The Hardest Job

Pet ownership is never without its challenges, but my husband and I like to think the benefits we all have gained from our little pack are worth the trials. Puppies try your patience, and, as we have learned this year, having a senior dog presents an entirely different set of challenges.

Late in 2017, our senior girl Juno (13 years) started to develop a rash and peeling under her nose, and the pigment under her eyes started to turn pink too. She is a black lab mix, so the difference in pigmentation was jarring. At that time, the vet that it might be a skin infection, so treated it as such with a steroid and antibiotics.

When her pigmentation didn’t come back, and in fact, the infection appeared to come back worse than before, our vet thought that she might have lupus, but all tests came back negative, so we gave her another round of prednisone to try to calm things down.

Unfortunately, after another visit in June to remove a wart on her back, a skin biopsy produced the result of epitheliotropic cutaneous t-cell lymphoma. Cancer. And a timeline: 6-9 months. Our hearts broke, and continue to break to this day, ever so slowly.

Our new challenge, then, became to make the best life for her (and for us) that we can. 

For her type of cancer, chemo is an option, but it would not extend her time with us, nor would it add to her quality of life. Thus, we are took a palliative approach, focusing on keeping her comfortable with low-dose steroid, puppy “aspirin,” probiotics, and rounds of antibiotic when her skin has an ulcerative flare. We even added in some alternative therapies. She received acupuncture once a week to help manage her pain and help with her mobility (the poor kid also has some arthritis in her wrists and shoulders), and we’ve been using a veterinary CBD oil formula that was created by the smart folks out of Cornell University.

We also invested in a harness to help her climb the stairs when she’s achy, and only let her take the 28 stairs to our office on her own when she wanted to make the climb. I spend more time working in our dining room on the first floor when she’s having a tired day. We let her sun herself outside when she wants to. We spend a lot of time on the front porch watching the world go by. She gets extra treats and belly rubs. 

We fill our days with small celebrations. Our walks are much slower and shorter, but we stop to admire more flowers and leaves and bugs. We turn around as soon as she’s ready. We applaud her when she’s feeling “frisky” and wants to walk more than a block from the house. We clap for every tail thump and short game of chase with her brother Polonius. We take field trips to her favorite places like the waterfront or to grandma’s house. 

We spent a week this week in the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario, where we rented a house. Juno enjoyed her time relaxing on the beach or deck and splashing in the water, even though it was getting harder for her to walk. We just took it slow. 

We continue to share her with the world as we always did. Although we’ve “retired” Juno from her therapy dog duties at urgent care clinics, nursing homes, and libraries, our nephews and friends with kids who know and love Juno come to read to her and pet her so that she remembers her therapy dog time. Overall, we’ve slowed down the pace of our day, and that’s fine.

We don’t ignore our younger dog Polonius (2 years), though. As he has more energy, we try to spend time taking him on special, longer walks. We keep up with his training: He just got his AKC Canine Good Citizen certificate and we will get him certified as a TDI therapy dog later this year or next year just like his big sister. He goes to daycare at least twice a week to burn off some energy and let Juno have some quiet time. We practice our scent work at home. We play ball and chase each other. When we walk as a pack, Polonius will plunge ahead for a time, but usually wants to keep Juno in sight when she comes along for a walk. Whenever he comes home, he runs over to her and gives her a kiss and sniffs her from head to toe.

Pet ownership is not easy. It's a challenge to raise a puppy, and it’s certainly not for the faint of heart to administer palliative care for your senior dog. Still, we wouldn’t change a thing. Our girl and boy are family. We have no idea what Juno or Polonius’ lives were before we found each other, but we’ve built a wonderful life together. We take care of each other.

Juno’s illness reminds us to celebrate the time we have together, and so we do. Every. Single. Day.

Coda: On September 20, 2018, after a couple of nights of Juno literally crying while she slept, our marvelous vet came to our house and helped our girl cross the Rainbow Bridge. It was a beautiful, albeit heartbreaking, experience. We are so glad we got to show her love right up to the end. I miss her every single day, and would not change a single day.