The Miracle of the Disposable Diaper...

My readers who know me will understand that this is a most unlikely title for a post of mine.  Debbie and I don't have any children, and don't particularly like children (though some recipes might tempt us).  So why would we know anything at all about disposable diapers, much less think them miraculous?

If you're inclined to make cracks about elderly incontinence, you'd be getting close – but it's not us that's having that problem, it's one of our dogs: Lea, our 15 year old female field spaniel.

According to data from the Field Spaniel Society of America, it's quite rare for field spaniels to live to this age (their data shows 1 of 366 dogs living to that age, and none any older).  Stroke is the most common identified cause of death at that age in field spaniels.

So we know that each day we have Lea still with us is a minor miracle in and of itself.  Amazingly she has no major health problems of any kind.  She has a treatable thyroid condition (very common, treated with tablets), and a strange hair problem (her hair is very thin and less dense than normal), but otherwise she's fine. 

Recently she's been unable to control her urination.  This was a miserable cleanup job for us, especially since most of our house is carpeted.  This is a common condition for elderly female dogs, and is often treatable with hormones – which we've tried, but unfortunately the treatment didn't work for Lea. 

So we started isolating her in a baby playpen, with absorbent pads on the bottom of it.  That worked in terms of keeping the house clean, but was miserable for Lea.  Some online research led me to another answer: diapers, specifically, modern super-absorbent polymer based disposable diapers.

There are some disposable diapers made specifically for dogs, but they're expensive – around a dollar each.  Diapers for human babies, of the right size, are much less expensive – about one third the cost.  The fit for a dog is different than for a human baby, but aside from a hole for the dog's tail they are actually very similar.  I found several posts from other dog owners dealing with this problem who recommended (quite specifically) Huggies “Snug and Dry” diapers with a manually-cut “tail hole” in them.

So we bought a small, experimental package of these diapers to see if they would work.  Here's the miracle part: they do work, and they don't interfere with Lea's normal behavior around the house.  Cutting the “tail hole” turns out to be a trivial affair – about 5 seconds with my pocket-knife, to make a slit.  The diapers come printed with a pattern that makes it easy for me to put the hole in the right place each time (I'm sure that wasn't their intent, but it works just fine nonetheless :).  The diapers have velcro-like fastening tabs that are reusable and secure.  The fit is not a problem at all; dog hips and baby hips are sufficiently similar that the same diaper fits tightly on either.  Lea's fur never gets wet, I think because when she urinates it goes straight into the diaper's absorbent polymers, right through a permeable layer on the inside.  The reusability of the fastening tabs allows us to remove the diaper before walking her, and (assuming she hasn't peed in it) putting it back on afterwards.

On average, the diaper saves us a house mess about once a day.  A couple of times I've been very surprised when removing the diaper, because it was quite heavy with captured urine – it is simply amazing how much those diapers can hold.  The payoff is that our ancient and beloved dog can be with us and her fellow dogs, just as she is used to – without us having to pay the price of a soiled home.  The diapers don't cost much (roughly $10/month) and they're really not much effort.  That qualifies as a miracle in my book!

Now we've ordered a bigger box of diapers, and we're hoping that one of these fine days we'll need to re-order...

Our Beautiful Old Girl...

Just a moment ago, as I was working away in my office, I heard a soft snoring start up behind me.  I turned around in my chair to find Lea, our oldest dog, splayed out on the carpet, and I managed to snap the photo below without waking her. 

When I'm working at home I often find that she's parked herself close by me, seeming to take comfort or pleasure in my presence.  Some might say she's an unattractive dog – her weepy eyes build up dried mucus that we have to constantly clean, and her nose is similarly caked.  Her hair is all scraggly; she suffers from some unidentified disorder that has made her formerly luxurious, curly coat look more like a moth-eaten rug with a hormone problem.  We don't give her haircuts often because it stresses her out, and at her age, she doesn't need that.  She's otherwise actually quite healthy, and considering that she's about 16 years old (already much older than your average field spaniel attains), that's really saying something.

I think she's the most beautiful dog in the world.

Whenever I pay attention to her, she's ecstatically happy and her tail wags as fast as it can go (though that's not so fast these days).  She's always at the door to greet me when I come home, and mourns from the doorway when I leave.  She squeals with gratitude when I give her a treat (which I'm going to do right now - some warm milk).  I can do no wrong in her eyes.  She loves me no matter what mood I'm in, no matter what I'm doing. 

I make a point of spending some time with Lea every day, because I don't know how much longer she'll be with us.  She's given us more pleasure and love than we can possibly reciprocate, though we try.  She's my beautiful girl, and don't you say otherwise...

One Happy Dog...

As I made my lunch a few minutes ago (more on that in the next post), the two dogs who are home with me (Mo'i and Lea) were watching my every move.  They acted as if they hadn't been fed in months, but since I had personally fed them just last night, I knew this wasn't true.  But Lea got to me anyway, because while she's still in great health, she's old enough now that her main joys in life are (a) sleeping, and (b) eating.

So she gets extra “treats” from me frequently.  I've tried to be creative in what I get her, to give her a little extra enjoyment.  I may have hit an all-time high today.  I took a couple of pieces of genoa salami (which she was acting very interested in) and blended them with a few ounces of milk (a well-known favorite).  Then I warmed that slightly in the microwave, and broke up a piece of potato bread crust into it.  I let the bread soak, then gave her the bowl.

When you know a dog as well as we know Lea, it's easy to tell when she's happy.  Lea was happy as she ate that bowl of doggie joy.  Her tail was wagging, and she came over to see me every few laps – just to say “thanks” so far as I could tell.  When she was all done, I was treated to five minutes or so of a very affectionate old dog acting like she was a puppy again.

Glorious.  And an absolutely wonderful antidote for the chore I'm working on today.

Thanks, old girl...

Happy Dog Story...

At 12 years, Lea is our oldest dog (the photo at right is four years old).  She's still in good health except for a condition that affects her coat, but she's definitely showing signs of age.  It's harder for her to get going in the morning, and she can no longer jump up on our bed as she used to.

So she gets a little special treatment now and then, and I make sure to pay attention to her each morning.  Over the weekend, Debbie had the other three dogs at an agility meet (where they took 3 first places and 1 second place) – so Lea was home with me with no dogly companions.  I made her a treat that she really enjoyed: I broke up a couple pieces of bread into small pieces, soaked them in milk, and warmed up the resulting concoction.  Dog heaven!  She dug into that with much more gusto than she normally expends on her food.  It was obvious how much she enjoyed that treat.  Sure felt good to make our old girl so happy...

A Dog, A Rope

It doesn’t take much to make our dogs outragously, completely-out-of-control happy. Here Lea (our seven year old female field spaniel) is playing with a rope — and having an absurd amount of fun with such a simple toy!

These pictures were taking just before daybreak yesterday, as we left our house for our morning walk. That’s contributing to this dogly joy, of course. Also adding to it: the “rope” in question is actually a horse lead that we use for a leash — and the dogs know that leashes mean walks.

It doesn’t seem to matter how often or how regularly we go on our walks. Each one is a new occasion for dogly joy; they never tire of them and the walks never become just a routine. They sure make being happy look easy…