An old dog

Just found this photo of Maggie taken about 15 months ago when we took our last trip in Mohita. She looks to me like Whistler's Mother, an old woman wrapped up in a shawl. She's sitting in the front seat and looking out the window.

Sad to say but our dear Maggie at age 14 going on 15 is really showing her age now. She has lost muscle and staggers around and sometimes even falls over. She finds it hard going upstairs and I've taken to lifting her in and out of the car. It's hard to see this because she used to be such a fast, athletic dog.

But just today I took her to the vet and got some exercises to help develop her core muscles.  It's kind of like Pilates for dogs.  We're hoping that by doing this with her we can prolong the inevitable decline and have her happy and comfortable for some time to come. She still enjoys her food and playing with Geordie but she's really slowing down.

I also learned today about doing some simple massage of the muscles in her shoulders and quads and we've scheduled some laser treatments to loosen up the fascia.  Who knew there was sports therapy for dogs!  It's not that costly; it just takes some time in the evening and a bit of different exercise and play. If it helps her it's totally worthwhile.