catch an early morning flight to Minnesota. Somehow I had to get him to the vet because I was sure these pills would not be good for him! I called a friend from the airport, and he picked up Beethoven and took him to the vet. Later that day I finally hooked up with the vet, who told me they had induced vomiting and found no sign of the pills, indicating that they were long since absorbed, so she put him on IVs and monitored him closely. To her surprise, she observed no increase in heart rate, no sign of an adverse reaction, no indication that anything was amiss. She said that he had apparently ingested what should have been a fatal dose of drugs with no reaction whatsoever. All he got was a little vacation and I got a nice bill.

As I approach Beethoven's 15th birthday in early February, I hope only that he will be with me for yet another year. He is such a joy!