My Alphabet Song

I have my own version of the alphabet song that we all learned as little tots. Here's mine.

ACL and OCD,
MMM and GME.
We're half way thru the alphabet,
And that's as far as I want to get.

For those of you who are frequent readers, you know what I'm referring to here. For anyone new 
dropping by, those are all conditions that my three oldest dogs are currently dealing with.

This afternoon we had an appointment with Dr B to assess Tsar's progress. Keep in mind that we don't really know what is causing Tsar's problem. It could be inflammation in the brain or it could be a tumor. I was understandably anxious going into this exam.

When Dr B entered the exam room he noticed immediately that Tsar's response to him was normal. Tsar usually looks at him suspiciously and backs away from him. He reacted just that way today and this is a good thing. Tsar was able to move his head all around and follow movement with his eyes.

Next Dr B picked up Tsar's back legs and made him walk across the exam room on his front legs. He was able to do it without collapsing or losing balance. Tsar did not like this game at all and shot the doctor a nasty look.

So, Tsar's front legs are stronger than they were, and the problem he's having seems to be a placement problem rather than a weakness. Once he gets moving, he's fine. The swaying we notice at times is just from tiring easily.

We're going to cut his prednisone back to alternate days, the same schedule that Samba is currently on. If this is inflammation we're hoping that his body will adjust and start picking up the slack on the off days. If we're dealing with a tumor, the symptoms will start creeping back and we'll have to change plans. I have to start observing weekly trends now instead of noticing each day and sometimes each hour. Dr B know me too well and knows that I observe the smallest change in behavior. He reminded me that we'll have good days and not as good days.

In the meantime, here is a picture of my miracle girl, Samba, playing over the weekend. She can catch her ball in the air and carry it to us. You'd never know she was sick to watch her at play.

If only they could all do this well.