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At the moment, we have three dogs:
--Ziggy, our first dog. We got her about 9ish months after we got married, so she's kinda our first kid. Except for a bout of excessive vomiting as a puppy (that was probably my fault), she's been extremely healthy.
--Pumpkin, dog #2. We got her from a friend about a year ago and found out a few months after that she has some mild hip dysplasia. Pretty much always looks like the Saddest Dog Ever(tm) on the front end, but the wagging tail totally ruins it.
--Bradley. We're fostering him right now and in the (slow) process of finding him a permanent home. He's a bit of an escape artist and his previous owners couldn't keep him in the yard. When the husband moved to Texas for his army position, the wife couldn't deal with his constant escaping plus two other dogs and three foster kids. Since he's also Ziggy's brother, we've had him over to doggie sit many times and he has yet to get out of my yard (although lately not for lack of trying). He's also considerably overweight (54lbs at his last checkup), so I'd like to get that down before he gets adopted. Mr Jedi does not like Bradley mostly because Bradley doesn't know how big he is and he has no manners. The latter can be fixed through training, but the former probably not.
So earlier this week Ziggy was wrestling with Pumpkin and while she gets pretty vocal when she plays, this didn't sound like playing. So I reached down to pet her as she ran past me and she screamed. At first I thought I had just startled her, but when she didn't untuck her tail and kept whining whenever someone touched her back end, I knew something was wrong.
We tried to wait it out hoping it was just a bruise or a stitch. She got some baby aspirin (under the direction of our vet) with her breakfast and dinner to see if we could at least take the edge off the pain. After a couple days with no visible improvement, I made the appointment with the vet. Pumpkin was also due for her annual shots, so I got to shlep both of them all by myself.
Long story short, X-rays were inconclusive. There's obviously something not right with her sacrum, but there were no obvious fractures, arthritis, or dislocations. And my poor little Ziggy--who normally doesn't mind being poked, prodded, or manhandled--was just screaming in pain. Not yelping. Screaming. I've never heard her make those sounds and I never want to hear it again. Poor thing had to be sedated just to get the X-rays. She's been sleeping that off most of the afternoon. And then there was too much stool in the way for the vet to get a clear view, so she got an enema too. Our regular vet was off today, so the other vet did all the testing. He wants Regular Vet to take a look at the X-rays when she gets back on Monday and get her opinion. They also have a Vet Radiologist coming in for another case and he'll try to get him to take a look also. In the meantime, we have a round of anti-inflamitories to see if that does the trick.
And who should greet me at the door when I got home but Bradley. Considering I left him locked in the kitchen behind a gate, I was not too happy to see his dopey face at my front door. And to top that off, he got into some chocolate candy we left on the coffee table. Dark chocolate, too. So now I get to watch him for the next 24 hours and make sure he doesn't get chocolate poisoning. He didn't eat that much, so I'm not too worried. At this point, I don't think we can continue fostering him. We've got to keep him and Ziggy separated (especially since we suspect rough play led to all this in the first place). I can't trust him alone in the yard because he digs under the fence and now I obviously can't trust him alone locked in the kitchen because he can muscle the gate open. Crating is an option, but I don't want him to spend all his time in a crate.
I'm just kinda at a loss right now. With my work schedule picking up I won't be home as much to keep an eye on things. I just want my spazzy Ziggy back. I hate seeing her so miserable.
--Ziggy, our first dog. We got her about 9ish months after we got married, so she's kinda our first kid. Except for a bout of excessive vomiting as a puppy (that was probably my fault), she's been extremely healthy.
--Pumpkin, dog #2. We got her from a friend about a year ago and found out a few months after that she has some mild hip dysplasia. Pretty much always looks like the Saddest Dog Ever(tm) on the front end, but the wagging tail totally ruins it.
--Bradley. We're fostering him right now and in the (slow) process of finding him a permanent home. He's a bit of an escape artist and his previous owners couldn't keep him in the yard. When the husband moved to Texas for his army position, the wife couldn't deal with his constant escaping plus two other dogs and three foster kids. Since he's also Ziggy's brother, we've had him over to doggie sit many times and he has yet to get out of my yard (although lately not for lack of trying). He's also considerably overweight (54lbs at his last checkup), so I'd like to get that down before he gets adopted. Mr Jedi does not like Bradley mostly because Bradley doesn't know how big he is and he has no manners. The latter can be fixed through training, but the former probably not.
So earlier this week Ziggy was wrestling with Pumpkin and while she gets pretty vocal when she plays, this didn't sound like playing. So I reached down to pet her as she ran past me and she screamed. At first I thought I had just startled her, but when she didn't untuck her tail and kept whining whenever someone touched her back end, I knew something was wrong.
We tried to wait it out hoping it was just a bruise or a stitch. She got some baby aspirin (under the direction of our vet) with her breakfast and dinner to see if we could at least take the edge off the pain. After a couple days with no visible improvement, I made the appointment with the vet. Pumpkin was also due for her annual shots, so I got to shlep both of them all by myself.
Long story short, X-rays were inconclusive. There's obviously something not right with her sacrum, but there were no obvious fractures, arthritis, or dislocations. And my poor little Ziggy--who normally doesn't mind being poked, prodded, or manhandled--was just screaming in pain. Not yelping. Screaming. I've never heard her make those sounds and I never want to hear it again. Poor thing had to be sedated just to get the X-rays. She's been sleeping that off most of the afternoon. And then there was too much stool in the way for the vet to get a clear view, so she got an enema too. Our regular vet was off today, so the other vet did all the testing. He wants Regular Vet to take a look at the X-rays when she gets back on Monday and get her opinion. They also have a Vet Radiologist coming in for another case and he'll try to get him to take a look also. In the meantime, we have a round of anti-inflamitories to see if that does the trick.
And who should greet me at the door when I got home but Bradley. Considering I left him locked in the kitchen behind a gate, I was not too happy to see his dopey face at my front door. And to top that off, he got into some chocolate candy we left on the coffee table. Dark chocolate, too. So now I get to watch him for the next 24 hours and make sure he doesn't get chocolate poisoning. He didn't eat that much, so I'm not too worried. At this point, I don't think we can continue fostering him. We've got to keep him and Ziggy separated (especially since we suspect rough play led to all this in the first place). I can't trust him alone in the yard because he digs under the fence and now I obviously can't trust him alone locked in the kitchen because he can muscle the gate open. Crating is an option, but I don't want him to spend all his time in a crate.
I'm just kinda at a loss right now. With my work schedule picking up I won't be home as much to keep an eye on things. I just want my spazzy Ziggy back. I hate seeing her so miserable.
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