I Miss the Flowing Water

The Winter has been a hard one. From the moment we returned with James we have been deluged by cold and by one snowstorm after another. It has been helpful to have another set of hands to help with the animals as there is so much more work in cold weather than in the moderate variety.
Our black lab Mark continues to hang in. We still have him in the barn in a pillow and chux lined plastic dog house, where we can remove the lid to turn him, cover him with blankets and feed and water him. Caring for him is labor intensive because he has meds, and must be hand fed and watered. Other than that, he hangs in. His front legs and head are moving well but those back legs are still not able to balance or bear weight. He is occasionally incontinent, but we have his food and water on a schedule, and so we can change him and keep him clean also on a schedule. He looks terrific, and we have the greatest LOOKING dying dog anywhere. The vet still says that as long as he's eating, drinking, and enjoying his life without pain that there is no reason to euthanize him. How strange that some of our loved ones and our pets evaporate from our midst so quickly, and others hang on beyond what seems rational or sometimes even possible.
I hope snowless flowing waterfalls return soon. I am tired of the cold, the ice, and the snow.