Phoebe was diagnosed with severe arthritis in her spine about three weeks ago. It was very painful for her but she managed to hide it from us for quite a while.
In late spring, she started dragging one hind foot every so often. This usually happened after she had been laying down for a long period and once she took a step or two, would be fine. On rare occasions, she would be slow to get up, but we thought it was normal aging as she was going on 9 years old.
By July, she was loathe to play or move too much. This was during the heat wave and she was never a big fan of hot weather, so again, we were not overly concerned. At the end of July, though, I got a feeling that something was not quite right but couldn't put my finger on it. Phoebe wasn't exhibiting any consistent symptoms or troubles and she had just received a clean bill of health in April. I wasn't sure my vet would be able to diagnose anything when I myself couldn't give a reason for a visit!
In the middle of August, though, Phoebe did not want to play with the other dogs and would just sleep behind a bush near the fence. I had to encourage her to eat that week-end, which definitely was not the norm for her. I made an appointment first thing Monday. By the time of our appointment, she was running a high fever and could barely walk. I carried her into the vet office and feared the worse.
An x-ray showed the arthritis and we quickly had a course of action. Phoebe received a metacam shot and we had prescriptions for additional metacam and clavamox. The injection worked quickly--Phoebe was able to walk by the time we got home! Her fever was down by the afternoon and gone the next day. Each day, she was steadier on her feet and enjoyed her new status of permanent house dog. I could tell when she had walked too much or the time or two of trying to trot as she seemed to slip back a bit in her progress, but it was always temporary.
At her re-check the following week, Phoebe was moving almost normally! Her weight had increased quite a bit and she was almost the happy girl we knew and loved. We went home with more metacam and more clavamox with the goal of weaning her off the metacam and only using it when she needed it.
Just four days later, Phoebe couldn't stand up without help. When I boosted her up, her legs couldn't support her and I could tell the pain had returned with a vengeance. We made a quick trip to the vet, Phoebe frequently crying softly.
Phoebe had lost all the weight she had just gained, plus a little more. During the exam, she blew her cheeks out, then pushed her head against the tech's arm. I knew she had to be in unbearable pain as she would never show when something bothered her.
The vet recommended a course of steroids and heavy sedatives for the pain, then re-check her in two days. If she did not have improvement, she would need to be euthanized.
David and I discussed the hard decision before us. If the steroids worked, we could expect another episode that Phoebe was enduring. The steroids may not work at all, could last six months or as long as two years. We both felt that another episode would be much worse than what Phoebe was experiencing. We didn't have high hopes that the steroids would work at all since this downturn had happened so suddenly. We didn't want Phoebe to live her life in a heavy medicated state and most important, I had promised Phoebe that her pain would end. We made the painful decision to have her euthanized rather than more treatments.As she slipped away, we saw the pain leave her eyes and then she smiled before closing her eyes. As hard as the decision was, and as much as we hurt, we knew we had done the right thing for our beautiful girl.
3 comments:
Phoebe was such a beautiful girl! And did she ever put on a winter coat!!! Again, I offer my deepest sympathies to you. It's so hard to say good-bye and we miss them so much. You did right by her though, as you always do. (Hugs from Canada)
Thanks, Dianne. We need to figure out a way to meet some day!
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