It's never long enough: A practical guide to caring for your geriatric dog

As our dog's muzzle turns grey and their footsteps begin to wobble, we often wonder what more we can do to ensure our aging companion's well-being. Based on more than 15 years of veterinary visits with her geriatric dog patients and their families, new studies in animal and human health related to aging, and a lifetime of heartfelt tales about her own beloved senior dogs, Dr. Mary Gardner answers vital questions pet parents ask about how to extend and enhance older dogs' lives and better manage the pressures of caregiving for ailing dogs.

Breakthroughs in veterinary healthcare and deepening people-dog relationships have helped dogs live longer. Yet it seems our canine family members reach their senior years after only a few fleeting moments. Keeping our silvered-muzzle friends physically comfortable and emotionally engaged sometimes brings struggles that pet parents may not be fully prepared or equipped to handle. We may juggle tasks that involve alleviating pain, meeting special nutritional needs, creating a senior-dog-friendly home, and cleaning up frequent messes-along with learning to recognize and successfully manage our own caregiver-related stresses.

With warmth and a steady dose of humor, Dr. Mary Gardner's go-to guide is perfect for dog parents who want to ensure their furry family members continue living their best lives throughout every stage of their golden years. From cloudy eyes to crusty noses, knobby knees to achy hips, picky eating to tucked tails-and everything in between-parents of senior dogs will learn which ailments their dogs will commonly confront and how these impairments may affect their lives.

Dr. Gardner guides pet parents in supporting geriatric dogs' well-being and navigating the complexities of providing elder-dog care at home, including:

• watching for age-related issues,
• identifying health warning signs that may require veterinary assistance,
• implementing simple home hacks to ease dogs' daily activities and pet parents' caregiving,
• selecting tools, products, and resources that soothe aging dog ailments,
• choosing the veterinary medical care that best aligns with pet parents' goals,
• asking key questions during veterinary visits,
• anticipating the trajectories or patterns that certain illnesses follow,
• assessing life quality,
• managing caregiver fatigue,
• evaluating options for aftercare,
• experiencing and coping with loss, and
• honoring your dog and their impact on your life.

Drawing on her veterinary medical expertise and focus on geriatric pet healthcare, Dr. Gardner helps us walk our wagging-tail family members through their twilight years with dignity and celebrate the deep relationships we share with our dogs.

There is nothing better to Dr. Gardner than a dog with a grey muzzle or skinny old cat! Her professional goal is to increase awareness and medical care for the geriatric veterinary patient and to help make the final life stage to be as peaceful as possible, surrounded with dignity and support for all involved.A University of Florida graduate, she discovered her niche in end of life care and is the co-founder and CIO of Lap of Love which has over 250 veterinarians around the country dedicated to veterinary hospice and euthanasia in the home.Dr. Gardner and Lap of Love have been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, The New York Times, the Associated Press, The Doctors and numerous professional veterinary publications. She is co-author of the textbook The Treatment and Care of the Veterinary Patient, co-author of a children's activity book focused on saying goodbye to a dog called Forever Friend, and the author of a book dedicated to pet owners It's Never Long Enough: A practical guide to caring for your geriatric dog. Dr. Gardner also won VMX Small Animal Speaker of the year in 2020!