My gorgeous Labrador reached 15 this weekend. He was diagnosed with dementia 2 years ago and seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. He lost cognitive and spatial skills, was understandably distressed as was I and his little mate Charlie. Geordie was an Assistance dog to people living with paraplegia and quadriplegia in his early years. I was one of his trainers. Luckily when he was retired early he came back to live with me. As is common, the dementia was undetected for quite some time. I thought he was grieving at the loss of his friend Cooper. They were very close and Coop passed suddenly after a series of seizures.
Our journey with dementia has been a roller coaster but having the McDowells team with us has made it easier and we have not only seen the symptoms slow but in some cases they have reversed. Geordie has mobility problems which are helped with a harness but he loves life, enjoys his walks and playtime and as any good lab does, he LOVES his food. Life is good. He is on herbal and vitamin treatment which has turned our lives around. I include myself in this as at its worst, the dementia meant none of us got a good nights sleep. We are now looking forward to 16!
Thank you,
Carol Welsh
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