Super Dog

Last week all the Porties saw the doctor and all had excellent checkups. The blood work was perfect on all six of them. I was ecstatic but I still had the big one coming up. Morgan!

Morgan is 13 1/2 years old now and has had some medical problems in the past. At three she suffered liver failure as the result of a reaction to an antibiotic. She spent a couple weeks in the hospital and survived but has had liver disease ever since.

She has always suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder, but five years ago it escalated into a full blown anxiety disorder that caused strange behavior that was dangerous to her and to others. She's taken a combination of anxiety meds ever since.

Two years ago she tore her ACLs in both knees. She has arthritis in both back legs, hips and her left wrist. Her eyesight has been gradually diminishing for several years and at her last exam there was no pupil reaction.

Last year she dealt with the same cryptosperidium infection that took the lives of Samba and Sky. Morgan got hit with it twice over a three month period.

So you can probably understand why I was apprehensive about her vet visit on Friday.

It was an amazing visit! First her weight. She has lost two pounds since January and is at a perfect weight of 42.5 pounds.

Her ears looked good and there was a response in her eyes. Dr B thinks she can probably see as well as a person wearing sunglasses at night. This is an improvement.

She has a few lumps and bumps but none that look dangerous. If they grow he can remove them with a local anesthetic.

Although she still has her arthritis, she doesn't limp and she gets daily exercise, walking, some running with the other dogs and swimming in the summer. The doctor was amazed that she has actually gained muscle mass. She shows more muscle now than any time in the last four years. He says that's almost unheard of in a dog her age with her problems.

Two weeks ago we started reducing her anxiety meds and she's more alert and active. Though she's getting into a little trouble like shredding toilet paper, she's doing well and seems calm and happy on the reduced dosage.

Finally we did the blood test. When it came back it could have been the blood of a young dog. The only red mark was one liver enzyme that's still elevated, but it has come down from 1874 to 1136 since November and an all time high of 3202 last year at this time. Normal is 10-150.

Dr B said that the increased exercise, especially the swimming has helped her maintain muscle and that she may outlive all of us. I guess you can see why I'm feeling pretty happy today.