December 21, 2007

More on aggressive dogs & neighborhood reaction

I was talking with a neighbor last night who mentioned the woman whose dogs were attacked by the Mastiff is thinking of selling her house. She just went through an extensive renovation of the home and has only recently (September) moved back into it after the remodeling was completed. Yet the attack set her on edge. She runs every day. She's a tall, strong woman and even she's unglued by the recent turn of events (including Lucy's attack). Another neighbor has said the same and would do so if the market was stronger. I think two people wishing to move because of dog attacks is hugely significant.

Moving may be an over reaction, but I understand their anxiety. If you don't feel your dog is safe or you're always anxious walking them, what are the realistic alternatives? Moving was one of the first things that crossed my mind, but there is no guarantee you or your pup will be safer elsewhere. Yes, our neighborhood does border a not so nice 'hood, but bad dog owners live everywhere. None the less, I know for the first time in my life I've considered going "dogless" when Lucy is no longer with us.

December 19, 2007

Aging

Lucy is aging. But as all dog owners know, watching age hit your favorite hound is hard. Her hearing is definitely waning. When she sleeps, she's out. Laying in the back yard soaking up winter sun rays is a pleasant experience; she doesn't feel the need to wander out of the yard although the gate may be open. Look at that beautiful white muzzle.

Her tripping continues and recently, tripping off her front leg has nearly brought her to the ground. Growing up we had a great old hound named Clem. He was an enthusiastic sneezer and I remember once he sneezed with such gusto, he hit his chin on the sidewalk and broke off a tooth. With Lucy's tripping, I'm afraid this might be a similar fate. It shocks me when it happens. There she is trotting along and all of a sudden, she crumples. She's back up rapidly and continues along. I have to remember that for her, it's merely an inconvenience. For me, it's a sign of something I'd hoped was a long, long way off.

December 9, 2007

Neighborhood Discussion

Another attack. This time a loose, aggressive Mastiff was the culprit. Is bigger better? This happened to a neighbor who jogs with her leashed dogs tied to a waist belt. She said the dog came out of nowhere, didn't ask questions, but went straight for the closest dog. This time she was jogging with only one of her three dogs and a neighbor's dog. The neighbor's dog was the one hit. Her dog also suffered some injuries, however, the other dog took the brunt of it. Both dogs are okay, but...

The jogger said if it hadn't been for someone driving by on his way to work, she didn't know if she could have beat off the attacker. As it was, the driver got out and helped. He also called Animal Control. We don't think the dog has been picked up.

When something like this happens, we have a phone/email tree to alert the other dog walkers we know in the area to alert them. Granted the last (known) attack was the two pit bulls who hit Lucy last March. None the less, we are all feeling on edge. We walk our dogs twice a day in the neighborhood and if we can't be assured that we/our dogs are safe, what's the impetus to walk? Drive elsewhere? Sure, but in reality with busy schedules, this isn't always possible. Any is anywhere else guaranteed to be safe?

We've talked of having Animal Control come out and let us know what we can do to safeguard ourselves and our pets. The last time I asked this of A.C., their response was honest, if disappointing. The man said there was nothing we could do except be alert and hope for the best. If owners don't assume responsibility for their pet, if they don't train it, care for it, restrain it, you are at their mercy.

My understanding is some cities have a two bite policy (one bite you're warned, the second bite the dog is put down). That policy is also the rule here. Additionally, other locales state that after the first bite, the owner has to post a bond. I don't know what the cost is, but I think that's a good idea. However, if the owner is a scumbag (my words), nothing guarantees they'll manage the dog any better or pay up. If the dog is taken, there is no guarantee the owner won't get another.

I sound fatalistic and am feeling so. At this point I just don't anyway around it.

November 27, 2007

Improvement & Fear

Let's start with fear.

Over the long Thanksgiving weekend we took Lucy mountain biking to a local park called Philip Arnold Park. The trails aren't very long, but they are technical for me, fun for my husband and a thrill for Lucy. To top it off, it's close to home. It was cold, barely 40 degrees, but it was sunny and almost dry, so the riding was fun. Lucy had a ball and though we only did 2 miles with her, I think it was plenty.

The next day we decided to duplicate the adventure. Back to the park, still cold, still dry, we unloaded ourselves, the bikes and the dog and took off. Instead of going around the perimeter of the park and then diving in to the woods, we started into the woods almost immediately. We found a trail that was new to us and enjoyed speeding along. Lucy, being a dog, didn't have to worry about short-cutting the trail. Another great day for her. Wow! Two days in a row running with my pack! Dog heaven.

You know how you get a gut reaction when least expected? Your going along just fine and then your perspective takes an abrupt left. Your internal antenna picks up an unknown signal when you didn't even know your antenna was up. All of a sudden I was aware of no Lucy. She often is in front of me and I can't see her, but my signal starting rapidly vibrating out of the blue. I called out to my husband to check if she was up ahead with him. Nope. He thought she'd run off the trail into the woods. This is not a great habit of hers, but she always circles back to keep up with us. Not this time. This time she'd vanished.

