Monday, June 22, 2009

Chilly's Prognosis

Chilly Dog went to see the vet last week for a checkup and to see if there was anything that could be done about his trouble walking. His mobility has been getting worse since last April, and he hasn't been able to go for walks of any length since early this year. For the last several months he has been eating regular dog food, but usually with some canned food or treats to make it more appealing. The vet believes that he has arthritis in his knees, hips, and back. He felt the back half of the spine and found that it was all pretty solid, meaning that there was either a disk problem, or severe arthritis there. The vet thought that his arthritis was likely caused by his chasing rabbits and jumping off high places in his younger years, but may also have an autoimmune disease contributing to it (similar to rheumatoid arthritis in people). Either way, the arthritis in his back was likely causing nerve problems resulting in lack of feeling to his back feet which explains why he has trouble moving them. Other than taking anti-inflamatories and the doggie version of vicadin for pain, there is no easy treatment, although going to physical therapy or swimming is great exercise for him without having to put pressure on his joints.



The doctor was not all negative....he said that Chilly has a "very strong ticker", good eyesight, good hearing, and appears to be mentally sharp. Because of the nerve problem, he doesn't have pain in the back hip, and he generally seems happy. He wanted to see Chilly back in three months.

Since the visit, Chilly has been walking around more, eating better (without any canned dog food or people food) and seeming happier, despite the oppressive heat.


(These pictures were taken on a visit to Petsmart last week).

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Floods!

This is the nice quiet little creek about a block from my house:



This is the same little creek after the rain we had yesterday, causing the national news to report that dozens of houses had to be evacuated, and hundreds of people wanting to get buyouts:




(Luckily, despite it being so close to here, it is downhill enough that we are not affected by it).

Monday, June 15, 2009

Dr. Henry's advice for Chilly

Last night, after seeing the last posting and the video of Chilly walking on the underwater treadmill, Chilly's human cousin Henry (age 5)


said that he knew what to do to help Chilly's hurting feet: Put his legs in buckets of water. Chilly said that it sounds fun but will check with his vet tomorrow night before doing it.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

Birthday Dogs

Today is Chilly's 13 1/2 birthday, and Andy turned 5 on June 2 (according to dogage.com, he is about 25 in people years).



Andy spent his birthday in the dark because of a power outage, the first of two in the last two weeks. Chilly continues in therapy, and is up to 29 minutes on the treadmill (see video for a clip of his most recent trip).