Still alive

I feel at this point that I need to start posting daily pictures of Bella, mostly with the title "Still alive!" or maybe just the tag. She made it past the original month she was given by the vet after her early stage kidney failure condition was found. We believe it's mostly because she's been receiving fluids twice a week. The vet said without fluids, she has a month; with daily fluids she could have up to a year. Given that she's sixteen and a half, it's unclear if kidney failure is going to do her in or if something else will. She pretty much fears the vet now, shaking violently in the car once she realizes where we're going. It is now a balance between quality and quantity of life: no way am I going to torture the dog every day for a year just to keep her alive longer for my benefit. She struggles with walks, barely making it 20 minutes at a time; her back seems to hurt every time it's touched; she's deaf; she's blind in one eye and nearly blind in the other eye; she often misses items held next to her face; and she spends a large amount of time either sleeping or standing motionless staring at a wall. I try to make everything as much fun as I can for her, going for walks when she indicates she's ready to go, but, well, she's nearing the end of her life.

For now, however, she's still alive.

And kicking.

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