Meg,
"...When he was about 12 he started doing some odd things, walking into furniture he knew he'd just passed, etc. the vet said he was getting senile...is that the same thing? They both sure sound the same (as far as a dog goes...it's not like you can ask them questions to determine the extent of their confusion..."
Yeah, they all mean the same thing. Since the 70's alone, I've heard it called so many different things that I couldn't remember them all. But they all mean the same thing. I've heard it called senile dementia (the old word for Alzheimer's), organic brain syndrome and altered mental status. The underlying disease process may be different, but the effects on the brain are pretty much the same. The brain does so many different things and one of them is to connect thoughts and to reason. When the part of the brain that does that is damaged in any animal, it isn't pretty.
It certainly is fascinating though. Like I said before, people who have spoken English for 80 years totally forget the entire language. They can't tell you what they had for lunch but they can describe how they heard about the death of FDR. The senses take in everything around them, but the input makes no sense. I would think that it would be the same with a dog...so he would be walking into things.
My dad's wife walked away and she never turned a corner. She had no clue what to do, no plan, nothing. She just walked and walked and walked. She can't tell you what she was thinking because her only knowledge of the entire incident is what you've told her...she can't remember it at all.
I never thought about animals getting the same thing but I should. My cat is getting pretty old and I'm just waiting for the day I find him sick or dead. He still jumps up to the platform where I have his food, out of the dog's reach. So, I figure he's OK for now. But he is getting up there. That cat has only been out of this house twice in his life. Once he got his balls hacked off and the other time he lost his front claws. He wouldn't leave this house if there were tuna cruising down the street. Damn...that's why I shouldn't have pets. They always die on me. Oh well, too late now, I have a houseful. I was actually thinking about getting another cat since McFly was so decrepid.
I'd love to see what my male dog would do with a kitten. I doubt he would eat one but you never know. He pretty much respects the cat but every so often he bolts after him and he ends up back in the crate. I don't know why he does that. So, I thought he might be funny with a cat who would scratch the hell out of him. That'd teach him.
OK, now I'm really going to bed.
See ya,
Meg
"...When he was about 12 he started doing some odd things, walking into furniture he knew he'd just passed, etc. the vet said he was getting senile...is that the same thing? They both sure sound the same (as far as a dog goes...it's not like you can ask them questions to determine the extent of their confusion..."
Yeah, they all mean the same thing. Since the 70's alone, I've heard it called so many different things that I couldn't remember them all. But they all mean the same thing. I've heard it called senile dementia (the old word for Alzheimer's), organic brain syndrome and altered mental status. The underlying disease process may be different, but the effects on the brain are pretty much the same. The brain does so many different things and one of them is to connect thoughts and to reason. When the part of the brain that does that is damaged in any animal, it isn't pretty.
It certainly is fascinating though. Like I said before, people who have spoken English for 80 years totally forget the entire language. They can't tell you what they had for lunch but they can describe how they heard about the death of FDR. The senses take in everything around them, but the input makes no sense. I would think that it would be the same with a dog...so he would be walking into things.
My dad's wife walked away and she never turned a corner. She had no clue what to do, no plan, nothing. She just walked and walked and walked. She can't tell you what she was thinking because her only knowledge of the entire incident is what you've told her...she can't remember it at all.
I never thought about animals getting the same thing but I should. My cat is getting pretty old and I'm just waiting for the day I find him sick or dead. He still jumps up to the platform where I have his food, out of the dog's reach. So, I figure he's OK for now. But he is getting up there. That cat has only been out of this house twice in his life. Once he got his balls hacked off and the other time he lost his front claws. He wouldn't leave this house if there were tuna cruising down the street. Damn...that's why I shouldn't have pets. They always die on me. Oh well, too late now, I have a houseful. I was actually thinking about getting another cat since McFly was so decrepid.
I'd love to see what my male dog would do with a kitten. I doubt he would eat one but you never know. He pretty much respects the cat but every so often he bolts after him and he ends up back in the crate. I don't know why he does that. So, I thought he might be funny with a cat who would scratch the hell out of him. That'd teach him.
OK, now I'm really going to bed.
See ya,
Meg
posted by Meg Kelso | 11:05 PM
4 Comments:
Max,my darling terrior would become restless at night, after sleeping a good part of the day.
He would sit in his basket in the lounge, then come out to my room, knock on the door, come in for a cuddle, then within 60 seconds was at my door wishing to go out again. During the last 12 mths of his long life he would repeat this event every 10 mins every night before going to bed around 10 pm LOL...( I didn't mind )
He was diagnosed with cancer up his bottom 18 mths before but it didnt kill in the end. We had to put him down about 3 mths ago, he was ready to go, it's never easy, but now he lays in our garden with the roses and the spot where he used to wait for baby birds to fall so he could eat them.
I don't know whether to laugh or not but that was just as sweet as it could be. I know that there are folks out there who would think it cruel and I apologize, but I love it when a person can remember the good times with a smile...even if the birdies didn't make it.
:)
I think it's important to remember the funny times, if it makes us smile they still do :-)
Absolutely!
I hope that at my funeral, my kids thorw a great big party and exchange stories about carzy things that I did. I'd rather see them remember me with laughter than to remember me with a tear.
Meg
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