Campy Update - the final chapter

 

If you know me, you probably know Campy. 
Campy has been my loyal best friend for almost 16 years. We do everything together.

For me and Karel, our life has included Campy in almost everything that we have done.    

In April, Campy turned 17 (I didn't realize this as I had his birthday wrong for all these years and just learned that when we adopted him, he was 18 months old and not a year old). We recently had a belated birthday bash with dog-friendly muffins (I used this recipe).

At Campy's recent vet visit (end of May), Campy got a clean bill of health. His body is working well. It's his brain that is declining. 

Campy gradually went blind and deaf over the last two years. He has also been suffering from Canine Cognitive Decline (CCD = dog dementia). It has been so hard to see him change into a different dog. We miss our spunky, energetic, opinionated dog. He requires a lot of care but we are honored to be there for him however he needs us. 

Ella loves Campy so much. 

Karel cut a hole in a shoebox for his water bowl so that he doesn't step into his water. You can also see the many pillows that we have lined around his large "enclosure" in our main room so he doesn't hurt himself or get stuck anywhere. 

Campy has a very specific routine of going on short walks, being held, eating and sleeping (not necessarily in that order). When he is not doing any of these, he is confused, bumping into things, circling or staring in space. We've questioned his quality of life many times over the past few months and earlier this week, we thought it was the end. This was the hardest week of our life with Campy. We cried so much it was hard to focus. We booked "the appointment" and 24 hours later, Campy told us it was not the end. We recently started him on a new medication, Selegiline (Anipryl) a few weeks ago because I heard great things about it for dogs with CCD but we don't think it was working well for Campy as it made him very wobbly (almost drunk-like), weak, tired and out of it. We weaned him off and he seems to be much better. He is also on Phenobarbital twice a day for seizures (since 2015) and we give him a Senilife pill in the evening (which we feel has been helping for the past year). 

 

It's been a bumpy road over the past few months and we know the end is coming soon. But for now, we are making sure that his final few days, weeks or months are the best for him. We are constantly taking note of what brings him joy and right now, he is still eating great, drinking great and peeing and pooping regularly. Although sometimes it takes him a little bit to fall asleep in the evening, he is sleeping great and he loves his naps. He also continues to enjoy his short walks (he walks up to a mile a day total) and he will smell the grass and mailbox posts (which we feel means he is still interested in his walks). He enjoys being held and sometimes he will give us kisses. And when he sees his friend Ruby on a walk, his tail will wag. He still recognizes his favorite people when he gives them a sniff. Although he is sometimes wobbly, he is still moving around great and doesn't appear to be in any pain or discomfort. 

 

In case you missed it, this is our newest addition Mia (~2.5-3 years old). She was in our neighborhood for several months this winter and I couldn't take it anymore. Now she has a home.
I'll blog about her story soon. 

We are also managing the health of our senior cat Madison who has been battling Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy since Feb 2022. After a last ditch effort by our vet to do a double lung tap on Madison, he didn't think she would make it a few more months. But here she is, still going strong over 2 years later. However, around two weeks ago, she gave us a scare when she stopped eating and we noticed she was breathing heavy again. We rushed her to our local vet and after labs and Xrays they told us she had fluid around her lungs and heart (not inside like last time) so we have new medication for her. She is a very strong cat but we do worry about her condition worsening as she is beating the odds right now. 

Campy has been with us through the good times and bad. He has given us unconditional love for almost 16 years. He has been my therapy, my support, my everything. It's going to be incredibly difficult to say good bye. Campy enjoys us for being us. Every day of his life has been a lottery winning day. No one loves us like Campy loves us. Campy makes us believe that every day we are the most wonderful thing that ever happened to him but it's actually the other way around. Adopting him in October of 2008 was the best thing that ever happened for us. 

I came across this post on a website and it was too good not to share....

