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Update 11/03/03: Since having his teeth
pulled, Old Fella is a different dog! We actually considered taking him to Sunday's Show 'n Tail
to meet "his adoring public", but decided he needed a couple of more weeks to get
back on track before subjecting him to that much of an outing. Anyway, although his mouth is
still tender (to be expected), Old Fella is beginning to eat like there is no tomorrow. On
Saturday, he finished his morning ration, ate what two of the other Seniors left. Now it isn't
like this every day, but at least he doesn't sit and look at the food and try to decide what to do
with it anymore - wishing he could eat, but not having the strength to eat. At this point,
everything's got to be mush - and sometimes he needs help getting it out of the edges of his bowl,
and his daddy Scott sits by patiently scraping the bowl and hand feeding him in order to get him
to finish. Old Fella did take a back step after his dental surgery, losing a couple of much
needed pounds, but we think he has made up for the loss at this point!
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This morning, when the Gaggle was called out to potty time,
Old Fella actually
trotted, yes trotted, to the back door to go out! Although he isn't ready for a marathon nor
running yet (and given his age, he may never run), the sight of this old guy trotting up to me
just brought me to tears. He gets knocked around a bit by the younger dogs at potty time, 'cause
he just can't move quite fast enough, but this morning, Old Fella just went along with the rest of
the Gaggle! Thanks to everyone for your support for this special guy. Your words of
encouragement mean more than you can ever imagine, and the donations are helping us focus on
helping him in any way we can. We have to laugh because some days it seems like Old Fella is
getting more mail than we are!
Next week, we will be talking with Old Fella's vet about scheduling further
surgery on his mouth to cover the three fistulas in his mouth.
Update 11/11/03: Old Fella's got a helicopter tail! What a joy that is to see! Old Fella is
also becoming quite vocal. We don't know if he just found his voice again or finally realized
he's got one, but sometimes he just lays in the middle of the floor and takes to "woofing"
for no reason. Just too funny! The first time we heard Old Fella, Scott and I just stared at
each other and said, "is that Old Fella?" Neither of us thought we'd ever hear him
"woof"! It is just so wonderful to watch the daily changes in this special guy.
Old Fella has also gotten to the point where if we don't feed him quick enough
in the morning, he comes to find us, and keeps poking with his long, cold needle nose until we get
going and feed him. Then after he's done (we feed him in a wire crate so we can make sure he eats
everything he's given, including his meds), he has taken to "woofing" in his very
hoarse, throaty voice, until we come to spring him from his crate or so Scott will know he needs
help getting the last bits from the corners of the bowl! Talk about spoiled; this is guy is
starting to "smell rotten". But truthfully, Scott and I wouldn't change a thing!
This morning, I was sitting behind the computer, typing away about something.
I stopped for a moment, looked around, and realized Old Fella was not in his usual spot beside me
on the floor. I got up, went and looked in the room where Scott was, Old Fella wasn't there
either. Called Old Fella's name-lots of Greyhounds came to me-but not Old Fella. OK, I'm
starting to panic here. Where is he? In checking the house, I found Old Fella in a quiet corner
of our bedroom with
paw over his head, the way he always lays. I often wonder if that is his equivalent of giving
himself a hug and was his way to comfort himself prior to him coming to us? Anyway, he was in a
very deep slumber, as the old ones often do, with one of our cats cuddled up by his belly. As I
stood there looking at him, the tears began to fall. I realized, the trust factor is starting to
come back to Old Fella. From the first moment he came to us, Old Fella wanted to spend every
waking minute with us. He has now gotten to the point where he feels comfortable enough with us
and trusts us enough, that he knows we will be there when he needs us and does not feel the need
to so near to us at all times. I got down on the floor and lay with him, listening to his gentle
breathing, but was only able to stay but a few moments. The serenity of the moment was lost as
our "youngster", Sugar Buger, came running in, sliding to a sudden stop, and proceeded
to give me big, sloppy kisses in her usual manner, which in turn, got me to giggling and Old
Fella, in his confused state, to "woofing". Ahhh, can life get any better than this?
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