Dog not doing great
Content Warning: Chronic back pain for an animal. Also, as a reassurance, my dog is okay and is on the mend
Our dog, Oolong, is about seven years old. Not exactly sure how old (he's an adoption dog) but we've had him since May of 2020. Not sure what he is, but he was listed as a corgi mix. Regardless, he is a short legged, long bodied dog and suffers from all the back problems that entails.
He started moving a little slower starting on Saturday, but he had a vet appointment for Wednesday, and so we figured we would wait and then get him on his normal treatment plan then. This has been happening once or twice a year for the past few years, so it’s nothing we haven’t been through before. We put him on bed rest, but his flare up got so bad Saturday night that we brought him to the emergency vet.
The technician there had the best reaction I've ever heard:
"You're cute! What are you?"
This isn't a novel situation, but it still sucks for him, and for my wife and I. The emergency vet checked him out but didn't seem too worried. We got home a little after midnight with some meds, including some gabapentin. He tried to scamper a bit when we got him home, which is good sign (and we instantly shut down). The shot he was given perked him up, and all of his neurological signs looked good.
We got Oolong in today for an appointment with his normal vet as soon as they opened. He got some more pain meds, and started his first round of laser treatments. He's on bed rest again today; it always takes a few days and a few lasers before he can be given freedom to move again. The vet isn't too worried, but we have daily lasers for the rest of the week, which includes a brief check in. He's still slow when he gets up, but he is moving better once he gets going. And when I’ve had to pick him up over curbs or into the house, he hasn’t whimpered or squealed.
Combined with his allergy medication (he's allergic to the state of Texas), he's currently taking 4 different medications a day and receiving daily laser treatments. His pain levels seem to be as controlled as can be expected this early. I think he’s mostly quite sad about being on bed rest and not being able to hop up into my lap. Every little whimper breaks my stupid heart. I laid on the floor by his bed today and just stroked his side, which seemed to reassure him.
He’s sleeping peacefully now, and I’m giving the cats some people time in the den while checking out the new King of the Hill episodes.
Thank goodness we have pet insurance for our little loser.
And thank you for reading, if you made it this far.