Statuesque Amos

Although he is not quite as perfect as the bronze statue of Lassie that is in the garden of the James Michenor Art Museum in Doylestown, PA, Amos is looking quite happy these days because I finally did something about switching his anti-inflammatory medicine. Sam is hogging the photo, of course, but you can tell he is thrilled to have his playmate back in action!

Amos' daily walks in the park had become a struggle for him but it took my friends telling me that I should look into changing his drug to spur me on. Switching, of course, required a regiment of no aspirin-based products for four days to make sure he did not "bleed out" from a new drug, so it did require some vigilance on my part. In other words, it was not something I wanted to do when I couldn't be around to monitor his demeanor.

Well, I am happy to report that the entire procedure was so well worth it I am kicking myself for waiting so long. Amos managed beautifully on the straight painkillers for four days and as we gradually let the new drug kick in, I am reducing his pain killer dose.

Today, in the park, he galloped--yes galloped ahead of the goldens and even barked to let them know he was coming through!! To say he is feeling great is an understatement. He is feeling, well, like Lassie.

And the good news is that the new medicine is only once a day and the doctor says we may be able to reduce the dose to half of what he was taking before.

Moral of the story: if you are thinking your dog is in pain, he probably is and if there is something you can do about it, you should.