Poor little fellow. Such a sweet face. All the best--I can identify with some of those problems.

My poor old fellow is 19 now and has been such a good dog. He has cataracts now so I have to

guide him to the door for his breaks. He can't hold it either and I have begun to experience those accidents. I will be devastated when he is here no longer.

I’m so happy for Bowie! He’s got a home ❤️ A wonderful act of love…. thanks for sharing…..and thanks for what you do 🙏🏽

He is such a cutie!!

For awhile Carmelita was getting me up 2-3 times a night to go out to potty. She was put on Hill's Kidney Care food and she's back to being able to go all night and then some without a break. Has Bowie's kidneys been checked?

Much gratitude and admiration for those who take in senior dogs.

Bowie is beautiful and I am so glad you have each other. He looks to be settling in just fine and I hope he an Scruffy can become friends or at least tolerate each other. Have you tried holding Scruffy in your lap to introduce them?

I think our next dog, if we get one should be a senior. They need a warm and loving home, too, just like the younger ones. I cannot imagine a house without a dog.

I'm so glad you gave him a home. He's precious! Thanks for the update!

such a sweet boy! i can so relate to age problems, most of my rescue danes were seniors when i adopted them. since they didn't have vision issues, the dog door was the best thing i ever did! i hope you, joey and bowie have tons more time together!! 💖

Adorable boy! He's a lucky fellow to have been taken in by you. And I think you might be lucky as well!

Thank you for giving an older guy a lovely life.

Hugs to you for opening your home and heart senior.

Alisande, what a wonderful and heartwarming story to read. Thank you for sharing.

When we brought a dog into the house my vet recommended constantly switching the bedding between the cat and the dog. I also rubbed their faces with it to mingle their scents. You could try crating one of them so they could safely check each other out.

Lisa and Cyn427, when Bowie's former owner surrendered him to the shelter she said he was good with cats. At first he didn't react to Scruffy at all--he would give her a casual sniff as he walked by and kept going. The two episodes of lunging and barking happened when she was walking toward him several feet away. At the time, I didn't realize his vision was as poor as it is. I really think he had no idea what he was barking at.

For decades we had multiple dogs and multiple cats at the same time. I've been spoiled, but I'm optimistic about fixing the current situation.

Murraysmom, I'm glad the special food worked for you and Carmelita. Bowie's bloodwork was good. He can go 7 hours between walks at times, so I think I just need to get better about napping. 😴

I meant to mention that I've been giving Bowie Super Snouts Joint Power green-lipped mussel powder for his arthritis, and it really seems to be helping. I actually saw him run recently! It was indoors, and he ran only about 8 feet to get one of his toys, but it was so unexpected--a happy surprise!

Oski can hold all night, nevertheless we set up some pee pads in the spare bedroom, one flat, one propped up vertical since he's a boy. He uses them maybe once a week. I acquainted him with the purpose by blotting a fresh one in the grass where he peed to get the scent on the pad. This way we don't worry about being gone for a good part of the day.

Alisande, I'm so sorry about your sleep troubles. Could you get up around midnight or 1 am and then maybe get back to sleep? I know, it's difficult because we NEED our sleep!

socks -- Another example of what a bright boy Oski is!

Alisande -- What I'm going to say won't be popular here, but... YOUR well-being is more important than any dog's. Nobody needs to feel guilty when things get too far out of balance. I hope you can solve this problem, but it's possible you can't.

I have made that mistake. By the time we put our last dog down, I resented him.

i went through a spell a few years ago when i woke in the middle of the night and absolutely could not get back to sleep. i started taking a tylenol PM every night and that helped tremendously. i did that for a couple of weeks and it seemed to break the cycle. i have zero problems now.

OK. Got it.

This is a variant on the extended family logic where Grandma takes the overnight shift with the new baby because, "She's awake anyway." How can we reshape that to solve this problem? Can someone else take over during the day while 'Grandma' naps?

When my mind races between midnight and 3 a.m. I take half a zolpidem 5 MG pill.

DH has success with melatonin gummies, 10 MG before bed. He had no relief taking the 3 MG that's supposed to help when waking in the middle of the night.

No combo of melatonin helped me, but an aspirin has sometimes helped. We're not always aware that our aches and pains interfere with sleep.