Down But Not Out

I'm hoping Bug has nine lives like a cat. He's used up two of them, in my opinion. The first was the diabetes diagnosis about a year and a half ago. The second was last Wednesday.

We picked up Bug from the vet ten days ago after spending several days in Florida. They told us he did great all week and he seemed fine when we got him home. Then he developed a cough over the weekend. A few days later, he started trembling like he didn't feel well. All symptoms we'd see before, after he'd been boarded for a long period of time. Doc had said, then, that he could have caught something at the kennel and to just wait it out. So I didn't think much of it. He was getting back to normal when Perry texted me Wednesday morning and said Bug wasn't walking and his eyes were bouncing back and forth.

We took him to the vet and the doctor said Bug had suffered something like a stroke. A circulatory accident to be exact. The vet said he didn't see any red flags, yet, and wanted to give him a shot to see if his head could be straightened out. We took him home and made him as comfortable as possible, both of us thinking the worst. I had to feed him by hand, he couldn't stand over the bowl. He could hardly stand to do his business outside. We had to carry him in and out of the house all day. And he still had accidents in the house despite our efforts. We called our parents and told them what was going on. It was so hard for me to go to sleep that afternoon. But it was an emotionally exhausting day and I had to work that night. So I eventually drifted off, teary eyed.

We took Bug back to the vet Thursday morning. His eyes were still dancing, like he had no control over them, but he was actually trying to walk this time. His head was pulling to the left, so when he did try to walk, he'd fall down or go in circles. But he was trying. The doctor decided to give him another shot and we left with a pack of pills to give him over the next four days and plans to check back on Monday. And gradually, each day, he got better.

I took him back to the vet today and got a new pill to add to his routine. Plus a temporary one for an ear infection. So far, it looks like he's pulled through it. His head is still pulling to the left and I don't expect that to go away. We will still have to carry him in and out (and more times a day apparently) because he can't navigate the steps. He's also become more picky about food, which I'm still hand feeding him. He won't eat his dry or canned diabetic food. I've learned he likes turkey. And will tolerate some "moist and meaty" packs. But at least he is eating, he is walking (or wobbling), and he's still fussy and loud.

So this 84 year old dog now has arthritis, diabetes, cataracts (he's pretty much blind), peridontal disease and blood pressure issues. And the ear infection. He's snoring right now and that's comforting because it's normal. It's actually quite soothing. I don't think he'll ever fully rebound, but he's not giving up. And neither are we.

The Bug Buzz

I think it's about time I gave an update on Bug. Despite an accident in the house here and there, he's doing pretty good. He's still on all of his meds. That won't change. His vision comes and goes. Some days he gets around just fine. Other days he doesn't have any idea which way to turn. I wonder if he's also going through some sort of senility as well. I find him in a corner sometimes not knowing how to get out. But he keeps on truckin'. We help him up and down the steps. We take him outside for potty breaks more than we used to. He's pretty good about letting us know by standing at the door. He basically rules the roost and the rest of us just follow. But then again, it's pretty much always been that way.

Blind Ambition

Poor Bugton. We noticed the week before our vacation that he was starting to run into things. The diabetes is causing cataracts. Some days are worse than others. We try to guide him as best we can. I'm trying to teach him "up" and "down" so he knows when he's facing steps. Other than that, he's doing well. And we survived boarding him at the vet for almost a week. He survived, too.

Jack Nap

I think you got it backwards, bub.

Lunchtime

Pee Brain

Since Bug was diagnosed with diabetes back in January, he hasn't had an accident in several months. However, when we came home last night from dinner and drinks, I heard Pmo say "uh oh" when he turned down the hallway. And there it was, a big pee spot. We had quarantined the wrong dog.

There was a time when we let the dogs loose in the house all of the time. We started putting Bug up after the series of accidents started several months ago. Then we stopped because he had been accident-free for so long. We just left him on the dog bed in the living room where we figured he would sleep until we arrived home.

Jack is trickier. He has separation anxiety. Oh, the life of dogs with special needs. He doesn't really have to be put up during the week's normal routine of Pmo leaving for work, me coming home, me going to bed and Pmo coming home. He's fairly calm then. But when Pmo and I leave together, the little guy wants to go with us so badly. Therefore, he is prone to acting out and leaving us "presents" if we don't take him with us.

So that's why Jack was caged last night and not Bug. We didn't think we had anything to worry about. We were only gone about 4 1/2 hours. Bug can make it 8 hours overnight no problem. But that's also when he's in his cage and not free to roam about. Did I mention we just had someone clean the carpet a few weeks ago?

The funniest part (besides me running the carpet cleaner at 1 o'clock in the morning) was Jack's reaction. When we let him loose, he had to walk past the pee spot to go outside one last time before bed. And he did so with such trepidation, as if walking past it would somehow lay the blame on him. I wish I would have taped his skulking down the hallway.

I hope this is not a setback for the Bugton and just poor judgment on our part. We'll probably go back to putting him up while we're gone. At least for awhile. He's due next week for his 3 month insulin checkup, where we leave him at the vet all day, so hopefully we'll get some sort of verdict then.

I've always called him "pea brain" because his head is so much smaller than the rest of his body. Now he's earned the title in a different sense.

Unhappy Campers