He's still aliiiiiiive!

They say that cats have nine lives... our dog did always think he was a cat.

Simon is old. Really, really old. He has exceeded his breed's life expectancy; he is deaf, going blind, achy/sore, and always scratching. He's got skin problems, which are common for his breed and also his age, and we just learned today that he also has a heart mumur. Wonderful.

I took him to the vet, half expecting to not bring him home. But I didn't have the heart to tell them to just put him down, so instead, I came home with three different medications for him and the promise of two more once these are done. The two that will start at the end of these two weeks will be given daily for the rest of his life. Just what I didn't want to have happen. He's old. If we have to medicate him for the rest of his life just to keep him comfortable and from having these problems, maybe it's time to let go. I should have just told him that we were ready to let him go, but I felt too guilty doing it. It's such a grey area. If only he was REALLY sick, or totally blind, or in a lot of pain... that would make it an easy decision - time to put him out of his misery. But he's not. He's going blind, but can still see enough to get around and even though he's not comfortable, he doesn't seem to be in major pain. He's not doing well but he's not doing that bad either.

Ugh!!!

IF all these meds work, his skin will clear up and that will be nice, but it's not going to take away the fact that he's old, deaf, almost blind, and going to die sometime soon. I made the choice that didn't make me feel guilty today, but I just don't know if it was really the right one. :S