We called. We whistled. No dog. No noise of her coming through the brush. Nothing. Unfortunately Lucy is starting to go deaf. Her hearing is diminished in one ear and it makes it difficult for her to discern from which direction noise is coming. So our calling may have sounded like it was coming from the left versus the right, or ahead instead of behind. It's confusing for her and being visually separated from us without directional hearing compounds the issue.
My husband took off in one direction and stayed in the woods where we'd last seen her. Thank heavens for cell phones. We called back and forth. "Seen her?" "No." "Okay you take off on this trail, I'll take off on that." He rode back to the car, thinking she might have headed back there. No. Back into the woods we went, he on the inner trails, me on the outer.
And then I saw her. Standing. Panting. Head low. Exhausted. I called out and she spotted me, gave a woof of relief, plodded up to me, tail wagging low, relieved. Whew! What a blessing! What a close call! We must have been searching for over a 1/2 hour. We were both getting frantic. But she's back. We only did about 2.5 miles; who knows how many she ran.
Will she ever take off again? That was my husband's $1,000,000 question. I'd love to say no, but Lucy behaves pretty instinctively. She was hyped from running and sighting a bunny is enough excuse for a chase as she needs. I think we'll need to be much more attentive than we've been in the past.
On a lighter note...let's move on to the 'improvement' part of the title. I did a dog walk with a neighbor and her dog this afternoon. She said she couldn't believe the improvement she saw in Lucy. It's probably been three weeks since she last saw her. This is great news. She said Lucy was rarely dragging her paws. Because I see Lucy daily, I don't notice that she continues to get better, I just notice that she still drags her feet. I guess she's doing it much less than previously. Isn't that a wonderful way to leave this post?
P.S. There is no water at the park. The picture is actually from a trip to the ocean, but it's the only picture I have of Lucy running.

November 20, 2007

What is it with some owners?

What is it with some dog owners? I've mentioned how concerned I am about any dog attack now that Lucy is on the road to mend (and after we spent an arm and a leg getting her there). Well tonight we had another dog 'episode' on our walk.

Our neighborhood, despite the housing crisis, is seeing some pretty major remodeling. The homes are typical one-story 50s ramblers and many new owners are putting on a second story maximizing a pretty phenomenal view. That means, of course, that the streets are teaming with construction workers. Some of those workers bring their dogs to the site for which I've yet to see a single dog tied up. There's one house that has a loose (but of course!) large boxer cross who is not dog-friendly. In the past, the dog has come out into the street and stalked us keeping close behind, but not pressing the distance.

Tonight he tore out at us. I yelled to the owner, who yelled at his dog. The dog stopped, then charged again. The owner yelled again, the dog paused but continued the charge, the owner yelled again and grabbed him. Keep your frikkin' dog tied up buddy! This is something that absolutely drives me berzerk. Do they think their dog can't be hit be a car? Do they think they can control the dog when they're inside shooting nail guns? Can they hear their dog? I doubt it. I feel like calling animal control. I think I will.

November 12, 2007

The story of another dog

This post doesn't have anything to do with Lucy, but my brother's dog Arnie. Arnie is an unclipped, miniature schnauzer who's a bit on the round side. Arnie is 6 and light tan in color. He's a smart little guy and friendly. My brother mentioned that a tumor was growing on Arnie's shoulder. In fact, it was growing really rapidly and it had gone from hardly noticeable to big enough to interfere with the movement of his front leg.

He took him to the vet and the vet did a cell biopsy to screen for cancer. It came back negative. The vet did a couple of other tests to check for tick-borne illnesses (Lyme's disease, etc.) and those came back with equally good reports. But the lump kept growing. Now Arnie's eating has slowed down to just about nil and he's lost his enthusiasm. He's gone from strutting his stuff, to limping, and now, to barely walking.

My brother took him to the local veterinary research/teaching hospital. More tests. All negative. The vet said he thought it could be infiltrative lipoma and that surgery usually wasn't successful. My brother is as crazy about his dog as I am about Lucy. The research I've done on the Internet doesn't sound very positive about this condition. It isn't cancerous, yet it grows rapidly insinuating itself—infiltrating—muscle fiber and sometimes even bone. Although I haven't seen this listed as cancer, it certainly sounds cancerous to me in that it is so insidious.

The problem with surgery is because it has infiltrated surrounding tissue, they cannot be assured of getting all of it out. Because the tumor is rapidly growing, it will just reconstitute. If it is caught early enough, and surgery is followed by radiation, there is hope that it can be eradicated...but at what cost (literally and figuratively)? The earliest Arnie could get in for an MRI is next week. If he isn't eating and barely moving, if his bodily functions aren't working, what chance is he going to have?

This is so sad...

November 6, 2007

Attack Reaction

Lucy was attacked by two loose pit bulls in March. I don't think they created her back problem, but I do think they exacerbated it. They knocked her down and continued to do so, one from the front, one from the back until my brother and I could fight them off. After the attack, Lucy went from occasionally stumbling to barely walking. So naturally, I've been very concerned about loose dogs.

Lucy has 'anger management' issues, as a friend says. I don't deny that and it requires constant monitoring. She does not like loose dogs approaching while she's leashed. Did I mention she had been attacked by two other loose pits a couple months previous to the March attack? Or four different times by the same ill-trained, owner-ignored black lab? Or by another lab, this one brown? Our neighborhood isn't awful, but there are some oblivious owners and we do border a neighborhood where the primary business could be drug trafficking. So it's no wonder she's cautious about rapidly approaching loose dogs.

And it's also no wonder that when another loose pit charged us from behind yesterday morning that my reaction was swift. I carry pepper spray that can be effective, but isn't guaranteed. Yes, I've sprayed my dog and myself, but have always been able to eventually get the other dog off. I sprayed next to the dog's face. Close enough for the dog to smell it, but not directly in its face. A 'test' spray if you will and it worked. The dog stopped and backed off.

