Jul 15, 2015
Have you ever lived in a dog house?
We feel like that is what we are doing. In order to keep Carmeh from further injuring her back we have made some major modifications to our home. I have already shown you the ramps the girls now use in order to go in and out to do their business. Caeli of course can still do stairs but she is now on the same regime as Carmeh.
This is the ramp up to our bed where Carmeh prefers to spend the majority of her day. From here she can see down the street and watch any activity.
Caeli will do all the other ramps but refuses to use the one onto the bed 🙄 So when she wants to go up there she cries and then one of us lifts her up. The ramp is barricaded on both sides so that is has to be used and the pink rope along the edge means that they can’t jump off the ramp before the bottom. That black wire fencing goes all around the bed so that Carmeh does not jump off, something she has done in the past.
The other inside ramp is up to the chesterfield. We have cushions along the rest of the sofa plus the black fencing you can see on the right surrounding the open area of the sofa.
They like to come up here early in the morning when the sun is shining in this area or late afternoon. Caeli gives a different type of cry when she wants to go up here and from wherever we are in the house we just tell her ” it’s okay, go up “. and she just goes up. Carmeh uses all the ramps with no hesitation. When she is tired she is very slow. Needless to say if we are nearby we pick her up to go up or down in order to save her back.
Every chair is blocked by something so that Carmeh can’t jump up. Even the pink Victorian slipper chair in the background has something on it. I had forgotten this one and one day found Carmeh up there once she was feeling better. She likes to be up on something.
Our house is no longer a home. There is nowhere to just sit and relax. Of course I can just move something and sit down but overall things no longer look inviting. I had planned on doing a surprise party for Colin for his 65th next week but this just is not the time in our lives to have 40 or 50 people over.
We’ve even had to put carpet runners here and there and extra area carpets around as Carmeh’s back legs have trouble on the wood floor. She needs some traction to help her walk. Even with the carpets she still slips.
So for now or however long it takes we are living in a dog house.
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That said, it’s a really cool dog house with a great view! Gotta love it!
That is true and we do love our girls but it is still restricting.
That is true love. We make that commitment when we bring a pet into our lives and so many people forget that when something bad happens. And the love we get back is so worth all the inconvenience. Scooter does much better on carpeting also.
The girls love us so much and every minute out of the day that we give them they are so grateful for.
I agree with Chris and Sandie. What you are doing to help Carmeh sure beats the alternative. We love our furbabies.
Yes we love them and of course we will continue to do all that we can.
Lucky doggies have such loving parents looking out for them. I don’t blame them for wanting to be up on top of things so they can see out. What a gorgeous view you have!
I think we all love the view. Our best times is when the 4 of us are sitting together looking out at the lake.
I love dogs, and cats. But now that we have neither, I love being pet free. You do your utmost to make your furry friends comfy, but once you are alone you kind of just exhale, and take in the freedom of having no obligations…
I hear what you are saying Peter. We have decided that when both of the girls are gone we will be pet free for a while so that we can so some extensive travel. Something we can’t or won’t do while we have pets. We could never put our girls in a kennel.
I have had pets for most of the first 40 years of my life, many dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, but no more we enjoy our freedom for now.
Pets are family and can be so rewarding enjoy them while you can.
Who knows one day down the road you may get another pet.
We alter our lives to what our family members need. My Bella had Cushing’s disease and had challenges. I started to remind myself of how much I would miss cleaning up her “mistakes” in the house, her waking me up at the crack of dawn on the weekends so she could eat and drink. Constantly letting her out to pee, her begging for food. It’s been two weeks since she passed, and I am broken. I miss her terribly.
Yes you have lived in a dog house. You will miss her intensely for a very long time but the pain will ease over time. You were a very devoted Mom to your Bella. I know it hurts but I am happy that she is free and running around freely somewhere no longer suffering.