Artie Vandelay The Beagle Turns 13.5 Years Old Today

My beagle Artie Vandelay turns 13.5 years old today.  A year ago, had someone asked me if he would see his 13th birthday (July 1st), I would have said that it would be a miracle since he was struggling with Arthritis and occasional Pancreatitis flareups, that were incredibly painful.   

Around June of this past year, Artie started taking Pet Releaf CBD Hemp Oil in addition to his pain medications and low-fat prescription food from the vet.  After about 2-3 weeks on Pet Releaf, his energy levels noticeably improved as our morning and afternoon walks increased in distance.  Since I rarely put his leash on him, he would pick the route of our afternoon walk.  Some days, when he had a lot of energy, he'd lead me up the hill to the Dog Park on Skyliner's Summit.  Usually, the next day after he had taken the hilly route, he wanted to do a flatter course around the neighborhood, which would cover at least one mile.  

Back and forth we'd stagger the walks depending on how he was feeling.  It was always his call.   (And this was on top of his early morning 1-1.5 mile walk along the Deschutes River Trail).   

During November, our last month living off Mt. Washington Drive, Artie started jogging the final 2.5 blocks down the hill straight to our front door on the days we came back from Overturf Dog Park.  It was impressive considering just 3-4 months earlier, prior to taking the CBD hemp oil, he looked like he was in a lot of pain walking and would often stop and turn around just a few hundred yards into the walk.  I figured out that he was hungry and excited to get home for dinner, including Applegate Roasted Chicken Breast slices.  Thus, the need to jog down the hill and get back to the house as quickly as possible! 

Artie's final years have been a great gift to me.  He's helped me open my eyes to the care that older dogs need.  After he crosses over to the other side, I will be getting another older dog or two and will continue adopting special needs senior citizen dogs the rest of my life.  And I'll spoil them with good food, treats, CBD oil, medicine, doggie ice cream, or whatever they need to make their final years of life as easy as possible, just like I've tried to do with Artie Vandelay, who today celebrates his 13.5 birthday.