I was hesitant to walk that same block this morning, but thought "I will not be afraid." I am not going to curtail our walks because something may happen. However, you better believe I was alert. All went well. Whew...

October 29, 2007

Yahoo!

I'm so excited to report Lucy did her first mountain bike ride yesterday. It was very short (around two miles), but the first time she was completely off leash and allowed to run without curtailment. We purposely did not ride quickly and we purposely only went a short distance. At the end of those two miles, she was put back in the van with a greenie and she went willingly. Her back thighs were definitely quivering, but she was ready to keep going when we stopped to visit friends a couple of hours later. She was ready for her cocktail ball when we got home. And this morning she was ready for her walk and a romp with her (normally chained up but escaped) buddy, Duke. This is so inspiring!

We'll try this again next weekend if weather permits and we'll keep the number of miles small to build her strength and endurance. She might not be able to do 15 miles again, but 5 might be possible. She was so-o-o happy to be running in the woods again!

October 22, 2007

Zen & the Art of Dog Healing




I'm not an impatient person. In fact, friends often tease me because they think I'm not standing up for myself. That's not true. I just have a high threshold for waiting. Yet occasionally I'm caught in a hurrayupIwantittohappennow mode and am surprised when reminded to r-e-l-a-x. DH has recently done this to me.

I was telling friends that I was not expecting Lucy to run again and was content with that condition. Everything but her tripping is nearly normal and I didn't anticipate continued improvement. DH, however, said I've lost my perspective. He travels every week, so only sees her on the weekend. On each of his returns, he says he's noticed improvement in her gait. Personally, I think from behind, she still looks like a bit of a drunk the way her hocks slosh. And I do see her tripping throughout her two daily walks. But DH reminds me "all in good time."

When you pat her back end, you feel meat now, not bony hips. From a sitting position, her back legs are helping more and more for her to stand. The need to pull her self forward to get her back end up is diminishing. So this is when zen-like thoughts are called for.

P.S. I still have not heard from her vet surgeon, his tech or his office. In their defense, they are starting a new office on their own, so a return call to me is low priority. However, I am a little disappointed.

October 16, 2007

Words from the pros

The surgeon and vet tech that did the surgery on Lucy have left VCA to start their own clinic, so when I called VCA to ask some questions, I was in for a shock. "No, they're no longer here." Luckily VCA still has a neurosurgeon, Dr. Jessica Snyder, who looked over Lucy's file and called me.

My questions were twofold. One, Lucy continues to trip and drag her feet. As often? I don't think so, but it does happen every walk, sometimes more than others. Dr. Snyder said to give her another month. To be honest, I don't think that will do it. I think this is what we can expect from Lucy and I'm disappointed for her. None the less, she is so much happier. Dr. Snyder also said that the nerves may not come back depending on how compromised they may have become prior to surgery, that Lucy's age or other extenuating circumstances (weight, arthritis, etc.) may also contribute. Well, Lucy isn't overweight—in fact, we've been trying to put weight on her, and she doesn't have arthritis (those tests were done prior to surgery). But she is 10 and who knows what genetic issues she inherited.

Dr. Snyder also said in some circumstances, the screws they used to stabilize Lucy can sometimes work loose and that may be why she's tripping. She immediately said that she doubted this. Whew!

My second question was can we let Lucy dictate her own activity level. What I mean by that is if she wants to run, can we let her? Dr. Snyder said no, not yet. Wait another month or so.

Like all aging creatures, my guess is Lucy is not going to be able to run (for any length). Because she continues to trip, running probably isn't good for her as that could mean a broken leg. And that's the last thing we want to have happen in the tooleyberries! Can she still enjoy camping and the woods? Absolutely! Hikes may be her new mountain biking!

I finally was able to locate Dr. Sanders, the surgeon. I put a call into him last week and we'll see how long it takes for a return call...

October 10, 2007

Fur growth

Lucy's fur is growing back in. It's been 10 weeks and the picture doesn't show the delineation as well as it does in person, but the patch is still visible. (It's within the boxed area!) If you look at the post She's Home, you'll see the difference. This new fur is very coarse and the rest of her coat is silkysilkysilky. Very bunny like. I'm hoping this is her undercoat and when the top coat comes in, it will match in feel the rest of her fur.

October 9, 2007

...and so it goes

We camped in central Oregon this past weekend and Lucy went on her first mountain bike ride since last March. She didn't go far (~3.5 miles), nor fast—more of a lope. Her hips were a bit shaky at the end, yet nothing like she'd experienced seven months ago. And happy? Positively! Her enthusiasm for the task was unstoppable.
The following day she went on a leashed 3 mile hike, and the day after that she rested. Here is a picture of her sitting in a lovely new blanket of snow.
Her tripping continues and is more pronounced when she is tired or not paying attention. This can be when she's walking ahead, but looking at something off to the side. I am not as anxious about this as I was. One, if it is a case of waiting for nerves to heal or mend, that will take a long, long time. It could also be, as Dr. Sanders said, that that will never change. Because her enthusiasm for life has been restored, I am not as concerned about the tripping as I was. None-the-less, it has to be monitored so she doesn't hurt herself.
One thing we do need to monitor, however, is a weak front right ankle and deafness in one ear. If she is loose in the woods and loping along, her ankle is a weak spot and could be seriously injured. Lucy has always been clumsy, so this is an issue. Also, during our last trip in September, her hearing seemed to diminish? disappear? on one side. I noticed that again this past weekend. We now need to be ears for her so that she doesn't get herself in trouble.

