The End Is Nigh

Our dog Watson is well into old age – he’s more than 14 years old, which is old for a Labrador. A few weeks ago his back legs suddenly gave way and he collapsed in a heap on the floor. He looked very confused at this, but picked himself up and carried on. It occurred again a week later and now it’s become really noticeable that he’s losing control of his back legs. Last weekend out on his walk I had to stop a few times after he collapsed to let him gather himself together and struggle on.

I took him to the vets’ yesterday and had a good discussion with the vet. We agreed that Watson still has a good quality of life considering his age, but that we’re definitely on the downward slope now. She thinks that it’s a matter of months before we reach a point where we need to think seriously about having him put to sleep, but she did warn that things could change quickly, so to be prepared.

At the moment, the fact that he still wants to play, and getting exercise by wandering about the garden and our field doing his own thing several times a day is demonstrating that he’s coping with his arthritis (for which he’s already getting painkillers and food supplements). So he may just reach his 15th birthday at the end of July – which for a Lab is exceptional – but it’s highly unlikely that he will see Christmas. We will just make the best of the time that we have left.