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Originally Posted by breanab  A month or two ago, we found ayorkie crossing the street. He was so scruffy and weak we took him home gave him a bath and fed him. He ate his food like crazy. He clearly has been out on the streets for a while.... My mom has been so iffy about me getting a dog, she doen't like them. She actually let me keep this yorkie though. We took him to the vet, they said he's missing teeth and hes VERY old. (12-15) All he does is sleep and roam around. Also... he pees EVERYWHERE. he has an enlarged prostate because he is not fixed. AND they will not fix him because he's soo old. Also I dont know if hes gotten his shots or anything. This poor dog also is blind in one eye, he has a cataract. I fell in loev with him so fast and my mom and dad are starting to get over him and want him out of the house. I DO NOT want him going to a shelter because i know they will kill him because who is going to take a 15 yr old blind dog. I don't know what to do and he is currently wearing diapers alot. I tried the "sleeping in the cage" thing hoping if he peed on himself in the cage he would know not to do it next time. Nope. He peed in the cage and sleeps in it, and then i have to bathe him everyday. Which, he does not appreciate. He is my baby, bentley his name is,and i want to care for him until his day comes. Any comments on his peeing, ect.? |
Hello and welcome to YT~thank you for taking care of Bentley and giving him a safe home to live.
Last year I had a little foster by the name of Truman. I am noticing quite a few similarities between Bentley and Truman. He too was very old, picked up by animal control, dirty, weak, blind and had occasional potty accidents in the house toward the end of his life. He also had an anal adenoma that caused problems because when he came to me he was also not fixed. So I would like to give you my interpretation of what might be happening with Bentley.
First, you should assume that he is lost and as stated previously try to find his owner. There is a real possibility that he wandered away from home. Unlike a younger dog Bentley is blind and would not have wandered far from home. The condition that you found him in does not mean neglect by his former owners so please do not assume this as a fact. My suggestion would be to take along a friend and go door to door in the area that he was found and you might be able to find where he lives. I don't think that he would have wandered miles from home.
Secondly, you need to consider his vet care which could become costly. Please discuss this with your parents if you would need help with costs if he were to need medical attention in the near future. I will speak from my experience with Truman since he seems to be similar to Bentley in these aspects. He was vaccinated, neutered, chipped and had 9 teeth removed once in my care. What did the vet do for him when you took him for a vet visit?
I'd like to address the issue for peeing inside the house. I'm wondering if he is suffering from dementia which happened with Truman toward the very end of his life. He too began to have accidents and there was nothing I could be to prevent them other than him wearing a belly band. The poor little man didn't realize that he was inside my house when he would squat and pee right in front of me. He would walk right through it afterward and not think anything of it at all. When he was in the yard he would walk through poop too. Crating Bentley or putting him in an Xpen will not solve this problem. He just is very old and senile. My suggestion would be to always keep him in a belly band while he is inside your home. You also mentioned that he is wandering your home. This is also a sign on dementia and what Truman did too. He would just wander from room to room and then find his bed and sleep all day. Please know that this behavior is not something that you can expect to change. It will most likely get worse with time. I commend you for wanting to help with little guy and hope that if you cannot find his owners that you will be able to take car of him for the rest of his life. My suggestion would be to sit down and have a long talk with your parents to explain why Bentley has been acting the way that he has. Sadly, I think his days with you are very small.
I'd also like to address the idea that he could be taken to your local shelter for vet care. From my experience and what I see all over this country every day a sick, old, blind dog would not have a chance if dropped at your shelter. It would be cruel to do this to him. He would be scared and alone. Even in NO KILL shelters dogs are still PTS because of medical issues and his cards are not stacked in his favor. IF you do decide that he needs to be placed elsewhere a rescue would be a better choice but even then I would think it would be difficult because of all that is going on with his health. This is a sad fact of reality~but is the truth.
I would also like to offer a few belly bands for Bentley if you thought that this would help you to be able to keep him with you. Please PM me and I will make get make arrangements for my offer. You seem to be a very sweet and caring girl
