Clover's Birthday

Today is Clover's 14th birthday.

We celebrated at a house with a lot of stairs - all of which he climb by himself, many times.

It's been 16 and 8 months since Clover had his two cruciate repairs. It is an amazing thing to think that when I looked at my 12 year old Havanese, I really wondered if I was asking him to do the right thing. Then, at 13, if it was fair to ask it again.

Sure, he's a little stiff, and there are days he is sore. He is notably more sore in the knee I waited longer to do the surgery on; more arthritic, likely, just like everyone said it would be.

But then, at 14, of course he's a little creaky.

I have tried, very hard, to cherish my time with him, even with the pesky new puppy (who Clover adores, might I add). I know, after 14 years, our time together is limited. But I am so glad that I took the chance to repair both knees, to see him happy again, to watch him chase the puppy across the lawn.

I can't think of a better way to close up this blog about Clover's recovery.

Happy birthday, Clover.


For more on the continued adventures of Clover and The Puppy, visit Narwyn Havanese.

Cushing's

Clover had his follow up testing the other day. He spent the night fasting (he was not pleased) and the morning at the vet. They test his blood at a fasting, then push something through their blood stream to activate the adrenal glands, then test again to see how they reacted.

Clover is borderline for Cushing's. At this point, Lindsey feels as though not treating makes the most sense. I would tend to agree - they can be some nasty medications, necessary evils in many cases.

Watchful waiting is probably the most sensible, and most difficult, thing to endure in medicine. It makes sense, sometimes, to see what happens. But wait-and-see, and the limbo that comes with it, is hard.

For now, Clover is back on his allergy medication, back to walks, and was happy to have a good lunch. For now, I'll just be happy to provide it for him.