"Dogs offer us companionship if not actual friendship. This may be because our furry friends are not capable of understanding the complexities of being a human being, but that really doesn’t come to mind when, after a long day of getting caught up in thoughts of how horrible we are, we come home to them so happily running to meet us by the door. Through the trials and tribulations of life, there’s a certain comfort in knowing that there are creatures who always see us in the best light, as their affection for us remains unconditional and their gaze non-judgemental, even considering all of our shortcomings.

Dogs exemplify loyalty. Beyond companionship, dogs are also fiercely loyal to their humans. It’s almost as if, not only do we humans take on the labels of fur parents, but dogs treat us as family as well. They stay by our side and, in their own way, care about us. It’s a bond that gives us a sense of belonging and ground us when we feel out of place, out of our comfort zone, or out of our depth.

Dogs protect us. Building on the loyalty they exhibit, it comes as no surprise that, once the bond is forged, they usually also become protective of us. And it just so happens that, thanks to their sharp senses, they are extremely good at it. They do so in a variety of ways, from the dogs that help keep our homes safe by warning us of danger through barking and growling, especially at night, to highly-trained canines that perform crucial roles in search-and-rescue operations and in sniffing out the bad guys.

Dogs support us in keeping track of and maintaining our well-being. As creatures that rely on routine, dogs are perfect pets to nudge us into doing things that are good for us more often, be it walking them and in the process getting some exercise in and taking in some fresh air to going to the park and engaging in some social interaction with other dog-owners gathered there."

Some pictures of Campy's amazing life.......

Campy update

The past year has been challenging. The past few months have been emotionally draining. Campy is 16 and 3 months old and he is living with canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) - or dog alzheimers. 

In September of 2021, Campy had an infected tooth which needed to be removed. He has always had issues with his teeth (requiring a lot of deep cleainings) and as a result, many teeth have been removed over the years. We knew we were taking some chances with him being anaethesized at his older age but I trust his vet and he had a successful teeth cleaning (and several teeth removed). 

The next year, in October 2022, we noticed that he wasn't acting normally. He wasn't hearing as well and he started to exhibit some strange behaviors. He would often stop and freeze in one spot (similar to the beginning of a seizure). 

Campy suffered from seizures in the summer of 2015 after we had someone spray our lawns for weeds. That was the last time we ever had anything on our lawn. Campy has been on phenobarbital twice a day ever since.

Throughout 2022-2023, Campy started to pee indoors, without knowing it. He would be walking and peeing or would stop and pee as if he was outside. He started to become more anxious and barky throughout the day. 

A year went by and in 2023, at the age of 15, Campy started to show more signs of aging. His eyes were getting cloudy, he lost most of his hearing and he was urinating a lot. This required us to invest in diapers for dogs - which he doesn't mind. I mean, who wants to go outside in the cold to pee??

Campy started drinking excessively and I worried about his kidneys. He was also coughing every now and then. His legs were becoming more wobbly. It just seemed like one thing after another and I kept taking him to the vet. Our wonderful vet at Poinsett Animal Hospital did some blood work and other tests and all looked ok. Overall, Campy is in good health. Even at his latest checkup two weeks ago, his body is strong. His bones, muscles and organs are healthy. But his brain is not. 

Over the past year, Campy checks all the boxes for CDD. His symptoms got progressively worse (or more noticeable) over the summer and fall and right now we are in a "stable" place with his condition.

He gets lost in familiar places and he gets stuck in corners and around furniture.

He's much more clingy and wants to be held a lot. I assume a lot of this is due to his cataracts and not having much vision (only a little in his right eye). 

He sleeps a lot (as he should in his retirement years) but sometimes he gets his nights and days confused and he is more "awake" during the evening.

He pees a lot inside. Even after we take him outside, he comes back in and will pee. He will also pool inside. He requires a lot of diaper changes and a lot of rushing him outside anytime he gets up from a nap. 

Campy stopped playing with his squeeky plush toys around two years ago. He will pace around the house, often walking in circles.

