Bobby is 15 years old and blind now (because of cataracts). He is still quite perky, especially when I come home from work – that’s when you’ll see him bouncing up and down like a little puppy, getting all excited and (unfortunately) banging into the furniture legs and the wall (but no serious injuries, just a bump here and there). Bunny and Tiger are his “buffers”. They will shield him from bumping into the walls whenever they see him approaching one. I call them Bobby’s “seeing cats”!
But Bobby has “separation anxiety” now. He gets VERY anxious and worried if he cannot be around me, so even when I go to the bathroom, he will bang on the door until I let him in.
Every morning, it takes at least half an hour to feed Bobby. He has become a very picky eater since the last few years when he decided he’s had enough of Hill Science’s Senior. I now stir-fry chicken for him for breakfast and recently, I managed to make him eat Canine Caviar Special Needs Dinner, but this has to be preceeded by some canned food. Even then, there is a technique in doing this…it has to start with purely canned food. Then, as he is eating it, I pour in the kibbles, bit by bit….and pray he would eat them up. Believe it or not, just after three days of Canine Caviar, Bobby put on weight…visibly. I thought I had discovered an elixir from Doggie Heaven.
For every meal, he’d just walk around his bowl for about 15 minutes. The cats would be trying their best to get to his food, but they have now learnt to leave the food alone since it’s Uncle Bobby’s.
Last week, I even had to hand-feed him by letting him sit on my lap. He had a short bout of pasty stools and had stopped eating (this has been happening for a few years now, off and on), so the vet prescribed a gastrointestinal medicine and AD. Bobby doesn’t like AD! What a picky eater….
Comments
3 responses to “Looking after a loyal friend”
") Good old buddy. Best healthy wishes to you, Bobby!
I know my eyes are red when I'm reading, the loyalty of our animal companions are unique in their own way, this is why I love them so much…. more than words can describe. Best healthy wishes to Bobby! With love to you!
I have a 15-year-old Malaysian dog. Multiply that by 7 and my Lailai and your Bobby are both 105 years old if they are humans !
Yeah, Lailai also has the same old-age problems of humans… she walks at a slow pace, now has a skin condition which makes her fur drop off, gets ear infections frequently and little lumps here and there on the body. Since all the vets she has been to cannot find a permanent cure for her skin condition, I myself tried vitamin E with aloe vera plus scrub her with Himalayan rock salt plus the usual Malaseb.
Every morning, I have to clean her eyes, ears and face and see if the wound on her underside is getting better. Just like looking after an old granny !
But Lailai is like a human too. Years earlier, when I was talking to her and telling her she has to follow me from Penang to KL as otherwise my father would sent her to the SPCA and most probably be put down, she listened to me and nodded her head twice and lifted her left paw to pat the back of my right hand twice! So, who says animals are not intelligent ? Just sharing my story…. kttan