If You Could Read My Mind, Love... :(
Friday evening, Romeo and Mia ran to the backyard to play. I heard Romeo yelp and then he came back to me with his tail and ears down. He was very sore the rest of the night. Thankfully, the dogs had their annual exams booked for yesterday. We ordered blood work on Mia to see if there's an explanation for her obsessive eating of everything. The vet held off doing vaccines on Romeo because she didn't want to overwork his system. His back hurt so she prescribed Metacam, bed rest, and we'd have to carry him up and down stairs and onto furniture. By the evening, he was still a little tender but way more alert, happy, and interested in things.
Andrew took them outside around 5 a.m. and Romeo snuck past him to hop up onto the bed (he had also hopped off the bed in the afternoon, much to my surprise). A few hours later, I noticed he kept sitting up and looking uncomfortable, not wanting to lie down. When I went to take them outside, he was stumbling all over the place. Back to the vet we went (though we had to go to the sister clinic as our vet isn't open on Sundays). By then, his back legs were simply giving out on him and he couldn't stand. We took an x-ray (I helped hold him down) and there's calcification between 2 vertebrae in his upper back (which is where it was sore for the vet yesterday). Something may have pushed that around to push against the spinal column. The good things are that his back legs react to pain, his anal muscles still work, and his bladder muscles seem to work, too. However, if he can't pee on his own then he'll have to have his bladder expressed. They put a catheter in to get any urine out and now we just wait.
Basically, she would like him to have surgery. However, the biggest problems are that no one in Winnipeg does back surgery on dogs so he would have to be sent to Saskatoon or Minnesota. The cost is around $4,000. He could also be a candidate for a cart but he may still have to have his bladder expressed. That's the case with a dog they had in clinic and she said he has a good, happy quality of life.
The vet asked me, "Do you think he's in pain?" Working in a vet clinic, I know that question really means "is he worth saving?" I said I honestly don't think he is. He reacts happily to things; he's alert; he's eating food. It's just his back legs aren't working for him. She agreed that he doesn't seem to be in pain so we have to weigh our options.
In the meantime, he's on Metacam and Tramadol and strict kennel rest for at least the rest of the week which she admitted is not an ideal life. All we can do is hope he'll pee for us tonight/tomorrow. I've given him an ice cube and forced some water into him. He's sleeping right now as his new med has made him dopey (also, he ended up chewing the pill instead of swallowing it whole >.<) which is good because I think some sleep will be good for him.
I set him up in his kennel and went in another room to cry. I hate this. I really, really hate this. He was abandoned on the street and we saved him from the pound. He's still such a young, happy, good dog that everyone loves. Why did this have to happen? Of course I'd love to say that $4K is no big deal and he should have the surgery...but it's a lot of money. I guess all I can hope for is that if meds and rest don't help then maybe a cart will work for him.
Andrew took them outside around 5 a.m. and Romeo snuck past him to hop up onto the bed (he had also hopped off the bed in the afternoon, much to my surprise). A few hours later, I noticed he kept sitting up and looking uncomfortable, not wanting to lie down. When I went to take them outside, he was stumbling all over the place. Back to the vet we went (though we had to go to the sister clinic as our vet isn't open on Sundays). By then, his back legs were simply giving out on him and he couldn't stand. We took an x-ray (I helped hold him down) and there's calcification between 2 vertebrae in his upper back (which is where it was sore for the vet yesterday). Something may have pushed that around to push against the spinal column. The good things are that his back legs react to pain, his anal muscles still work, and his bladder muscles seem to work, too. However, if he can't pee on his own then he'll have to have his bladder expressed. They put a catheter in to get any urine out and now we just wait.
Basically, she would like him to have surgery. However, the biggest problems are that no one in Winnipeg does back surgery on dogs so he would have to be sent to Saskatoon or Minnesota. The cost is around $4,000. He could also be a candidate for a cart but he may still have to have his bladder expressed. That's the case with a dog they had in clinic and she said he has a good, happy quality of life.
The vet asked me, "Do you think he's in pain?" Working in a vet clinic, I know that question really means "is he worth saving?" I said I honestly don't think he is. He reacts happily to things; he's alert; he's eating food. It's just his back legs aren't working for him. She agreed that he doesn't seem to be in pain so we have to weigh our options.
In the meantime, he's on Metacam and Tramadol and strict kennel rest for at least the rest of the week which she admitted is not an ideal life. All we can do is hope he'll pee for us tonight/tomorrow. I've given him an ice cube and forced some water into him. He's sleeping right now as his new med has made him dopey (also, he ended up chewing the pill instead of swallowing it whole >.<) which is good because I think some sleep will be good for him.
I set him up in his kennel and went in another room to cry. I hate this. I really, really hate this. He was abandoned on the street and we saved him from the pound. He's still such a young, happy, good dog that everyone loves. Why did this have to happen? Of course I'd love to say that $4K is no big deal and he should have the surgery...but it's a lot of money. I guess all I can hope for is that if meds and rest don't help then maybe a cart will work for him.