Arthritis, musings about supplements

            I'm not sure if I've mentioned it here before, but Talana has some arthritis in her rear joints. It's been there for years; as long as I've known her, in fact. Talana is a sturdy girl, but there are some things I won't ask her to do. We won't be jumping, or racing around barrels, or doing the levade. Which is all fine and dandy with me; I'm actually not too interested in doing any of that right now! But what I am interested in is Talana's comfort. So although she's been hanging out in the pasture with her arthritis for years and moving well enough to canter about when the other horses chased her (and to occasionally jump over things of her own choice), I thought I'd look into ways to help her out.
            The first things I think of when I know an animal is having joint problems are glucosamine and chondroitin. This is what helped Dandy, my elderly dog, for the last year and a half of her life. They are also helping Alice, my current elderly dog.
           Dandy:

            Alice:

            One of the problems with glucosamine is that it's pretty expensive. And, if you think it's expensive for the amount you need to feed a dog, think about how much you need to give an 800 pound horse! So I started searching around to see if I could get it for less than an arm and a leg, or if there is something else that helps horses.
            From what I've been able to gather, glucosamine and chondroitin are basically the building blocks of cartilage and connective tissues. Part of the reason you need to feed so much of it to have an effect is that these are huge molecules that are difficult for the horse's gut to absorb and use, so a lot of what you feed just passes right through. There is another component to joint health, which is MSM (methylsulfonylmethane - don't ask me how to pronounce it). This stuff is supposed to help the body put the building blocks together. Some horses seem to respond just as well to supplementation with MSM as to glucosamine, chondroitin, and MSM together. Particularly those who already have issues, like Talana. Another key benefit is that it's less expensive.
           Now, I'm not knocking glucosamine and chondroitin. But if I can help Talana feel her best with less cost, you betcha I will. So we are trying MSM for her, and if we aren't seeing convincing improvements after a couple months, I'll look into glucosamine and chondroitin supplements, too.
            The good news is that it's been three days with this supplement, and Talana seems to be moving more smoothly in the mornings. She usually seems a tad slow to get started at the beginning of the day, but this morning she seemed to be moving more like she does later in the day, like she's already had her morning stretches or something. Of course, it's been a grand total of three days. I may just be imagining things. But I'm hoping that in a few weeks I'll continue to see improvement.
            Supplements aren't the only options for a horse with arthritis. It also helps to get them moving around - not too much, like I said, no jumping - but walking and trotting for a bit every day is supposed to help get things loosened up and moving more comfortably. And I would say that this is true for Talana. She moves better on the days I ride than the days I'm at work until dinner. I can tell because when she is sore, she won't do a proper turn on the forehand. She'll yield, yes, but she won't cross her legs. Instead she does an odd hop-step, moving one first and then the other without crossing them. But after we've walked around for a bit, if I ask for that movement she does it correctly. She can also sidepass better after exercise, like when she doesn't want the dog to get any closer to her and steps sideways.
            Generally, Talana seems to be doing well. She's growing in her winter coat already, in response to the chillier weather. She looks good, and her mane and tail seem to be continuing the trend of growing in shiny. She's feeling pretty spunky lately; when I had her grazing on a lead line she decided that Alice was sitting on a tasty patch of grass and chomped her on the ear.  Boy did Alice get a surprise! No harm done, Alice's ear was just a tad slobbery. It must have been a very soft nip. But Alice barked and Talana jumped back, too. Now they keep a skeptical eye on each other. Also, I'm policing them a bit more carefully, because that's pretty rude and I won't let Talana go around grabbing dogs. I am a little glad that she feels good enough to stake out a claim to her grass, though.
            And I'll leave you with a picture of her, even though it's not the most recent. Here she is from late August, finally giving in and trying the mint in the backyard.

My first foster puppy, adopted

            Today I learned that my first foster puppy has a forever home. The lovely people who have been keeping her for a slumber party decided that they want to keep her for good. They have already selected a new name for her.
            I am so glad. In the first two weeks I fostered this puppy, I could not possibly have let her go to someone else. She and I just seemed to have a bond that materialized as soon as she crept out of her crate to take a treat from my hand. I saw how frightened she was, but also how curious about the world. She wanted to try things, but she wasn't sure what might happen. So I set out to provide her with a structure she could understand, to lay the foundation for anything she might do in the future.
            After a few weeks in our house, my dear foster puppy had learned so much. I was very proud of her accomplishments, because I could see how proud she felt each time she succeeded at something. And I saw that she needed to go live with someone else. Much as I love her, not every dog is a good fit for every household. And that is fine.
            I saw when I dropped her off for her slumber party that she will enjoy living with her new family. She now has two humans to love her and an adult doggie brother to play with. I could see that my training worked; for the first time, we let her off leash with no fence. She romped and zoomed and leaped into the air, and every time we called to her she raced back to us, tail wagging. I suspected that was what she would do, but it is another thing altogether to see her in action and to know that I gave her the skills to have that freedom.
           It does hurt a bit to let her go, yes. But when isn't it a little difficult to take away your guiding hands, and entrust someone you love to what the world has to offer? She was ready. I am glad she didn't have to wait a moment longer to start the rest of her life, with her very own family. Be well, sweet puppy.

            I foster animals in memory of my first dog, Dandy. Let her legacy be the happiness and health of this puppy and many more.

