Poorly Toby

My poor little lad is not so well theses days. He is sixteen now and has a heart problem which causes fluid to accumulate in his lungs and abdomen. He is on heart medication but there is no cure and sadly it is just a question of keeping him comfortable for as long as possible. The above picture is from happier days.

Because he is blind he no longer enjoys going for a walk but happily potters about the flat most of the time. He has a constant cough and every now and then he takes a turn for the worse, stops eating and just wants to sleep so I expect him to breathe his last any moment and am ready to call the vet, then he perks up again for a couple of weeks. It is an emotional roller-coaster.

I am determined that when his time comes he will die peacefully at home, with or without the vet´s help. There is absolutely no way I´ll try and prolong his life so that he ends up in a dog hospital amongst strangers. For now we are just taking it one day at a time.