Accidental good news…

…that started out with me hovering over my pup on the sidewalk, at 11:30 Thursday night, thinking she was in serious trouble.  We had gone out for our last quick short (they’re never quick) walk of the night, and Maggie laid down either to rest or to stubbornly refuse to turn around towards home.  Totally normal, so I was checking email on my phone and after a few minutes tried to coax her up.  That’s when I noticed she didn’t look good.  She was holding her head low and her eyelids drooped, she didn’t even look up at me.  She even seemed to be breathing very slowly, not panting or smiling like usual when we’re outside.  10 minutes I stood there watching and hoping she’d perk back up, but no change.  I texted my awesome neighbor (they have 4 kids including a teenager, I knew they’d still be awake) to come out and stay with Maggie while I ran home and got my car.  Her husband walked down to where we were and Maggie didn’t so much as look at him – under any normal circumstances she would be jumping and growling at a man walking up to us at night.  I picked her up and put her in the car and she didn’t squirm at all.  I considered going straight to the nearest animal hospital.  But on the drive around the block she sat up in the car and looked more alert.  When we got home she walked into the house but laid down right away and seemed to have trouble holding her back legs under herself.  I honestly thought she had a stroke or was going to die right there in front of me.  You know how your mind races when something’s wrong with your dog.

Well she got up a few times and looked shaky but not worse, so I just stayed with her.  She didn’t look like she was really in distress, just barely with-it.  She wouldn’t drink, but later ate a little treat.  OK.  I sat up and stared at her until 2:30 AM.  Convinced she wasn’t gonna die right then and there, I slept for a while.  The next morning, she still looked pretty wiped out, but got up and walked around a bit in the house.  No interest in going out.  What the heck?  Still looking droopy but not agitated or in pain, so I left for work for a couple of hours and made an appointment with her regular vet in the afternoon.  By 11 AM she went out but just laid in the grass, at least she had her head up and was looking around and stuff, but still about 10% of her normal level of activity/alertness.  The vet checked her legs, joints, etc. and found nothing wrong.  Maybe a pulled muscle or nerve in her back.  Maybe just weak – she had not been eating well for a few days (still trying to settle on a new dry/wet food combo that she’ll actually eat).  But the vet recommended chest x-rays to see if her heart and lungs look OK.  I had thought we might do x-rays a few months after her surgery, but since we’ve decided not to do chemo or other further treatment, I was dreading it.  If her cancer had spread this quickly, I knew it would not be a good sign.  [The tumor on Maggie’s leg was an undifferentiated soft tissue sarcoma, locally very aggressive but sort of an X-factor on metastasis…20% on the low end up to 50% on the high end.]  So I held my breath and paced for the 15 minutes it took for them to complete the x-rays.  ALL CLEAR.  WHEWWWWWW!!!  She got agitated while they were in the back room, and pooped all over (I’m glad I just pace when I’m stressed!!), and honestly, looked much happier after that.

The vet sent us home with gabapentin in case she has a tweaked nerve, probiotics to help her tummy, and basically a clean bill of health otherwise.  Her mild arthritis has not gotten any worse post-surgery, and her hips and knees “feel good” to their trained inspection.  Also a good reassuring bit of news when I mentioned it’s hell getting her to take pills – apparently they use a place that can process almost any prescription into liquid suspension…so if we get into a situation where she needs other meds and won’t take them, that may come in very handy.  Luckily the gaba is small enough to hide in a treat.  She refuses pill pockets now and larger pills never slip by her anymore.  Since Friday afternoon she has looked better and better, and ate well each time I fed her since then.  We went for a short walk today and she looked great, pooped out for a few minutes, and then got up and ran.  OK, crazy lady.  I feel like this panic/relax/rejoice cycle is just becoming the norm for me now.  At least this round ended with some really good news with the clear x-rays, quite by accident.  I’m sure I would have put off getting them if it weren’t for this episode, so I guess it all worked out alright.

Here is Maggie doin’ what she loves – laying the grass and going after squirrels.  If someone had told me that she’d be JUMPING UP on trees just a few weeks after amputation, I wouldn’t have had a split second of hesitation to do it!  They are amazing.  Just amazing.