Montana
Friday, July 21, 2023
My dog is like my second child.
My sweet baby boy is getting old. The vet guesses that he’s now around 10 years old. We rescued Montana (I named him after Joe Montana because, well, it’s Joe Montana) back in July of 2019. Our prior dog, Holly, had passed suddenly in October 2018 at the age of 9. My ex-husband and I got her when she was just a puppy. Needless to say, I took her death hard. When we were finally ready to adopt, the boyfriend was pretty specific about the breeds he was good with. Good thing that I was okay with it. Don’t get me wrong, I REALLY wanted another lab or a retreiver, but I was good with a border collie or cattle dog.
It took MONTHS to find Montana. I looked at every pet adoption site around. I joined the NorCal Border Collie rescue site. Every dog we found, we were either too late, or the foster was concerned with us having cats and kids. I was starting to get desperate. FINALLY, I found Montana (then named, Merlin) at the Sacramento SPCA. He had been there for a month and no one wanted him. He had a skin infection and didn’t get along with other dogs. The boyfriend and I drove down to see him in person. It was mutual love at first site.
For the last four years, he has not left my side. If I’m in the house, he’s within a foot of me. In fact, as I type this while sitting on my couch, he’s at my feet. We have a very strong bond. He’s MY boy. My fur baby. My constant companion. He has a very large piece of my heart. He’s also getting old.
Montana struggled for the first year we had him with a bad skin infection caused by allergies. The biggest problem was that he will lick his fur until the fur is gone and his skin is bleeding. He spent a lot of time in protective suits and in the “cone of shame”. I was beyond happy when if finally cleared up. He’s also had cataracts since we got him. They’ve only gotten worse. Over the last 8 or 9 months, he’s begun to lose his hearing.
The worst though, over the last month or so, he’s begun having trouble walking. His legs don’t look right. He can’t get any traction on smooth services, which means that we have to move the kitchen rugs around so he can get to his food and then go outside. He’s having trouble with the stairs and we’ve had to carry him more than once (which he absolutely hates). He’s stopped eating dog food and started to lose weight. I’ve started cooking him dinner (meat and rice) and he will eat for me.
I’m scared, I’m nervous, and I can’t lose him… I’m not close to ready.