He is very wobbly at times and will slip on the floor or will fall or trip over his own feet. Some of this may be due to his age and that his joints get stiff. 

He will bark at nothing (often the wall or a piece of furniture) and he prefers being hand fed. 

Campy doesn't love car rides like he used to. He typically falls fast asleep as soon as the car starts moving.

He can't climb stairs or jump and will often stumble on any uneven pavement. 



Seeing our spunky, energetic, happy boy lose his spark for life and to see him struggle has been emotionally challenging. 

However, the good days still outweigh the bad. 

Campy still recognizes us. He still gives us kisses. He wants to be held and he enjoys our company. We bought a sling to carry him when we are in the kitchen or when we need our hands free as this is the place where Campy becomes very needy. 



Campy still enjoys his walks. Although he can't walk as far or as long as they used to be, he really enjoys being outside. Campy has a few furry friends in our neighborhood and we love seeing his little grey tail wag when he greets his friends. This tells us that he is still enjoying life. 

Campy loves to eat. And he gets to eat whatever he wants. He has become very picky with food so we have learned to only buy a few cans of his current favorite before he decides that he hates it and wants something different. His favorite wet food topping is parmesean cheese.

Campy is still sleeping through the night. Sadly, he is no longer sleeping in our bed upstairs but he sleeps downstairs on one of his 4 dog beds - each of which is lined with a comfy fluffy blanket. Sometimes he misses all the beds and ends up on the carpet. 

Sometimes one bed isn't enough and Campy manages to find a little of several beds. 

Sometimes Campy will end up between beds or sometimes even on a cat. Thankfully, all of our cats have been extremely patient with Campy. Even when he walks one of them while they sleep.

 

Ella is so happy that Campy is finally letting her sleep with him. I don't think he knows that she is there but rather just a warm fluffy blanket by him.

They also don't mind all the food that falls out of Campy's mouth when he tries to eat by himself. 

Life lately with Campy requires a lot of work. We give him Senilife in the morning and a calming chew in the evening. There's a lot of diaper changes, a lot of holding him, a lot of washing sweaters (from a diaper that has been overflowed throughout the night), a lot of helping him get unstuck and help him through the house when he is confused. We need to keep the house the same way all the time so he doesn't get confused and he can find his beds and bowls. I'm always analyzing the house to make sure Campy can't get himself hurt when we are gone. Eventually we may need to confin him into a smaller place in the house so he doesn't get stuck when we are not around but for right now he is doing OK.  I suppose it's similar to life with a newborn. Campy requires a lot of patience but it's our honor to take care of him in his final stage of life. 

Although Karel and I feel great sadness for what Campy is going through, the hardest part is the anticipatory grief that comes with his chapter of life. We haven't lost Campy but we feel so much sadness and loss preparing for our hardest good-bye. 

These heavy emotions are challenging.

Every evening before I go to bed, I flood Campy's face with kisses. Every morning when I wake up, I feel a tightness in my chest that he may not be alive. And when I see his little tummy moving up and down on one of his beds, I feel relief. Starting a workout is hard because it means I have to be away from Campy. I find it easier to workout when I know Karel is at home. The only thing I want to do when I workout is be home with Campy but I also know that the temporary distraction of exercise is a time when I feel a sense of numbness to the situation that we are experiencing. Traveling is hard. I stress, worry and feel anxious. Campy (and the cats) are always looked after with the best care when we travl as we always hire someone to stay at our house so that Campy can keep his normal routine. I take so many pictures of Campy. I shower him with love. Sometimes I carry him for his entire walk just so that he can feel the warm sun on his face and not have to use any of his precious energy. 

Karel and I have leaned on each other a lot over the past few months. It's hard. Really really hard. Campy has been with us for our entire marriage and we have gone through so much together. 

I know life will be hard without Campy so I am trying to make the most of every day right now while I have him in my life.