Our current household crew

            My home is full of furry creatures. My partner and I are currently living with three cats of our own, and two foster dogs. We recently returned two foster kittens to the SPCA of Hancock County, Maine. These are our beasties:

            Warbear, shorthaired silver tabby. She's about a year old, sleek, shiny, and loves to be snuggled. But... she wishes most of the other critters would go away. She will grudgingly tolerate their presence in her home, if we insist.

            Brenna, longhaired tortoiseshell. She's about two years old, silky, talkative, and loves to be brushed or just hang out nearby. Brenna is a mellow, easy going cat. She hides from new things for about two weeks, and then magically reappears once it seems like everything is safe again. Brenna likes to sing in the stairway, where her voice echoes loudly.

            Wren, longhaired tabby. Wren is about eight years old, and mostly blind. But she is the friendliest cat I've ever met. Anyone can just pick her up and hug her, and she is delighted for the attention. She likes to keep to one or two rooms, and snoozes in the same spot most of the time. She likes dogs, kittens, humans, and the warmth of the wood stove.

            Alice, foster dog. We are fostering Alice for Peace Ridge Sanctuary (where I also work). She's about twelve years old, but still enjoys a good run. She weighs about sixty five pounds, now that she has lost some of the excess weight she arrived with. She is a lifetime foster, which means that this is her forever home, but the sanctuary provides for her care. Alice likes getting brushed, trying to convince us to let her eat mussels she finds on the shore, and spending every waking moment with her humans. She has separation anxiety, doubtless from being tossed from one home to another and into the shelter. She is not a big fan of other dogs, especially in her house.

            Penny, foster dog. Also for Peace Ridge. Penny is available for adoption at the moment! She is a very smart little cattle dog mix, about six months old. She is shy in new situations, but is learning that the world is actually kind of fun to explore. She loves clicker training and playing with other dogs. She tries very hard to convince Alice to play with her, but Alice won't have it. We keep them separate to reduce the stress on Alice while Penny stays with us.

            So these are the furry creatures who are living here! Penny might have an adoption pending, but I can't say for sure as I'm writing this. If so, hooray! If not, you may be seeing more pictures of her here, and stories about her, too. She's a great little pup, and I'm enjoying working with her. Some lucky someone is going to have a wonderful companion when she gets her forever home.

The dog in my profile picture

            Who is that dog in my profile picture? That's Dandy, my first rescue. She was a puppy in a box on the side of the road, and I was a five year old who wished on every shooting star and birthday cake for a dog. (Well, specifically for a Dalmation, but I didn't really know what to call other kinds of dogs.)
            Dandy grew up to be twenty pounds of adorable mutt. Who knows what breeds are mixed in her genetic history? Who cares? I never cared, beyond mild curiosity. She was my dog, and that was all I needed to know. Dandy was my best friend, my best playmate. She was the best dog ever, and there will never be a better one.
            I went away to college, and when I came back Dandy was in terrible shape. My parents had not cared for her properly as she aged. She had been stepped on by a horse and left to recover without vet care. Her rear legs did not seem to work much anymore, and she was starving. They offered her food every night, but it was poor quality kibble that she would not eat. They threw their hands up in the air, thinking she was so old anyway.... maybe she just won't get better.
            I was upset. I took her to Maine with me, determined to give her my very best until her last day, whenever that would be. My poor skinny pup, with her legs shaking as she stood! But she followed me everywhere I went, no matter how hard she had to work to make her body go. I fed her good food. I brushed her and bathed her filthy coat. (Four times, until she no longer stank.) I petted her. I gave her a pile of blankets to sleep on. I carried her up and down the stairs with me. I took her outside and taught her how to walk again, and she discovered a new way to run. She would hop her rear end in an odd gait, both feet down then both feet up in the air. The pain receded as she gained muscle and learned to balance again. She learned how to guess where her hind feet were, because she could not feel them anymore.
            Dandy had a laundry list of old dog problems. Her eye gave her trouble, it had for years. She had daily eye goop for it, and never complained once. She was on pain medicine for months, until we discovered that she shook less without it. She could not control her bowels, but she had a predictable schedule. She had warty nubbles in various places on her body, including under one eye and on some of her toes. Sometimes these would get scraped open and needed daily attention to keep them clean. The list goes on a bit. But through everything, Dandy kept her cheery expression and was always up for a bite to eat. Wherever I was, Dandy was too.
            After a year and a half, bladder cancer sneaked up on Dandy. There was nothing we could do. We kept her comfortable, and when her condition dove for the worse I knew it was time to let her go gently. She was tired. I could see that she would trudge onward as long as I asked her to. But the vet said that she would not recover at that point, and everything would be downhill. I wanted to spare my dear, loyal puppy that unneeded pain and fear. I took especial care of her that last day. I walked her, bathed her, brushed her. I fed her delicious people food she usually did not get to have. She trundled along after me, as always, but I could tell it was not a good day for her. I held her when it was time to let her go, and I felt her relax in my arms. The last thing she knew was my touch as I stroked her.
            Dandy was sixteen years and eleven months old. She died on August 16th, 2013 at 4:10 pm. That date and time is seared into my memory like no other.
            Everything I do now for the other animals, I do in memory of Dandy. I want her legacy to be the network of living, breathing animals I lend aid and comfort to. Dandy was my first rescue. I want the space she left in my heart to be filled with love for the current and future creatures who pass through my care. I can't just leave it empty.