In animal sanctuaries there are dogs of all shapes and sizes… and some of them are very old. Milo was, until recently, one such dog. It’s hard for sanctuaries to find homes for dogs like Milo; they are often ill or needy and require a lot of attention and patience. Additionally, many people worry that it will be too sad to befriend an animal who has only a few months left to live. At Ethical Pets, we have cared for a dog like this before, called Beth: we found living with her a wonderful and fulfilling experience, so we have decided to do it again! This time, we are keeping a blog in the hope that maybe others will consider adopting their own little Beth or Milo one day. So, here it is: our record of Milo’s Last Miles.
Joey and I decided to catch those last few rays of summer sun with a week’s camping trip down to Dorset, and Milo came too! We weren’t quite sure how he would react to life in the great out doors (well, Eype House Camp Site anyway) but it turns out he loved it!
Fun times
Milo seemed to really enjoy being outside or nearly outside for most of the day. He liked to sit and look out of the tent, I think he was listening to the sea perhaps. The local beach, which was just 200 meters away, was a pebble beach and the sound of the stones being dragged out by the tide was really something. He also enjoyed walking in the beach, especially the sandy beach at Weymouth, which has a dog area near the pavilion. He spent a lot of time trotting up and down, and sniffing at the seashells – and getting sand stuck to his nose. By the end of the week, he had so much more energy than usual, and used it all following me every where I went on the camp site. The fresh air seemed to be really doing him some good, he started to eat more as the week went on too! For breakfast and tea he ate a Yarrah Chicken Chunks Alu-cup with a little bit of Yarrah dry food too. He also ate a little bit of mashed potato, which is one of his favourites, but he doesn’t get it much at home as he gets it literally everywhere!
Sleeping Arrangements
Our tent has a good area for dogs to sleep, but Milo doesn’t have the best bladder control in the world… if he needs to go, he needs to go right away. If he is sleeping on his own he is okay, but if the other dogs wake him up in the night (with their noisy snoring!) he sometimes pee’s on the floor. In a tent, that would be rather hard work to deal, so we decided that Milo would sleep in the car. We lined the boot with a waterproof ground sheet and then filed it with nice soft blankets and a thick dog mattress. It worked really well, he slept right through and didn’t pee in the boot once. We were a bit worried it would be too cold but he seemed to be quite happy as it was so warm at night.
Getting out and about
Milo can move quite quickly when he wants to, especially if he is going down hill, but most of the time he is pretty slow. We didn’t want to leave him in the car however, especially in the sun, so we made him a little carrying device – which he loved! It was basically just a old rucksack, nothing fancy, but he really enjoyed being carried about in it and it meant he could come for walks on the beach and things with the other two dogs. Driving around with Milo was fine, even on the 5 hour drive down to Dorset. He just loves sitting in the front footwell, with Joey, and likes to rest his head on Joey’s knee and snore. We had to stop quite a few times for him to have a drink and go for a pee – but that was okay cause we got to have some vegan sushi from Waitrose service station!
Taking care of the bump
Milo has started to have a few problems with scabs and bruises on his fluid sack, we asked the vet if we could make him a hump-hammock and she said it was a very good idea. We decided the best thing would be to use a “buff” – a kind of tube-scarf sold in walking shops. The green/yellow thing Milo is wearing is a budget un-branded version of the buff – it works quite well, this model has a little draw string and toggle that is useful for keeping it in place. It supports his sack without squishing it, which is great, but it is a bit too wide so it might get pee’d on. I am looking for a smaller one at the moment, and if not, I will make him one 🙂
A good time dog
All in all, Milo had a great time on holiday and so did we. He is growing more and more attached to us now, and us to him too of-course. It’s taken a little bit of work but he is starting to feel like part of the family!
