 |
| OUR SWEET PETEY |
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.
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.
