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Saturday, June 02, 2018
Like Mother, Like "Daughter"?
If you've read some of my posts in the last couple of months, you know that our littlest Chihuahua Lucky has been having some back/shoulder/knee issues. Like Mother, like "daughter".
First, right before Steve and I left for our cruise at the end of March, poor little thing tweaked her neck area. That led to her not wanting to use her front right leg! We did the usual version of "dog PT" for the situation: NSAIDS, muscle relaxers and painkillers for about a week.
We held our breath that she'd be okay during our absence. Thankfully, she did okay. All was well in doggyland-momentarily.
Then Lucky decided that she had to follow her sister to bark at the front door. Now for most dogs this is a given, but when you have tiny little legs and you're sitting on top of a pillow that's perched on top of one of your "best boys" (Dylan), that jump down turns into a very dangerous and painful outcome.
As soon as she hit the floor-she screamed so loud that she scared all of us! Still, she wanted her mommy and even while crying, screaming and real tears coming down-I held her. With Aidan's help, we got all 3 meds into her and then I held her until she went to sleep.
Our wonderful vet took an x-ray and said the good news was that there wasn't a break, all soft tissue damage. We know the drill (let's face it, I'm an expert on spinal issues). Kept up the meds for the two weeks and instead of walking with her sister and boyfriends, Lucky spent the morning power walks in her "chariot" from moment one to our return to the front door.
She seemed okay, even walked about a 1/2 mile one day before picking up her little hind leg and walking on the other remaining three. No more screaming, crying or shaking. Everything was inconsistent. Just every so often, she decided that using that back leg wasn't needed!
Like me, she has her good moments and her "why can't I just do what I want anymore?" times. Even though she's no longer crying, she's also not walking! Around the yard, the house, wherever-this little one can't go far without deciding that mom's arms or her stroller are a better option.
So, I again talked to the vet-with the new information we now know what the problem is: Her knee keeps dislocating!
We were told that this is quite common in this size Chihuahuas. Sigh. Just like mom-she has a fragile spine and knees. Poor baby. At this time our vet said that she'll need to take it easy for a couple of more months-hopefully her knees will strengthen, but she'll always have this problem.
"As long as it doesn't get worse or she starts screaming in pain again, we'll just keep a close eye on her."
I just feel so bad for her-so does Sunshine, who keeps vigil and doles out many, many kisses. Pepper keeps smelling her-guess that's the cat version of, "I love you".
Sometimes, even non-genetics stink.
First, right before Steve and I left for our cruise at the end of March, poor little thing tweaked her neck area. That led to her not wanting to use her front right leg! We did the usual version of "dog PT" for the situation: NSAIDS, muscle relaxers and painkillers for about a week.
We held our breath that she'd be okay during our absence. Thankfully, she did okay. All was well in doggyland-momentarily.
Then Lucky decided that she had to follow her sister to bark at the front door. Now for most dogs this is a given, but when you have tiny little legs and you're sitting on top of a pillow that's perched on top of one of your "best boys" (Dylan), that jump down turns into a very dangerous and painful outcome.
As soon as she hit the floor-she screamed so loud that she scared all of us! Still, she wanted her mommy and even while crying, screaming and real tears coming down-I held her. With Aidan's help, we got all 3 meds into her and then I held her until she went to sleep.
Our wonderful vet took an x-ray and said the good news was that there wasn't a break, all soft tissue damage. We know the drill (let's face it, I'm an expert on spinal issues). Kept up the meds for the two weeks and instead of walking with her sister and boyfriends, Lucky spent the morning power walks in her "chariot" from moment one to our return to the front door.
She seemed okay, even walked about a 1/2 mile one day before picking up her little hind leg and walking on the other remaining three. No more screaming, crying or shaking. Everything was inconsistent. Just every so often, she decided that using that back leg wasn't needed!
Like me, she has her good moments and her "why can't I just do what I want anymore?" times. Even though she's no longer crying, she's also not walking! Around the yard, the house, wherever-this little one can't go far without deciding that mom's arms or her stroller are a better option.
So, I again talked to the vet-with the new information we now know what the problem is: Her knee keeps dislocating!
We were told that this is quite common in this size Chihuahuas. Sigh. Just like mom-she has a fragile spine and knees. Poor baby. At this time our vet said that she'll need to take it easy for a couple of more months-hopefully her knees will strengthen, but she'll always have this problem.
"As long as it doesn't get worse or she starts screaming in pain again, we'll just keep a close eye on her."
I just feel so bad for her-so does Sunshine, who keeps vigil and doles out many, many kisses. Pepper keeps smelling her-guess that's the cat version of, "I love you".
Sometimes, even non-genetics stink.
