Copyright 2009-2014 by Holly K. Austin unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.
PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR USE ANY IMAGES FROM THIS SITE WITHOUT PERMISSION!
If you would like to use an image for some purpose, please contact me via the comments feature.

Worries

>> Sunday, September 19, 2010

The worst part of pet ownership?  When pets are hurt or sick, and they can't tell you what's wrong, and you have to figure out what's best for them.  It's a lot of responsibility.

My poor Lucy hasn't quite been herself for the past couple of weeks.  There has been nothing we could really put our finger on, though - just a general feeling that something wasn't right.  She still has a good appetite (she's a Basset hound - if she ever stops being interested in food I'll know something very serious is wrong).  But she's been a little quieter than usual, and a little grouchy.  She actually groused at Simon yesterday, which is practically unheard of.  Usually they're like this:

(photo courtesy of our friend M)

For a day she limped on one of her back legs, but then the problem seemed to go away.  Yesterday she woke up limping badly on her one good front leg.  It's not going away.  Of course, I have to keep reminding myself that Lucy has been known to play up injuries (or non-injuries) for attention, too, so it's hard to gauge just how bad it is.  But she really cuts a pathetic figure with her stumpy front leg and her gimpy front leg.  We've put the rock climbing harness on her and have been hoisting her about the house and yard.  She's spent most of her time sleeping.

Poor kid.  I'm left worrying about all the bad things that could be wrong with her.  Is it just an injury?  Is it possible for dogs who have been vaccinated against Lyme Disease to get it anyway?  Could it be an autoimmune disease?   My mind always races to the worst case scenarios.

We go to the vet tomorrow.  I'm sure it will cost a fortune.  I'm sure I don't really care so long as we find a way to make my poor fuzzy kid feel better.

5 comments:

Reneé Leigh Stephenson September 19, 2010 at 5:43 PM  

i hope it's something simple and easily healed!
don't you just wish they could TELL you what's going on? i think that is the hardest part for me...the not-knowing.

Jessie L. September 19, 2010 at 8:36 PM  

When first reading the post, my thought was Lyme disease. It is possible for a dog who has vaccinated for Lyme to get it. My pup Shadow is living proof. He had received the vaccine but was diagnosed with it and had to go through the antibiotic treatment. He is doing well now, and shows no sign, but the symptoms you mention do sound similar to lyme disease.

I hope everything works out well for you and the pup.

Ellen Rathbone September 20, 2010 at 3:23 PM  

Oooooh - I hope it's nothing! Keep us posted.

Ellen Rathbone September 28, 2010 at 3:00 PM  

Soooo - what is the verdict?

Holly September 28, 2010 at 3:36 PM  

Ellen, sadly, there is no verdict yet. Her bloodwork looked normal, and the tick borne disease tests we ran all came back negative, which could mean either she doesn't have a tick-borne disease, or we ran the test too early for the antibodies to show up. Shortly after the vet visit she started to improve dramatically, and we hoped it had just passed. But yesterday and today she's a little too quiet again, and things aren't right. We'll be restesting, and watching her, and hoping for the best...

Post a Comment

  © Blogger templates Shiny by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP