Karla--your dogs are beautiful. Suzy has the sweetest face--give her a big hug for me.

We fed our dog chicken and rice when she got older--she loved it. She was a chow/shepherd mix and lived to be almost 16. I still miss her so much.

Don't they look like you could just curl up and nap with them?
Spread a quilt under a nice shady tree and just relax with them.
I bet they'd really like that! I know I would!

Try putting chicken broth on her food. It sparked interest for my Sunny in her last week. That was in January.

I just watched the movie Marley and Me. I read the autobiographical book so thought I was prepared for the sad ending, but nope... my tears impaired my vision so I mostly heard the last 20min. I would wait to see the movie or even read the book for a long time if I were you. 5 months wasn't long enough for me. But do see it or read it someday.

quiltswithdogs--I read the book! I had read a review that gave the ending away, but I felt myself getting sad...so I'd read it at the kitchen table in the middle of the day rather than at night--and it made no difference--I sobbed. My son and his girlfriend watched the movie and they both cried.

Joan--she has been to the vet. We took her because she was urinating on a green carpet--and never giving us an indication she had to go out. This was when it was cold--so March? She'd whine, and since I'm a light sleeper--I was getting up every night with her. That was the only time she acted like a puppy--greeting me when I came down at 3-4 AM. We ran everything by the vet then--the vet could see for herself how she was, as we had to gently push her where she had to go there. Her urine did show some crystal development, so they gave her meds for that. She said sometimes when older dogs are given anesthesia--they flip a switch. You see--she didn't come out of it like they thought when the tooth was pulled--we had to get her the next day because they wanted to keep her overnight. So--that's the main issue here. She was a perky babe before that tooth incident. It's so sad..... I want to blame the vet, but I guess these things happen.

When it's cold or too rainy, we carry her in to the back room--they have a foam mattress to sleep on with lots of pillows. They have a neat room filled with straw on the back of the house--but she won't go into it unless carried...and she'll walk back to her favorite spot. When she was in the house a few weeks ago--and had peed twice in the night--we captured urine (took two days!) and took it in because I was thinking the crystals were back, but they said all was well.

Mark's tried hamburg from the grill--nope. We've tried broth...nope. The other dog eats everything! I will try baby food when I need another idea...

My sister's dog May changed a lot after teeth cleaning. She was never the same went blind and had brain damage. I refuse to have my dog's or cat's teeth cleaned and the vet doesn't like it at all. Tough!

Have you tried cottage cheese? Boiled chicken and cooked rice? I hope you can find something she'll eat that's better for her than bologna. I hope she starts acting/feeling back to normal, it's so hard when they go.

Darlene--I would never ever take a pet to the vet to have its teeth cleaned--the thought makes me giggle. We're of the farmer mentality. Suzy had broken a huge tooth (C, I think)--it went well into her gums. She had to have it removed.

They look like cute cuddly bears!

Karla, we put our cat on meat baby food.......Tiny loves turkey or ham.......pricey but he is still with us and has put his weight back on.......he is looking good.....but I do notice some Arthritis...but he is 21....:-)..... better for his teeth.....the vet said it was okay......we tried vegtables but didn't like....you might give it a try .....:-)

Karla, have you tried cat food? Most dogs just love cat food. The other thing you might try is baby food veal. That is yummy stuff to critters and very soft and easy to digest. She might lick it off a spoon if you hold it!!

(It's ok to feed cat food to dogs, but cats shouldn't eat just dog food, because it doesn't have a couple of key ingredients cats need. )

It is so hard to watch our beloved pets age so quickly, especially when they're fine one minute and not the next. My prayers are with you and Susie. I have a 95 lb. black lab named Guinness. Or, as my friends call her "Labzilla"