special needs pets

I don't mention our pets special needs much on here (ever?) but they do exist and cost us in vets bills.

Ace horse has COPD. Basically to the non horsey person he has asthma bought on by allergies in the Spring and Fall. Sometimes he just coughs, other times he stands there wheezing with his sides heaving as he tries to get in enough air. That's not that often but its often enough to be distressful to us both. Out comes the vet.
Right now, as its Spring and of course he's suffering he's on a dose of something new that seems to be working well (fingers crossed). Hes also on strict instructions to lose some weight so diets abound, for us both.
Winter hes perfectly fine... naturally.

Alpine dog also suffers from allergies that cause him to lick and scratch his skin on his belly. Now at 5 years old we have finally (it seems) found the winning formula of food and meds. The meds have to live in the freezer to ensure they don't smell of skunk. The new food is a win win for all of us as its actually cheaper and Duke adores it too, so hes happy with the outcome.
Through the whole time Alpines maintained a loving friendly and cheerful demeanor. I wish I could be that nice when greatly uncomfortable.

Oreo cat - she has upper respiratory infection and for the first 6 weeks of her time with us suffered greatly with cold and sinus issues as we tried to find the winning treatment. Shes been fine for a while now.

As you can imagine we are great advocates of pet insurance, and we have a close relationship with the vet.

This morning I went out to give Ace his meds and we played around a bit.
Neither of us are fans of the duck pout but gave it our best shot:

I just adore his goofy ears.