October 1, 2007

Stairs

This weekend was the first attempt at the basement stairs for Lucy. It was a mixed bag. Initially she went up without difficulty, although each step was thought out. There are 14 stairs, so it isn't an easy task and her deliberateness was understandable. I stayed with her going up. Going down she uses momentum and although "crashing" is a possibility, she is coordinated enough to avoid that.

I noticed after a dog walk, that the stairs became more monumental for her and her hips weren't quite up to it. She stopped part way (I'm still beside her) before completing them.

We're dog-sitting a friend's dog for 3 weeks and there is some rivalry between them. The other dog is alpha and definitely uses intimidation techniques to bully Lucy. One of the methods is to lay in a doorway so Lucy won't go past. Another is to lay in front of the dog door (not a comfortable spot and chilly) preventing Lucy from getting into or out of the house. The other is to stand at the top of the basement stairs...

Lucy and I were coming in from a walk and started up the stairs. We were about 2/3's of the way up when the guest dog plopped herself at the top. Lucy stopped, hesitating. I went to the top to move the other dog (verbal commands were ignored). Lucy's stalled upward momentum must have made her want to back down or caused some disconnect between her front and back ends as she started to sink in the rear and slide backwards. I was at the top and around the corner when I heard the noise of her scrabbling to get a grip. I ran back only to see her slide backwards, catch, try to turn to go down, slide sideways down a stair, catch, turn and complete the run to the bottom without falling.

Yikes! Way too close! My heart was pounding. While the other dog is here, no stairs, I can't monitor Lucy and the other dog at the same time. It also means, Lucy must be monitored using the stairs. I hope DH truly understands this. It also might mean, Lucy can't do the stairs, period. I doubt the latter, but it's something we'll have to watch closely.

September 24, 2007

Strength Training




Lucy's strength on our walks is improving. Sunday we did a rather long walk and although she periodically slowed way down, after a good back leg rub, she would pick up her pace and mosey on.

I wish I could say the tripping was lessening, but that remains a day-to-day issue. Some days it's nearly non-existent, others, like today, it's frequent. What's the difference? Yesterday she only got a morning walk; there wasn't an opportunity for an afternoon journey. Could stiffness be an issue? Does lack of movement one day affect agility the next? I don't know, but perhaps I need to pay a little more attention to that correlation. Despite the tripping, her speed is great.

September 21, 2007

Walkies #2

I must admit to being disappointed. I was so pleased at Lucy's stamina the other day, but she hasn't been able to equal it since. She's been timid about going on a walk. This is reminiscent of her behavior months ago when she got on a 'fearful' jag. "Oh! I can't go on a walk! There are bad noises out there!" I have very little sympathy for that.

Once I get her beyond our block, she's fine, so that's what I've done. But it isn't without some effort and cajoling. Yesterday she just couldn't do the length—or at least, I felt that was the case. She was dragging her feet more frequently and was walking quite slowly. I know that's the way it will be (for a while? permanently?). Good some days; not so good others.

We're dog-sitting for the next month for some friends. Their pup is not that old (11?), but quite arthritic and each day I'm making our afternoon walk (in which she joins us) shorter. I think today I'll take her around the block, then continue on with Lucy. I don't not want to walk Suki as she needs the movement and exercise, but I also don't want to create any more pain for her than she already has.

September 19, 2007

Walkies!

For the first time since mid-summer, we did our full length morning walk. It's about 1.5 miles with two major hills. Lucy did a great job and maintained a normal speed for the majority of it. Towards the end, she started dragging her feet a bit and I put that down to being tired. It wasn't until the last block that she slowed to crawl. Great job, girlfriend!

September 16, 2007

Vacation & Healing


We just returned from a two week vacation journeying down the west coast from Washington to Yosemite. We were camping so were able to bring Lucy with us. She was in heaven having us always with her in the tight confines of the van. Even when we were out biking, she was in the big 'den' and felt comfortable. The van has a pop top with windows on three sides, so even if it was hot (though we always parked in the shade), it remained cool in the van.

From the beginning of the trip to the end, we saw noticeable improvement. Yes, her back hocks are still wobbly. Yes, she still occasionally drags a foot or trips. Yes, her balance is questionable. None-the-less, she began using her tail—yes, her tail!—for stabilization. That's a huge leap forward. Her ability to catch herself when she's tippy is more predictable. Her energy is way up. In fact, it's way ahead of her stamina, but that's still great news. She loped for the first time. Not quite ran, but definitely loped. She jumped out of the van. (Bad. She wasn't supposed to do that, but was not affected by it that day or the next.)

She's not supposed to do stairs (long flights) until October and then, not without supervision, but my guess is, she'd be okay now. Her first walk at home, she squatted and lifted her leg to pee. That means she was balancing in back on only one leg. HUGE BREAKTHROUGH. Although her walk today was slower than yesterday, she did well. She is no longer rolling off the inside of her back right foot while walking, but using the foot straight on.

