December 29, 2020

In this last post in the series of “Virginia Bear Updates” we’ll talk about her treatment.  Administering Virginia’s daily medicine takes a bit of time, but fortunately the team has figured out a routine that works well.

Below is my bucket of grapes and dried fruit, along with syrup (and my stool to sit on while giving meds). If you want to see Kate preparing and giving Virginia meds, click here. (This is a link to a 30-minute Field-Trip-Friday video. At 4:50 in, you can watch Kate- and Virginia- take care of the treatment. The whole 30 minutes is worth the watch though!).

All those meds are because of Virginia’s extensive osteoarthritis and spondylosis. She requires six different oral medicines and supplements. Her condition is not curative, so managing her symptoms is the best we can do.

Virginia’s current treatment costs about $3,500 annually. Yes, over $3,500. I did the math as it is necessary to know costs as part of budgeting. Treatment meds used to be around $1,000 annually, but we switched from a medicine that cost $15 year (yes, fifteen) to one that is $2,500. The Galliprant seems to be helping, but it is very expensive (too bad we cannot put Galliprant on our Animal Care Amazon Wishlist).

In addition to her daily meds, she also gets a laser treatment, and sometimes even acupuncture. Dr Harrison, can do acupuncture on Virginia, as well as other injections (chondroprotec can be injected to help as well).

The team continues to watch Virginia’s behavior and habits, and we’ll continue to adjust her treatment plan for as long as we can maintain her welfare and wellness.