Our Labor of Love

At almost 8.5 years, Sadie has almost outlived the life expectancy of her breed's 7-9 year average. I attribute it to lots of love, money and work! Plus, she truly is the best dog and will literally let you do anything to her. She's a trooper and I'm sure the way her body has failed her has not been easy for her either. 

And it certainly has not been easy for us. For awhile (years now), she cannot get up on her own so it takes Tom or me to move her multiple times a day around the house and to lift her when she needs to go outside.

Keeping Sadie company

We live in a house with multiple stairs to get her outside even if she just exists on the main level too so taking her outside for even just a short walk is a challenge. She's 110 pounds so imagine moving a dog of this size and weight multiple times a day and trying not to injure yourself as you balance her against your leg to get her outside so she can go to the bathroom. Last year, I invested in a carrying harness to get her upstairs to our bedroom each night for mostly when I have to do this by myself when Tom is gone. Let's just say I definitely get my workout in as I take on the 15 plus stairs and am breathing hard at the top but it's so much safer for her and us if we take her up like this instead of her trying to walk up the stairs and us trying to support her.  

She has an array of medications which change frequently as her condition worsens or she has side effects from some medications (like frequent urination which is really fun to deal with when you have a dog that takes awhile to get out of the house). We order boots for her feet so she doesn't get bloody abrasions on the top of her paws from knuckling and dragging them. But first, we put this shoe goo on the top of the boots to make them last longer from the frequent wear and tear. I usually fix up a good 8 shoes every few months (she wears them on her front paws only) with Peyton or Tom's help. 

She gets regular acupuncture and laser treatments plus lots of car rides. I try to hoist her up into the back of my SUV daily to get her out and about. She absolutely loves car rides so I make a point of taking her as often as possible. I just wish it was easier to get her into my car. If it was, I'd take her everywhere multiple times a day. 

We are extremely lucky though. We don't leave her too often but we have an amazing boarding facility that we can leave her at when we do go on vacation and can't take her. They are so great with her and do all the things we do at home with her so it's a great relief to us that we have a place like this that can give us a little reprieve. In fact, when we went to Switzerland/Italy, she stayed at the boarding facility instead of tasking Austen with her. He can handle her but a week of being the sole person responsible for her care is too much especially with a lot of stairs. 

Hoping to change up her medications again soon too to find the right combination that will give her a little more mobility and us a little bit of a break so the calluses on my right hand heal a bit. Through all this she's been absolutely the most lovable dog and all of her doctors and nurses always comment on how chill she is and how much love she has to give. 

Now I gotta go because it's almost time to take Sadie out and getting her shoes on, lifting her up, getting her yoga mats in position to build a bridge to the door so I can get her down the 7 steps to the grass (before she pees) is going to take me 5-10 minutes at least just in preparation!

Lots of love for our Sadie girl