For her, it's probably unnoticed, though I'm sure the lack of pain is welcome and noticed. But for me, these small, progressive steps really are joyful. I was feeling quite down about her walking/moving fragility, but it seems she really is recovering. Of course, it's possible she'll never be able to mountain bike with us again, but if she could go on long hikes, that would be fabulous. In the long run, I need to remember to be grateful merely for the fact she no longer hurts. That truly is the best.

August 29, 2007

A bit of water

I took Lucy down to the lake today. It's 82 degrees, so I thought she might enjoy wading. She's never been a swimmer, but is a consummate wader and butt dunker. She loved it! Back and forth, squatting in the water, back and forth. The chill must feel good on her surgery spot.

She's been in good spirits all week with only an odd blip the other day. Our neighbor's son came over. Lucy knows him really well and has always been really excited to see him. For some reason today, she went ballistic—barking in a very angry tone. Huh? That is really unusual. She wouldn't be quiet, so I had to keep her indoors while he was here.

August 28, 2007

Milestone

This weekend on a short, late night walk, Lucy stuck her head in a bush and flushed a cat. What excitement for her! The cat took off and she was on full alert, albeit at the end of the leash.

It was a turning point. Since then her attitude has been so different. She's enthused about walking and although there is still a bit of foot dragging, there is most definitely, a bounce in her step. It's quite exciting!

August 26, 2007

Bruised but better

Lucy is doing better. We've kept her pretty low-key. She limited the length of walks herself and wasn't very excited about doing much anyway. Yesterday we gave her a bath outside and that always "spunks" her up. I think (talk about anthropomorphising!) washing the last of the hospital away helped her mood too. Last night we took her on her third (!) walk of the day and although quite short, she didn't trip or drag her foot at all. That's something to note! By the end of the walk, she was bobbing her head, but she was picking up her feet. Yay!

August 24, 2007

Info and Falls

I spoke with the surgical vet tech on Wednesday and received a little more information from which to proceed. Although my vet thought aqua therapy would be beneficial, the surgical vet does not recommend it because of the kicking action. Oh. That makes sense! He feels just walking gives the best benefit as it's weight bearing and doing the activity she couldn't do well before.

Stairs are still off limits as are most other activities until at least October—a full two months post surgery. At that point, I am to be along side Lucy going up or down stairs. Now Luce has been doing 2-4 stairs just getting in and out of the house, but to get to the basement (one of her favorite places) requires negotiating 15 steps. Way too much!

Last night Lucy slipped on the wood floors and fell. Although it sounds a little like those awful commercials..."I've fallen and I can't get up!" That was, unfortunately, exactly the scenario. She hit pretty hard on her very boney, very weak hips. She didn't yelp, but after a couple of struggles to get up, she gave up. I was in the other room and ran in on hearing the crash. I rubbed and rubbed her, her back, her hips, talked in a calming tone and then aided her raising her back end. She laid very low the rest of the evening, not even getting up when DH arrived home from a trip.

Today has seen similar lack of movement with the exception that she is restless. Lies here, gets up, goes there, gets up, wanders outside, comes back in... She is obviously uncomfortable and I'm sure is bruised. She doesn't struggle any more than what is now usual in rising, but she is panting (though it's hot outside) which can indicate pain. Her desire to go on a walk is there, but not for any length. We only went around the block today.

This is a huge lesson in patience for me that this injury isn't going to see a miraculous, instant turn-around. The surgical vet tech said months and months; my regular vet said it could take a year. My neighbor said I might just have to be comfortable with the fact that this may be all she will ever be able to do.

August 20, 2007

Walks

We've amped up the walk. Two blocks now with a large hill. Of course walking this neighborhood includes a hill no matter which way you slice it. DH feels it is good for her anyway as it requires her to push off with her back legs, thereby exercising and strengthening them.

Lucy bobs her head going up the hill, so she's still pulling from the front. She's also hot and panting by the end. And although her back right foot drags in the beginning of the walk—and is a bit more splayed out then the left throughout the walk—by the end, it doesn't drag. I take that as a good sign.

August 18, 2007

Good Vet & Say Goodbye to Stitches!

My regular vet is fantastic. Kate Schottman at Sunset Pet Hospital is calm, reassuring and knowledgeable. She listens. I was stating my concerns and frustrations about not having something to 'hold on to' from the surgeon's vet techs regarding time frames and progress points. Kate said that often healing is the reverse of the injury. If the problem took a long time to develop, it often can take an equally long time to heal. I had not received a similar explanation from the surgeon, so did not have any idea on when I might see improvements other than it 'would take a while.'

Kate also felt warm water therapy would be beneficial for Lucy as there is no joint/bone pressure, but would allow for muscle-building exercise. Additional deep massage along with this could add to the overall recovery. The surgeon's vet tech said they did not think this would be good. I didn't receive an explanation, but I didn't ask that question—"Why?".

Kate felt their urging caution/avoidance of stairs might be from falling (similar to older people). Is this the reason the vet techs had?

The issue seems to be that I'm not a good asker of questions. I don't think my concerns through thoroughly enough on the fly. Nor do I phrase questions in a way that would give me a multiplicity of answers. Kate urged me to call the surgeon again to get more concrete explanations. I'm embarrassed for all the times I've called them, but I guess that's what they get for the cost of the operation!

Oh! I forgot to add that this all came about (talking about Kate) because Lucy got her stitches out today! Yahoo!

August 17, 2007

Release and Redux

Lucy is now 'free to roam about the cabin.' The baby gates are down and she's done her first exploratory sniff and circumnavigation of the main floor of the house. She feels quite liberated and her mood is upbeat.

