Issue Date: 06/02/1999 | Dynamite Results |
14 Year Old Dynamite® Chessie! From Dynamite Supervisor Cheryl Moody, Palmer, Alaska
My greatest gift from Dynamite® has been the renewed health and vigor of my 14 year-old Chesapeake Bay retriever, who is my guardian angel and best friend. Neka tore a knee ligament at seven years of age, and had a major pancreatic episode at 10. At 11 years of age it was discovered that she had a heart condition, diagnosed after numerous seizures and attacks that should have ended her life. Her pancreatic condition had resulted in her having to maintain a very poor low fat diet, which then resulted in overall poor nutrition because I couldn't find a dog food she could tolerate that kept her healthy as well. Her arthritis was also progressing rapidly, often to the point that she needed help in standing. Neka refused to give up, so after a consult with a pet cardiologist she was started on the heart medicine Vasotec. This helped to increase blood flow through her heart, and we believe subsequently resolved the problems with her pancreas.
Neka had been on Ester-C® for approximately one year before I heard of Dynamite®, and she improved greatly when it was first introduced into her diet. She had been receiving Rimadyl for her arthritis pain, but it would often upset her stomach and she would refuse to eat. She lost close to 15 pounds while on Rimadyl and could not be tempted by much of anything. Adequan shots eventually replaced the Rimadyl, and she saw some relief for a few days after each shot. When Free N Easy(tm) for dogs became available, Neka was started on it right away. The difference Free N Easy(tm) made was nothing short of miraculous. She began racing through the woods, playing happily with our much younger and larger golden retriever.
We had to reduce her dose at one point because her atrophied muscles couldn't keep up with her new zest for life. At this point, Tracie pleaded with me to try Dynamite® Premium Dog Food, but I did so with great trepidation, having watched Neka suffer grievously through the pancreatic episodes of the past. I introduced the food slowly, with no problems at all. Her coat, which had not fully shed out for two years, started coming out in handfuls after just one week. In two weeks she had so much enthusiasm for her food that she started barking at dinner time, and racing around until her supper and supplements were ceremoniously presented. Her light brown coat was replaced by the deep rich brown color that I had not seen on her since she was about four years-old (except for the gray-but there was less of that too!). She gained back all her weight, and has more energy and "light" in her eyes than she's had for years. We also provide her with periodic Acuscope and Myopulse treatments, and she recently informed her animal communicator that she wants to live be the oldest Chesapeake in history. I don't know how old that will be, but I'm hoping it's another 25 years or so! In people years she'll be 100 on May 15; and we are already planning a festive celebration. Thanks, Dynamite®, for giving me more time with my best friend, and for helping to make her golden years more comfortable.