Raider........

 All of us who have pets as family members know that someday hard times will come.  It is hard when they start to age, get ill and slow down.  Yesterday we had a moment of clarity with our oldest pet member Raider who has gradually slowed down, turned grey, stopped eating as much and we think has begun to be unable to hear as well.

 We like other pet owners occasionally give our dogs table scraps and bones.  We had ribs on Tuesday night and gave the dogs each a bone. Wednesday morning Raider wasn't doing very well.  He was uncomfortable, in pain, drinking a lot of water, throwing up and had his tail down, looking to me for help.  He would lay down, get up, walk around, sit, get up, stretch, try to go potty and couldn't.  As the morning went on I decided I should take him to the vet and make sure he didn't have an obstruction. As it turns out, he has Colitis, and in the interim the vet discovered that he has 2 broken teeth, which weren't there 6 weeks ago during his shots, and an abscessed tooth.  He is now on antibiotics and was eating this morning which is a great sign, even begging for treats.  After we get through these antibiotics, we need to see if he is strong enough to get his teeth pulled since he has a pretty strong and loud heart murmur.  We were originally told we couldn't even get his teeth cleaned because of it.  Now that it is a possible health and comfort issue, I guess we need to look further into it.   As for now, tail wagging, begging and barking.  Back to normal, life is good for Raider, except during pill time twice a day..........