Life Takes an Unexpected Turn

 

OUR SWEET PETEY

Not quite a month ago, our four-year-old Shih-Tzu, Petey, began to act sick. He quit eating, quit wagging his tail, and threw up a couple times. We thought he must have eaten something in the yard, like a toadstool or a green plum from our tree. Sometimes small green ones fall in the spring.

We took him to the vet, who checked him over and sent him home with treatment for an upset stomach.

My husband and I scoured the dog yard for toadstools and green plums. We found a few plums, so we decided to cut back the tree branches that overhung the fence. That was a major job!

The next day, Thursday, Petey did not improve. By Friday morning, he was having trouble walking. We were terrified we might lose our sweet boy, the pup who helped us through the Covid lockdown, the goofy little guy who is always tuned into his humans and loves us unconditionally.

We took Petey back to the vet, who this time diagnosed a probable ruptured disk in his back. The vomiting had been due to pain from compressed nerves. Additional inflammation was causing paralysis.

The treatment options are very expensive neurosurgery, which there was no way we could afford ($18,000 just for the MRI the surgeon would need to do to plan the operation!!!); or medical management to give him time for his body to (hopefully!) heal. The doctor said many dogs do heal and regain some or all function. The fact that Petey responded to hind foot toe pinches by pulling his foot away a little gave her hope.

PETEY'S NEW DIGS

We opted to give him a chance with medical management. The vet prescribed a painkiller and a steroid to reduce inflammation. We were instructed to limit his activity by keeping him in a kennel or small room. He needed medication every eight hours, round the clock. He would need to be carried out and in to potty. We were making a big commitment of time, effort and inconvenience.

Luckily, I’m retired and my husband works from home. We wanted to give Petey a chance to have a good quality of life. So we took him home, borrowed back his puppy pen we had given to our groomer, and set him up in the living room with a floor of Pee Pads.

That night he stopped drinking and peeing.

The next morning we took him to Dove Lewis Veterinary Medical Center in Portland, an hour away. We were afraid he’d die of dehydration. He was barely responsive. In their ICU  hey gave him fluids and antibiotic and painkiller injections. He had developed a bladder infection.

The ER vet was very thorough and kind going over his prognosis. She told us each case was different, but Petey showed signs he had the potential to recover some or all of his function and have a decent quality of life. Unfortunately, it’s a matter of waiting and giving the treatment time to work. And it requires a big commitment from his people.

We committed.

It’s been hard, but very rewarding. He came home on seven different medications: two painkillers, prednisone to treat the inflammation and swelling, a muscle relaxant, an antibiotic, an anti-nausea medication and an appetite stimulant. Now he is down to one pain killer and is starting to wean off the prednisone.

We struggled to find a dog food he would eat, so for the first week he survived on cooked chicken and hamburger. Then we tried Fresh Pet refrigerated dog food, and he loved it. Now he’s eating half Fresh Pet and half Hills Science Diet small dog kibble, softened in water (his original dog food.)

I learned how to massage Petey’s bladder to stimulate him to pee. Luckily, he only needed help with that for the first week. By then he had regained enough use of his back legs to crawl and had regained control of his bladder and bowel.

We were so excited when he first tried to walk upright only a day or two later!!! His vet told us our pup’s progress was remarkable. Now, at three-and-a-half weeks, Petey walks with a wobble and tires easily, but his feet are working and his tail is wagging!

Our future together looks bright at this point, something we could only hope and pray for when life took this unexpected turn.