I've also taken her on her first walk and her foot is still dragging. Did we put her through all of this for naught?

I haven't slept in several nights, so don't have the energy to write more now. My heart is very heavy.

August 14, 2007

Another kind of waiting

One more week of this 'penning up.' I allow Lucy in a room with me since she stays on her bed in that room. When I leave or do tasks around the house that don't allow me to monitor her, she goes back into the pen. We'll all be glad when that area of the kitchen is back in normal use.

I need to check with the vet about her care once the antibiotics, pain meds and pen are finished. The drug regime should be completed by Thursday—the same day the pen can come down. Five minute walks can begin on Friday, but for how long before we can bump it to 10 minutes? When can she use stairs...or jump in the car? Our neighborhood is one big hill. Can she do hills? Are those any different for her back than stairs?

One of my biggest fears is that once walks start, we'll run into loose dogs. Lucy can be leash aggressive if approached by a loose dog. It seems the dogs that we've experienced being loose are aggressive anyway and that's the LAST thing I want to deal with.

August 10, 2007

Day to day


Each day follows a similar pattern in Lucy-care.
It begins with a leashed walk through the back yard for morning constitutionals. Even this trip has a routine. After a few steps off the patio (she needs to be standing in grass), she puts her nose in the air and sniffs early morning smells. Her perambulation is counter clockwise around the yard with a long stop by the worm bin to look down the alley. There's another stop at the opposite end of the yard to check out the alley in the other direction. When the loop is closed, she repeats the circuit, sometimes dissecting the yard.
Breakfast follows and consists of kibbles and cooked rice and one antibiotic. By the time we've coffeed and breakfasted, it is time for her first pain pill, plus another back yard sojourn. The morning is spent in the pen. Mostly she sleeps, occasionally she whines for attention.

Lunch time sports another trip to the backyard. When I've finished eating, she gets her second antibiotic. Her pills are wrapped in lunch meat—a little organic oven roasted turkey. Such a deal! Those pills (with enough of a meat wrap) go down like a charm. The afternoon duplicates the morning.

Around late afternoon, depending on the day, we go into the back yard for a snooze. I garden and she gets a snoot full of fresh air. Although I keep her leashed, it's not connected to me as she doesn't wander. I think she's so happy to be out of the pen that she's content to stay put as long as it's somewhere new.

She used to receive her 'cocktail ball' around 5PM. It looks like a plastic golf ball on steroids with a tube extending into the interior kind of like an enclosed bundt pan. I drop some tasty morsels in it and she spends a half hour or so rolling it about the living room in hopes that a morsel will fall out. Very therapeutic for her. However, at present this is too much activity, so instead she just gets dinner. Not bad, mind you, but not mentally stimulating either. I try to thwart the day's boredom with a stuffed kong.

She stays in her pen until after we eat dinner when she gets the day's last pain pill and then is allowed into the living room while we read or watch TV. At 9PM, she gets the last of the day's antibiotics. Eventually it's off to bed only to repeat the routine the next day. I'm going a bit batty with it, so I can only imagine how bored she is.

I had a couple of frights yesterday. Lucy is not supposed to do stairs, so our basement has been closed off since she came home from the hospital. Yesterday we'd come in from the back yard when the phone rang. It was a short phone call, but distracting enough that I realized she was 'loose' in the house. When I rounded the corner from the kitchen and saw the basement door open, I panicked. There are 14 stairs and the one thing the surgeon and vet tech said repeatedly is NOT to let her do stairs. I ran down expecting to see a lump at the bottom, but she wasn't there Luckily, she had just gone into the living room to nap. Perhaps she even knows she can't do them yet.

Then last night, in the middle of the night, I woke to her howling in pain. I don't know if it was a dream (doubt it) or she'd caught her incision at the base of the bed, or rolled over incorrectly. Lots of panting—a clue, they told me that she's in pain. Is her back okay? Are the pins in place? Is her spine tweaked? I don't know. She seems okay today, but I'm being extra cautious.

August 5, 2007

Sleeping

Lucy is already rejecting the idea of being penned up. Although she'll go into the area, she does it with such a 'hang dog' expression that you know she's cursing us under her breath.

Last night there were fireworks going off because of local summer festivities. She's terrified of firecrackers, so her normal few minutes of whining turned into a production. Now normally she isn't allowed in the bedroom as I'm allergic to dogs and thought at least one room should be 'clean.' However, last night we made an exception and brought her bed in. She hasn't budged. 10 hours later and several different sleeping positions, she is still on her bed.

Soon I'll have to drag (encourage) her out to take care of business and then unfortunately for her, back to the pen. I think we've found a temporary (and I'm sure because she's such a smart girl, she'll make it a permanent) solution.

August 3, 2007

She's home!

They released Lucy a day early as she was doing so well; we picked her up last night. They said she was getting up and walking on her own the day after surgery. She get’s up pretty slowly (without a sling which they felt she didn’t need), but she can do it. She’s on pain meds (Tramadol 50mg/one every 12 hours) and antibiotics (Cephalexin 500mg/one every 8)—and that’s it.

She hadn't pooped in the three days she'd been at the vet's and I was concerned about that, though they weren't. They said I didn't have to worry for a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks?!? That sounds tortuous—particularly with a bum back and the need to squat and push. However, the tech said it isn't unusual for dogs not to defecate at the hospital and that once she got home, she probably would. Yep! They were correct. None-the-less, with pain meds as a regular—at least for a while—I'm adding a tablespoon of mashed pumpkin to her food.

