January 18, 2018

White Dog said, "I bet Stormer is the only one of Dr. Julia's patients who takes his meds mixed in cream with coffee." "She DID say give him whatever it takes," Steve responded.

Our aged gentleman, CA Stormer, has a regimen of medications that rivals the momma's and he has been on them for quite some time. His collection helps manage his pain from hip dysplasia, reduce inflammation from arthritis, slow his tumor growth, and generally keep his 17 year old body running as smoothly as it is able.

He is by no means a picky eater but across time and the number of medications given he has become sensitive to harsh or medicinal tastes and has learned to turn his head. Steve hates to add stress by using a pill shooter and Stormer's "jaws of death" keep our fingers away from prying open his mouth and sticking the pill inside.

So we have run through the gambit of fancy canned dog food, peanut butter, cream cheese, liver sausage, cheese cubes, wrapped in turkey, dipped in bacon drippings (honey, too), hidden in a meatball. All work for a while and then one day, "poof" the game is up.

His meds have been ground up and mixed in yogurt, in Ensure, in kefir, goat's milk and broth. He slurps up every particle for a few weeks then a change is required. We rotate through the list and sometimes THAT works, but the past two days have called for innovation on Steve's part.

Stormer has been part of the Coffee Club started by YoYoMa since the day he arrived. Every member gathers around momma in the morning to share my cup of a tiny bit of coffee drowning (as my black coffee drinking husband calls it) in heavy cream. Every member of the Club receives two drinks as the cup passes around the circle. As the Club has grown, the ritual now requires TWO cups each morning; one for the WDA and a second for me and the late to rise Nilla. Despite his declining mobility Stormer always gets his two sips...hand delivered by Steve.

So yesterday out of desperation, after having tried four different options, Steve tried a tablespoon of coffee mixed in a quarter cup of cream. Eureka! Worked like a charm. Stormer gobbled down his medication and licked the bowl dry. And this morning...almost as magical.

We are realistic enough to know this is just a passing enticement for our boy. Steve dreads the thought that some day it might just come to green tripe with its nasty irresistible smell that will have the entire WDA in a frenzy.