Monday, March 2, 2020

My Sweet Spaatz in Trouble

Spaatz, who is my personal sweetheart of a dog has come down with a scary and disturbing problem. A few days ago he started wobbling like a drunk, having a hard time standing and his head wobbling back and forth when he's sitting or laying down.

I have taken him to the vet, had blood work, stool sample, X-ray done. While he tested positive for Lyme, and we started Doxycyline, the titer has come out lower than what warrants continued treatment with that. He's also on an anti-inflammatory and Gabepentin. He seems to have gotten a little better, so I'm not sure what is helping. Or is part of it that he coping better. He pretty quickly figured out to steady himself on an object or another dog, or to just lay down which stops the movement.
I won't lie. This has been affecting me profoundly. This guy is my rock. 100%, always there for me. I love the other dogs, but Spaatz has decided to devote himself to me above and beyond Sandie, Peach and Fooze.
Miss Peachy, we have a long history together and share some different bonds than most people have with their dogs. Like we have both visited each other in the hospital while the other was paralyzed and been there for each other during recovery. She is my older gal who sleeps a lot and comes out when she wants something.
Sandie is my husbands dog. She is very sweet, silly and loving to me, but Jerry is her person. She waits for him to come home every night. Everyone loves Sandie, but she has her favorite.
Foozeball, Mr. Foo as I call him is a handsome old guy but he's just that guy. Every group has one, and he's it. He's gonna be 13 real soon, pretty much lost his hearing, so that makes communication just a little more difficult. He is learning some hand signals though.
I was really worked up about this problem with Spaatz though, very worried. We can't afford some crazy surgery or something like that. But does this really warrant that? He is seeming a little better. He otherwise is himself. Happy, following me everywhere. Still wants to play with toys, chase squirrels (which has been discouraged) and is not hurting. He getting around well. I feel better now with the signs of improvement and knowing that he's not going anywhere.