I Have A Good Excuse

Note: No knitting or nice nature pictures in this post. My excuse is caring for an ailing dog. Details follow for those who are interested.

Background for those who don't know:

Sunny is a 15 pound Papillon mix with advanced Spondylosis (spinal osteoarthritis,a degenerative disorder that causes loss of normal spinal structure and function). The back third of her spine is fused with calcium deposits. The mid third of her spine is in the process of fusing. Somehow it got jarred which has resulted in severe pain and muscle contractions. She is currently on a steroid, a muscle relaxant, and Xanax. It has been over a week since this started. The vet says it will likely be another week before she's back to as normal as she's going to get.

Sunny is doing better. We have wonderful vets. They are keeping in close contact with us to monitor Sunny's meds and change them as needed as she gets more and more painfree and able to move again.

Last night she only yipped loud enough to wake me up twice. Tomorrow we try cutting the steroid (Prednosolone) down from two a day to one a day, and we're giving her short walks outdoors which she loves. She's even able to throw her tail up over her back and prance a bit.

She's a feisty little girl and tries to carry on with all her important duties - like reminding us when it's time to serve dinner.

Bob and I are stressed out. The main reason is watching Sunny be in pain. When she yips and/or cries, every nerve in our bodies stands on end in sympathy.

Another reason is the amount of work and attention it takes to take care of three dogs when one requires special attention, individual walks, and lots of extra loving although she hurts too much for us to hold her. Our days and nights have been devoted to canine care.

On a practical note, what I really need is newspapers. Do you have any idea how much a 15 pound dog on steroids can pee?