Back in 2002, we were getting ready
to go to Michigan to Millie's corgi picnic. (Millie is the breeder
of our Paris Lynn, and Paris lived with her
till she was three.) It's a
long drive from TN, and Barney the Corgihuahua
was almost 14 and headed
downhill fast. His bloodwork and his
checkup
didn't turn up anything
alarming. He was just droopy and not very
alert.
Nothing seemed to hurt, and we
were trying to go about his normal routine,
but we worried about what a
trip like that would do to the
Barnster. Wayne
and I talked about what we'd do
if he died on the trip. We finally decided
we'd find a vet along the way
who would have him cremated and mailed home to
us so we could bury him next to
Silver.
A couple of weeks
before the trip, I took him in to our
vet. He
suggested trying b/d to see if
Barney would perk up. Barney was a picky
eater and had some feeding
problems due to a rhinotomy a few years before.
They send me home with a sample
baggy, and Barney loved the taste! I went
back and bought a
bag. By the time we got to Michigan, Barney was
starting
to perk up. I
remember pulling out his food and showing it to Millie at
the
time, but really if you hadn't
seen Barney a few weeks before, you wouldn't
have known the big
difference. By the time we got home, our
flop-eared
little guy was acting several
years younger. The only thing we'd changed
was putting him on
b/d.
Barney passed away
in April at the old age of 17 years and 10 months.
His mom was a fluffy
Cardigan. His dad was a white Chihuahua. Even
in his
last months, our vets said he
was far more alert and at himself than some of
the 12 and 14 year olds they
saw. He never got senile at all. He was
still
housetrained at the end, and
two weeks before he passed away, he was
doddering down through the
backyard to get his piece of chicken cake during
one of our friend's dog's
birthday party.
I knew exactly
what Barney would have wanted me to do with the
leftovers
of his b/d. Millie
had mentioned how senile Paris' mother Panda was
getting, so I sent her home
with it when she was down here for our corgi
picnic in May. I am
just thrilled it worked for her, too!