We have her sequestered with baby gates in the kitchen. She cried most of last night, I think not so much in pain as in unhappiness that she’s penned. She has to stay in the pen for 2 weeks. When I do take her outside, she has to be leashed. I'm guessing that is in case she would decide to bolt after a squirrel. I don't see that happening, but you can't be too sure.

So as for those questions:
  1. How long do we have to wait before discovering if the surgery is successful? Time will tell. If after several months she's still stumbling and dragging her toes, it was unsuccessful.
  2. How long must she be sequestered and exactly what does that mean? Two weeks of confinement to a 4 X 4 area.
  3. Does she need a sling to get up? To walk? No. She's strong enough to get up on her own.
  4. What drugs must she take and for how long? Pain meds until she stops looking like she's in pain. This will be tough to decipher while she's on them. They said if I stopped and she looked like she was having difficulty getting up, panting a lot or acting reclusive, those were all signs of pain. Antibiotics must be taken until they're gone.
  5. How long before her stitches come out? Two weeks. Lucy's normal vet can remove them and assess her back/movement at that time.
  6. Does she have to come back in for a look-see? She doesn't have to see the surgeon again unless I want to; she can go to her regular vet.
  7. What kind of physical therapy can we do with her? Massage on her back haunches 4-5 times a day. Also, not as critical as she can walk on her own, but move her back legs through range of motion, i.e., as if she were bicycling 4-5 times a day for 5 minutes at a time. I am pushing very little with this as this seems to 'activate' her. I try to integrate it with her massage. Does it hurt? I'm uncertain.
  8. What kind of PT should she have? Acupuncture? Aqua therapy? We didn't talk about this; I forgot. But when I bring her in for stitch removal, I'll ask. I'm thinking the aqua therapy would be good.
  9. If we go somewhere, can we bring her in the van and keep her there? Yes.
  10. How long before she can be a dog again? Months.
After two weeks of "cage" confinement, I can allow her access to the main floor of the house and start taking her on very, very short walks. I'm assuming after a week of 5-7 minute walks, I can bump it to 10 minutes and so on. We live on a huge hill, so initially I'll just take her up and down a block on the level. It's two bad our neighborhood is laid out as it is—our street is only two blocks long! At this point though, and at her present speed, that length will probably be plenty. Maybe by mid-to-late September or October I can add the hills.

As far as the success of the surgery, time will tell. If her back feet continue to drag, it wasn’t successful, so fingers are crossed that the brain, legs and toes get in sync. Right now it’s just quiet and rest.

August 2, 2007

Waiting #2

Yesterday they said she would be ready to go home today, but here it is 3:30PM and no phone call. I've called them, but have not received a call back.

Questions I want to know:
  1. How long do we have to wait before discovering if the surgery is successful?
  2. How long must she be sequestered and exactly what does that mean?
  3. Does she need a sling to get up? To walk?
  4. What drugs must she take and for how long?
  5. How long before her stitches come out?
  6. Does she have to come back in for a look-see?
  7. What kind of physical therapy can we do with her?
  8. What kind of PT should she have? Acupuncture? Aqua therapy?
  9. If we go somewhere, can we bring her in the van and keep her there?
  10. How long before she can be a dog again?
Lots of questions, but man! that phone is silent!

July 31, 2007

Today's the day-dorsal laminectomy with stabilization

It's 6:15AM and in a little bit I'll make the long drive up to the animal hospital. Today's her surgery. I keep reminding myself it is so she can do her doggy things again—run and bounce and wag her tail, but like any 'mother,' I'm concerned and worried. My fingers are so crossed, my heart is so tender right now. Luckily, she's a dog. She's merely upset that she got neither her breakfast nor morning dog biscuit. Her ritual has been upset.

The other dog we're presently caring for is equally miffed as she's grown used to the routine here. I'll keep her here through tonight and then back home she goes tomorrow so that when Lucy returns, all is quiet.

All dog bedding will be washed and I'll set up an area in the house that allows Lucy a comfortable place to recoup. I was thinking my office, but perhaps that provides to much space. There is any area in the kitchen that I can cordon off and put carpet remnants down to prevent slipping and her bed and water in. I don't know... I guess I have to wait and see what they say we need to do after the fact. I know we'll be temporarily helping her walk with a sling.

Later... It's mid-afternoon and still have not heard, though I don't expect to until later today. They didn't know if the surgery would be done in the morning or afternoon. The tech said she would probably be at the hospital a couple of nights, however. I guess I'm glad about that. I'd rather she was under lots of observation before we brought her home. It's nearly an hour drive to get there and if anything serious happened the drive could prove problematic.

Later still...I've heard from the vet. He said the surgery went well and that Lucy had good 'bone structure.' I didn't ask but assume that meant the two new pins she sports in her vertebrae had something good to hold on to.

She went "under the knife" at 2:30pm, so she had 6 hours to wait. Poor girl. He said she'd be on pain meds through the night and they wouldn't bother to do anything with her (get her up?) until tomorrow afternoon. Although I can go visit her during this time, I feel my presence would elicit undue excitement—something she doesn't need right now. To be honest, I don't know that I could handle her being doped up or in pain.

She'll be there through Friday and he and/or his assistant will call daily to let me know her prognosis. I can call at any point to see how she's doing. Fingers crossed...

