My 13 year old lab just finished a full mile walk for the first time in over a year and im a mess

Bear is 13 and a half. About 18 months ago his arthritis got bad enough that walks became 5-10 minutes max, and even then he would limp by the end and need to lay on the cool tile for an hour after. We tried glucosamine, fish oil, the carprofen on bad days, a memory foam bed, the usual. Some days were better than others but the trend was just down.

About 4 months ago our vet finally suggested we try librela (the new monthly injection). It wasnt covered by insurance and its expensive but at this point i was watching my old man fade and i didnt care about the money. Took about 3 weeks for it to fully kick in.

This morning we walked the full lake loop near our house. One mile. He was sniffing trees, lifting his leg on every other bush like a young dog, and when we got home he wanted to keep going. I sat in the driveway and cried. My husband cried too when i told him. We didnt think we had this version of him left.

Im not here to advertise a med, every dog responds differently and there are real side effects to watch for. I just wanted to say if your senior is struggling and you havent talked to your vet about the newer arthritis meds, please do. We almost gave up on long walks forever and now we get to have them again, even if its just for a little while.