Jade's Story + Senior Dog Tool-Kit Inspired by Her
When you bring a pet home for the first time, especially when it’s the first one you are the primary caretaker for, you don’t always realize the full extent of whats to come.
The beautiful things, the hard things, the ways they support you, the ways they make life better, the adventures you go on together, the things they inspire you to do, the peace that they bring you, the security they bring, the entertainment :-), the pure joy, and companionship that they bring. You don’t fully realize what it’s going to be like until you live life with them, and experience life with them over time.
When I met Jade, our Auntie M Mascot, for the first time, she was the cutest, fluffy little 8 week old puppy in a small play pen enclosure, at Animal Rescue Fund, a rescue down the road from where I grew up. When I picked her up she was the softest thing I had ever laid my hands on. I had a friend and my dad with me, and we decided to take her to the area we could play with her and get better acquainted. While we sat on the ground with her, she walked around a little bit, laid under the bench in the play area, sniffed all the things and was just doing her thing. She wasn’t overly interested in us, but she just seemed super chill and happy to be around us.
I’ll never forget being in that moment and thinking, I have no idea what kind of dog you’re going to turn into or what you’re going to be like, but I’m taking you home and we’re going to figure it out together. I knew I could give her a good home and we could live a good life together. So that’s what I did, I signed the adoption papers, and I took her home that day. She fit perfectly in my lap on the way home and we spent the ride home about what her name should be, and the rest was history!
Jade lived with me through the last two years of college, and by then I had already made a lot of friends so she went to parties with me, she went on runs and tons of walks around town with me, she went on all my errands with me. When I wasn’t at school or work, we were together. I took her along to as many places as possible so we could live the life that I imagined for us together. She made lots of friends with me, she moved across the country with me, she went on my first hiking adventure, my first backpacking trips with me, she went camping with me, and she climbed lots and lots and lots of mountains with me.
She was THE BEST companion that I could have ever asked for. Jade was known as a little badass, independent, sassy, sweet lady so full of charisma, that everyone I became friends with told me they would take her if I ever needed to give her up ;-) But obviously that would never be an option.
Once she grew up, became an adult, and I really knew what her personality was like, I knew she would be a cool old lady dog, and I was right. She was so well rounded with all the experiences and adventures we had been through together, that she was just a chill confident lady.
I could go on and on telling you all the things I loved about her, how hardy she was, how strong she was, and she was just the best. It saddens me to say that we had to say goodbye to her a few weeks ago. The loss of someone so close to you is just heart wrenching. She was my best friend, my soul dog, and even though she was so independent, she was my shadow. She was an immediate family member. She was just a huge part of my life, my husband’s life, and our dog Max' life. Jade will have a forever impact on our lives.
Having to come to the conclusion that it’s time to say goodbye to your pet and make the decision to humanly euthanize them is the hardest thing we have to do as pet parents.
I wanted to share a little glimpse of our story with you because I know so many of you can relate. I share our story and will continue to share the stories of pets and pet parent’s in our community in hopes you will feel a little less alone with whatever you are going through with your pets.
If you’re going through this or anything difficult with your pets, please email us at Admin@AuntieM-PetCare.com and share what you’re going through. We are here to be of support and share our experiences and resources that might make your pet’s lives happier and healthier and a little bit longer.
With all of that being said, I have learned so much about caring for a senior dog in their golden years and final stages of life, and I put many of the resources we tried and found helpful into a Senior Dog Tool-Kit for you below.
A few resources that made a huge difference for us and Jade in the final stages of life are here:
Waghab
Dr. Karen was amazing at helping me figure out nutritional and life style changes, alternative therapies to help keep her mobile, eating and sleeping well. Dr. Karen just went above and beyond for us. An alternative veterinarian can be a wonderful addition to your senior pet care team. They are equipped with many alternative therapies that can make your pet much more comfortable as they age.
I found this podcast as I was exploring alternative options to help manage her old age. Hearing the stories of I find that some vets aren’t present to hearing the slight changes we see in our pets as they age, and when it’s time to switch to a prescription diet, that no one likes what the list of ingredients looks like. This podcast helped me explore and find an alternative prescription kidney freeze dry raw diet called Medicus Veterinary Diets. They have several different varieties for both dogs and cats, all with whole food ingredients. If you’re looking for a prescription diet that’s not hills science diet, or royal canine. I found that it was very comparable in price, it might just be a tiny bit more expensive, but well worth it if you can manage that.
Switching to a vet you have a lot of confidence in: So many of you use Animal hospital of North Asheville, and we decided to make the switch to them once we started seeing some concerning symptoms with her. They have been absolutely amazing. I don’t like to bad talk veterinarians, because they have an extremely difficult job, but some vets are good for maintenance, like you routine annual exams, vaccines, basic issues that come up like urinary tract infections and such. When it comes to more complicated issues, I find it’s important to have a home vet that is a true hospital, has a staff of veterinarians with different specialties, and Animal Hospital of North Asheville was that for us. Perk: they are also really great with dogs with anxiety, everyone there is fear free certified, they will take you to a more private room to work with your dog slowly and make it a more positive experience, and that’s been really great for our dog Max.
Dr. Buzby’s Toe Grips
Most senior dogs end up with mobility issues and tend to struggle staying standing on hardwood floors. These toe grips are a great option to try with your dog if they slide on your floors. The wonderful team at WagHab can put these on your dogs nails for you if needed.
Rugs and yoga mats can also help your dog navigate the hardwood floors.
Help ‘Em Up Harness
When your dog starts to have difficulty getting up, walking up and down stairs, and getting into your car, this harness can come in handy. It’s something they live in, so you will want to get it fitted properly for them so it’s comfortable and doesn’t rub their skin.
4 Paws Farewell
They are a mobile palliative care, hospice, and home euthanasia service for the greater Asheville area, who are the kindest caretakers you could ask for during the difficult final stages of dog’s life. If you are able to utilize their service when the time comes, we highly recommend them. (insert logo above text, it can be found on their website)
Comment below any other resources that have been helpful with your senior dog.