O Spotted One
We have a dalmation that will be 11 years old this coming March. Two years ago, we noticed that she was dragging her rear feet on the knuckles. It wasn't too bad then so we didn't do anything about it. When her annual exam came up in February she was getting worse, so we mentioned it to the doctor who checked her feet. He placed her rear feet on the knuckles then watched to see if she noticed. The normal response by a dog is to pick their feet back up and place them pad side down. Our RaRa only did this after a few seconds with the left foot. The vet said she probably had a problem disc, either a collapsed or compressed disc, and would need surgery. Surgery is very expensive and he could not guarentee that the problem would be resolved. Apparently, nerve damage only gets worse over time and we had waited a while before reporting the problem. So we chose not to have the surgery but have been giving her prednisone, a steroid, which is supposed to ease the pressure on her disc.
Pressure on the disc is what is preventing her from being able to pick up her feet. These days, she is quite a bit worse. We have continued to give her the prednisone but that is causing iatrogenic cushings disease. She's loosing hair and loosing weight. Sometimes she sits there just shivering. She does not seem in any pain, only in embarrasment when she can't get up or when she looses control of her bowels which she does much more frequently lately. She does try to get to the door but by the time she realizes she is is having an accident it is already too late.
Overall she is still in good spirits, still eating everything in sight. I know that we will come to a point this year when we will have to put her down. I am angry that I have to make that decision. If I could see that she was in any pain, it would not be a problem. But she is mostly happy. I'm just saddened and frustrated. I love her so. She was my first child, so to speak. I've had many pets but she is by far the oldest that I have had. My mom had to deal with our family pets when my brothers and I left home. We had two dogs that lived quite a long time, and both of which had to be put down.
Maybe it's the time of the year but this is just bumming me out. Done with post.
Pressure on the disc is what is preventing her from being able to pick up her feet. These days, she is quite a bit worse. We have continued to give her the prednisone but that is causing iatrogenic cushings disease. She's loosing hair and loosing weight. Sometimes she sits there just shivering. She does not seem in any pain, only in embarrasment when she can't get up or when she looses control of her bowels which she does much more frequently lately. She does try to get to the door but by the time she realizes she is is having an accident it is already too late.
Overall she is still in good spirits, still eating everything in sight. I know that we will come to a point this year when we will have to put her down. I am angry that I have to make that decision. If I could see that she was in any pain, it would not be a problem. But she is mostly happy. I'm just saddened and frustrated. I love her so. She was my first child, so to speak. I've had many pets but she is by far the oldest that I have had. My mom had to deal with our family pets when my brothers and I left home. We had two dogs that lived quite a long time, and both of which had to be put down.
Maybe it's the time of the year but this is just bumming me out. Done with post.
posted by mendi-la at
11:23 AM
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