When our pets get old
Old age isn’t a cause of illness. It is a stage, during which more health problems and diseases occur.
patients’ life expectancy and help prevent the progression of the symptoms of this leaking valve. Next it was teeth and bum. These we tackled (bad choice of words, as you will see) in one go. His peri-anal tumours needed to be treated by castrating him. These types of tumours are dependent on male hormone from the testicles, and once the testicles are removed, the tumours reduce in size and often disappear. So with all the beeps and alarms and monitoring gear set up, old Bongo was soon safely sound asleep. We cleaned all his teeth, extracted a few rotten ones, and removed his back wheels.
The last major ailment was his poor mobility. There are now several marvellous drugs available that can dramatically improve mobility in many of our patients and after one day on these, Bongo was miraculously active and even wanting to chase their younger dog, Sue.
The only problem that we couldn’t improve was his deteriorating sight. His lenses were becoming more opaque and therefore his pupils were dilated to let more light through, and this results in a large bluish/grey appearance to the eyes. Patients like this can still see mobile objects, but will often lose sight of stationary ones. And some of these patients can be candidates for cataract surgery, which can improve their sight.
But overall, Bongo is now a new dog and is leading a much healthier and active life free of pain. And with better and socially acceptable breath, that’s for sure.
The young and the elderly (senior is a much better word) are the stages of life when more problems can arise. Therefore, regular and closer monitoring of their health is important. And there are lots of things that we can do to help.
Don’t be scared to bring your senior friend in to see us – it is almost always not the time to say goodbye, but a time to give them some extra help to get them back on track. So just ask. We want to help you and your friend.
Anderson’s Veterinary Hospitals in Palmerston North, phone 357 9993 for Pitama Rd or 356 9993 for Hokowhitu, open till 7pm Monday to Friday and open Saturday and Sunday.