Bumpy Weekend

Why do the serious dog problems happen on holidays and or long weekends? Have you found that to be true with your dogs?

The weekend started out well. Saturday everyone seemed fine and the day passed quietly. Then Sunday rolled along and Miss Morgan had a crisis. It was one of those horrible days that you just feel helpless and try to do the best you can and nothing seems to work. She slept late Sunday morning, then seems a little groggier than usual in the afternoon.

Then in the late afternoon her right rear leg stopped working. She couldn't walk on it and started falling down. At first she'd struggle up by herself but she started getting more and more agitated. Soon she couldn't walk or even stand up by herself. She was very agitated by then and was thrashing around. I gave her some valium to try and calm her and Rob sat on the floor and held her, but she fought him and kept struggling.

Finally I called an early bedtime, gave her a little more valium and took her upstairs to bed. She calmed down and went to sleep. I don't think she moved all night. I got up several times to see if she was breathing. Neither Rob nor I got much sleep. I told him that I thought it was time to let her go and that I'd call the vet on Tuesday morning and arrange it. He agreed.

Monday morning came and Morgan popped up bright and happy and hungry. She went outside and came back in and ate a good breakfast. All day she was alert and happy and had no more trouble walking than usual. We helped her on the stairs but other than that she did fine. She even insisted on going for her little walk. She ate well last night and seemed happy. Rob and I were perplexed. I decided to have Dr B look at her and advise us.

This morning I set up an appointment for Morgan and Fudge. Morgan had a good morning and walked into the exam room by herself. She greeted the doctor and seemed quite relaxed. I explained the problem and he examined her. He doesn't think there's anything wrong with the leg except her arthritis. He thinks the problem is in the brain. Her heart sounds like a young dog and he said not to expect her to die in her sleep. He gave her a big injection of B12 and wants her to go up on her B complex vitamins and add extra B12 daily. He says she will most likely continue to deteriorate until the bad days are more frequent and we'll have to make a decision on quality of life, but for now she's going strong, if a little slow.

Then it was Fudge's turn. Fudge has been irritable and short tempered since his stroke. I thought it might be caused by pain. Dr B examined his legs and they seemed fine, but he thinks there may be a little pain in his spine, either from the stroke or just from arthritis. We're starting him on some pain meds to see if we notice a difference. Unfortunately the doc detected a problem with one testicle. He couldn't tell if it was anything to be concerned with so we'll just watch it for a bit. Don't tell Fudge, but he may be losing those parts since his career is over.

So for now we try to keep Morgan safe and happy and calm and try to encourage Fudge to chill out. It turned out to be a much better day than we had anticipated.