“Here lies one who loved us and whom we loved.”
– from Eugene O’Neill’s homage to his dog Blemie, The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog
My wife Mary and I lost our Border Collie, Gracie, to Chronic Renal Failure in September 2009. She had been diagnosed with the condition early in 2008, and our vet told us she entered the final stage of the disease in January 2009.
Like many pet owners, we immediately went to the web for insight on the disease, and to learn about other owners’ experience treating their pets. We found some comfort there, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of material at the time – and so many pages were just aggregators leading to meds and dog toys sales sites. So I decided to keep a little track record on my blog (the original posts may be found at: http://hawksbillcabin.blogspot.com/search/label/canine%20renal).
Mary and I decided that a blog that serialized those original posts would be the best thing we could do to honor Gracie. I hope that our experience can help other owners prepare for the road ahead when they receive a similar diagnosis.
As my friend Penny at www.gimpydogs.blogspot.com says, please don’t use this diary to diagnose symptoms, or to replace the directions of your vet. If your pet is sick, please see a vet and get a diagnosis, then come back and use this diary if you would like to find information and support.
Diary of Gracie's Canine Renal Failure 
Thank you for your blog. don’t know how I came across it. I too have a 14 year old border collie who has just been diagnosed with renal failure. She has had one seizure two weeks ago and her numbers were worse today. She spent mother’s day at the pet hospital getting ivs. Your blog has been helpful in making me realize I need to prepare myself.
I don’t know if I am amble to do all that you did with the months of ivs (just got my first pkg) and watching her get thinner and weaker. Maybe it is better to just let God naturally let her pass. We are brokenhearted as she has been a wonderful companion for our family and my constant companion.
Thanks for listening,
Lori
We found out that Bronco, our 21 pound Papillon at age 11 has kidney disease (sounds better than renal failure…) on March 14, 2012. The vet says he has “rising kidney values” and is in the 1st stage. (By the way his markings are quite like Gracie’s). It seems that since then I have been obsessed with finding out anything I can about this disease. I tell myself I’m not going to look today because it’s so depressing but then I find myself right back there looking at new sites.One thing that’s driving me crazy is how long does he have? How long for each of the 4 stages? I was encouraged to see that Gracie lived with it for more than a year. I know from the research that I have done that I can’t look at him as an invalid, at least for now. I need to act normally around him instead of all stressed out – so hard to do that! Right now he is on blood pressure meds (his BP was 187/88 on March 21st). The vet said it was OK to keep him on his normal food – Pro Plan for sensitive Skin and Stomach as it has 26% protein which is not too bad. He loves baby carrots so he gets several of them a day. So far he’s eating pretty well – I need to add a little chicken or hamburger mixed with water for him to clean his bowl. Anyone who reads this and can share their experience would be most appreciated. I feel like I have to be upbeat, not just for Bronco, but for my husband who never thought he was a “little dog” person (we have had 2 black labs prior to Bronco) and is really attached to Bronco. Never having posted before, I hope I will be able to receive replies – keeping my fingers crossed!
Thanks, Margaret