Whiskey will be 14 years old in April, and we've had her since she was 7 weeks old.
This is the only picture we have of Whiskey as a little puppy.
The day we got her, we walked to pick up the kids from school, and I had Whiskey hidden inside my jacket. That sounds funny, doesn't it! I had Whiskey inside my jacket pocket!
Our son Alex was 8 years old at the time, and had one of his first Little League baseball games that evening. Whiskey came to his game with us, and she became a fixture at his games for years to come.
Whiskey at 7 months
At 9 months old, Whiskey was fixed. Other than regular checkups, she didn't have to go to the vet again until she was 4 years old. However, when Whiskey was 4 years old, she came down with an infection called leptospirosis. This is a bacteria that attacks the kidneys, and can quickly lead to complete kidney failure. Most people who are told that their dog has this disease, decide to have their dog put down because it is expensive to treat, and the dog often doesn't survive even with treatment.
But by this point, Whiskey was part of the family, so we made every effort to have her treated. She spent over 2 weeks at the local veterinary hospital, at a cost of over $2,000. But she survived. In fact, we had her kidney values tested 6 months later, and the doctors couldn't believe that there was no sign of any permanent kidney damage.
Then, about 8 months later Whiskey was having problems going pee. Turned out she had bladder stones! Another $800 fixed that problem, and a change of diet ensured that it didn't return!
Whiskey at 4 years old
For the next ten years, Whiskey was a big part of our family. She came with us everywhere she could, and she's always been a good traveller in the car. She came to all of Alex's baseball games, and even cheers the team on by barking everytime someone hits the ball. We take Whiskey everywhere with us. She loves to go camping, and she seems to love the motorhome.
Not a happy Whiskey...having a bath
Whiskey in her muslim outfit!
Whiskey digs herself a cool hole in the sand when we're at the beach in Mexico!
We've had many enjoyable years with Whiskey, and although we know she's getting older, we hope that she's around for a few more yet. Her health is good, and she still has enough energy to come for long hikes with us, and she sure can run when there's a squirrel to be chased after. She has lost about 90% of her hearing, but her sight and smell ensure that she doesn't miss out on much.
For now, we limit our travels to North America in the motorhome. There will be plenty of time to explore the rest of the world when she's gone.
Whiskey, doing what she likes to do...picture taken about 5 minutes ago!
Awww what a sweetie! Let's hope she spends a lot more time with you on your adventures!
ReplyDeleteWould you care for a hint on the hearing? My elderly sheltie seemed to go deaf about the age of 12. Instead, it was her ears jammed packed deep inside with oily goo and sand from the beaches! She had long hair kinda stringy around the ears just like Whiskey. She never had any ear trouble in all 12 years before that. It was not even visible from the casual observation. The vet cleaned her out deep down inside, and she could hear just fine again! Just a thought for you.
We think she is a sweetie too!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your hint on the hearing, but we just had her at the vet's and the vet had a look at her ears. They were fine except for a bit of wax and a small yeast infection. I wondered if the infection could have caused any hearing lose if it wasn't detected sooner and she said no. So we are just putting it down to age.
what a blessing to have good dog like Whiskey...ours was Pepper.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your captions and pictures. Very nice dog you have. My family loves our dogs very much too. We have a 10 month old female Weimeranner (Betsy), and a 13 year old male Beagle (Butch). We are new to RV'ing but take our dogs on every trip. They both like to ride upfront and help me with directions!
ReplyDeleteCute picture of her as a pub, would not have recognised her. Think of her each time I have a yoghurt tub to throw away - shame she is not here to lick it out.
ReplyDeleteOh, ya, not only is Whiskey a part of the family, she is the Queen of the family...LOL. We love pets, and would like to meet Whiskey one day in person !!
ReplyDeleteHave a great day, guys.
Whiskey is missing every one of those yogurt containers Glen!
ReplyDeleteWhiskey looks forward to meeting both of you, one day as well, Trent and Teresa.
ReplyDeleteHi Whiskey,
ReplyDeleteMojo from Whistler here, glad to hear you're doing well. Sounds like your pawrents love you and take care of you as well as mine. Isn't it just great to have people love you like they do? I'm 15 1/2 now but you wouldn't know it, my Mom tells everyone it's because we live in Whistler and nobody looks or acts their age. My hearing is going (sometimes it's selective), my pawrents have started using a whistle to get my attention, it works really well (except if there's a squirrel involved. Take care of yourself and look for me during the 2010 Olympics, I'll be the Eskimo dog wearing Canada flags and my Mom will look crazy in her tall Canada hat. Glad to hear you're doing well.
Mojo (my Mom Kelly wrote this)
Nice to hear from you as well Mojo. I like the idea you gave us about the whistle we will have to try that with Whiskey, she really likes squirrels as well. We will keep our eyes open for you at the Olympics, so look aout for the CBC crews as that is the only TV station we will be able to watch the Olympics on. Have a good time there.
ReplyDeleteYou can really see how Whiskey has gotten grey over the years...like the rest of us. She looks like a real sweetheart. Our babies name was Bumble, we sometimes called her Bum-Bee...she liked that. She's gone now and we have found memories of our time with her.
ReplyDelete