He developed an allergy to some kind of food - to this day I haven't figured quite out what ingredient in extruded pellet kibble it is, and because of it I feed him and the rest of the dogs a home cooked diet with only a small portion as possible of it being a "fit for human consumption" kibble being a percentage of it - simply because with 4 dogs I'd be cooking 24 hours a day. But it also made me (forced me) - like it does most people who start to learn about canine nutrition - what actually is in dog food - and once you start to learn - you can't stop, because it truly is disgusting.
But back to the photos. It's amazing how animals change over time - they don't live as long as us - and their looks change equally as fast too.
When Charlie got sick the vet put him on steroids - and didn't tell me. I had always "free fed" the dogs - put hard food down and when the bowl got empty just put more in. When he was put on the steroids I thought he was eating an awful lot, so one day I decided to measure it and Charlie ate 13 cups of food in one day! That was the day the free feeding ended. He gained more than 20 pounds in 2 weeks. He had already been about 10 pounds overweight - so he became 30 pounds overweight almost overnight - he was over 120 pounds. That took almost 2 years to lose. This winter he's gained probably about 10 of it back - so he's on a new diet currently. But in the below picture - all that stuff behind his front right leg - is belly. He was very unhappy. The other picture of him here was taken in January 2006. What a difference, eh?
Poor Charlie - his 3rd eyelids all swelled up too
So full of quiet dignity now
Buttercup when I got her was so OLD. She was really rickety with really bad luxating patella - her back legs were really bowed because her knee sockets didn't connect correctly. She was completely lost. These pictures were the first pictures I took of her in August 2003. She had been a stray picked up on the Prospect Road outside Halifax. She is now over 11 years old (at least) and has gotten progressively younger the longer I've had her. It is really quite amazing.
Probably the first picture I ever took of Buttercup
A 2nd picture - there's nothing behind her eyes
Back then you also couldn't really see the racing stripe down her nose!
Today you can't shut Buttercup up - or slow her down!
Nice post. I have old pictures of our old dog, but I don't dare to take them out. When she died I didn't feel a thing and now, almost two years later, I think about her almost every day.
ReplyDeleteShe was a Gordon Setter. My (future) husband and I had just moved in together and we saw this ad in the paper "9 year old gordon setter is looking for new owner". We were both so angry. How can you part with a dog after 9 years. We drove over there immediately. The owners were stinkingly rich. Their excuse was that the kids were leaving the house and that they didn't have time to take care of Pushkin. We took her in of course. She was a total mess: rotten teeth, infected ears and a pelt we could only shave off. She lived on for 5 years and she was an amazing dog. Dogs do know when you love them and they reward you by doing their best to be healthy and happy.