July 29, 2007

More upsets

Lucy has been under the weather again. I think it's from trying to lick the place on her leg where the anesthesia went in for her MRI. It was pretty raw and I've been putting a salve (Animax Cream) on it, then a quick swipe of Bitter Apple. For the most part she's been good about not licking that, but yesterday she was licking all around it and I'm sure, ingested a fair amount of Bitter Apple. She was lethargic and not hungry yesterday.

Today she's perked up a bit. Tomorrow is her last day of eating before Tuesday's surgery. My anxiety over her well-being is increasing, but I keep reminding myself, the odds are quite good on a spectacular recovery. The majority of folks on the dog forum recommended I go ahead with the surgery and they are all BIG dog folks with lots of experience under their collective belt. I need to chill out so as not to upset Lucy.

We're dog-sitting a friend's dog right now. Lucy enjoys the company despite the fact they both rather ignore each other. I'll keep the other dog here until Lucy comes home and then she's off to her own home with shared care by another neighbor. She'll feed her; I'll walk her. I just don't want any excitement (barking at the mailman), competition or issues over anything while Lucy's recouping.

I found some sites (see the links at right) that talk about post-op care. I haven't received a straight answer regarding this from the clinic, but then they said it depends on the outcome of the surgery. I understand this, I just need something to hold on to. Will she be incontinent for a while? Can she walk at all or must I lift her? Does she have to be in a crate or can she be in her bed in my office?

July 26, 2007

Waiting

Lucy's stomach has eased (and somehow mine has taken over, hmmm...). It's amazing what a little human food (rice and chicken) can do to get a dog back on track. I'm happy for the improvement, but have already noticed how the lack of inflammatories (she's 3 days without) has affected her movement. Our walk yesterday afternoon was short and s-l-o-w.

The surgery has been rescheduled for Tuesday, so now we're just biding time. As a good friend said, 'It's good she doesn't know what's in her future.' Hopefully all will go well and her future will allow her to run (and walk!) again.

July 25, 2007

Postponement

Surgery has been postponed. Because of the nausea (from Novox? from eating something unknown? from the after affects of anesthesia?), our regular vet feels it would be too hard on Lucy to go into surgery feeling funky. I agree. Now to set up a new appointment. The anti-inflammatories have been stopped.

She's been given Animax cream for the leg she's been licking at the catheter site for the anesthesia/MRI. A little Bitter Apple on top is to be applied to discourage further licking. Plus she has two new drugs: Sucralfate 1 gm (1/2 tab twice a day) and Famotidine 20 mg (1/2 tab once a day) to take to mellow out her gut. Poor girl. If it ain't one thing, it's another...

With the long recovery and our annual fall bike trip happening in September, the delay, if it's long, could complicate our vacation. I have to verify we can bring her along.

July 24, 2007

Rimadyl

Lucy was given Rimadyl for the inflammation of the disk. It worked well and blood tests showed no liver/kidney damage. However, when that brand ran out, we were given the generic version (Novox). Within 3 days her appetite diminished. I thought it was because we were camping and this is often her modus operandi. However last night and this morning she hasn't eaten a thing and vomited up whatever was left in her stomach. We're going in this afternoon for another blood test. Awful. I feel awful. She hates the vet and now, with surgery in two days and weeks and weeks of discomfort, I have to bring her in for a blood test. My fingers are crossed she's okay.

Getting Ready


I thought I'd blog about my dog and her up coming surgery. This has been a haul getting to this point, but it started not too long ago when her leg problems became more pronounced. Lucy is a 10 year-old, spayed female of unknown origins. Perhaps Aussie, perhaps Border Collie, maybe some Springer Spaniel or Brittany, definitely some kind of sight hound—when she could run, she ran like a greyhound.

This winter, on walks, I noticed she was periodically dragging her toes. I was alerted to that behavior because our first dog went lame and it had started the same way. But Lucy is young, only 10, so I chose to ignore it. She's always been a bit clumsy so I chalked it up to that.

In February, we took her mountain biking in the snow. It wasn't very deep—a couple of inches—and wasn't very far, maybe 5-6 miles. The previous fall she was running 15 miles at a stretch. At the end of the winter ride, her thighs were quivering and we thought it was because she was out of shape. Another ride several weeks later, was shorter with more dramatic response from Lucy. And several weeks after that, after running barely two miles, she couldn't maintain a standing position.

A vet's visit was in order and our vet thought it might be arthritis. However, she didn't improve at all under a "arthritis" regime (a change in diet and supplements). She had x-rays done of her back end and they showed no arthritis or bone damage. The next test was for myasthenia gravis and that too proved negative.

Our next choice was an MRI. She went through that on Thursday of last week and sure enough, she had a herniated disk right above her tail. The vet said this was a common spot for older, larger dogs and that surgery could be very effective. (The success rate for the surgery is 85%; those that don't improve, stay the same.) The recovery period can take anywhere between 4-8 weeks. During that time the dog must be kept quiet and cannot do stairs or run. I also understand the first couple of weeks, there are a slew of pills she must take.

So for the time being, this blog will chronicle this chapter in her/our life. Surgery is in 2 days. If you'd like to know more about the surgery itself, check out this link: http://home.gci.net/~shem/Our_Pets/Trapper/Trapper_s_Surgery/trapper_s_surgery.htm If you and your dog have gone through this type of surgery, let me know how it went.