Puppy Pain....

[bonniegrrl]

I found out last night that Sophie hurt her back somehow and isn't feeling like her usual perky self. Of course, when I got the email at work, I panicked and immediately called Steve. (Steve and Sharon are her caretakers since I'm not able to keep a pup happy and content with my 11-hour work week schedule and such). This is the email that Steve sent me:

hey bonbon,
sophie hurt herself yesterday, the vet's not really sure what's wrong
with her. We think that she sprained or pulled a muscle in her back.
they took x-rays and everything looks fine. she's back home now but i'll
be taking her back to the vet tomorrow morning.

you're welcome to stop in and say hi, but she'll probably be sleeping.
just wanted to let you know.
-s

Steve said it took him 20 minutes to figure out what to write because he knew as soon as I read it I'd be freaking out. (He was right!)

He and Sharon are by far the best two people in the world to take care of her, and they were pretty upset to find Sophie in pain as well. When I got there Sophie was laying in her doggie bed, she wasn't moving except for her wagging tail when she saw me. Usually when she sees me she jumps up and down and fetches me her toy bone. So needless to say seeing her motionless in her bed broke my heart.

Steve told me that she was on painkillers that the vet gave him and she was really wiped out from them. But I stayed with her, petting her to make her feel better, and to let her know that she's loved. Because her back hurt so much she couldn't go up and down the stairs to go to the bathroom outside, so Steve would carry her. Even when we took her dowstairs, she still wouldn't go because she couldn't manage the hunch position that dogs do when they go to the bathroom. So my poor Sophie is frustrated by that. She's not eating either, because she can't bend her neck, but even when we bring the food to her mouth, she moves her face away in disgust. Just getting her to drink water is hard enough, so I have her lick ice cubes. (She usually likes chomping on them).

The vet had her most of yesterday on an IV drip so she'd have plenty of liquids, and all the tests they ran showed that she hasn't broken anything, and there's no blockage in her intestines. The vet was also ruling out arthritis. But after Steve did some Google searching on the matter, it seems that dog arthritis can happen rather quickly after a traumatic injury. So now I'm really worried.

Steve and Sharon don't know what exactly happened to cause the accident. She may have fallen down the outside stairs chasing after a squirrel or neighbor cat, or something else my have happened. Either way, she's not a happy puppy and I'm completely beside myself! :(

I spent the night at their house and Sophie slept in her dog bed beside me. Her painkillers wore off around 4am, and I didn't know where they were. I didn't want to wake up Steve and Sharon in their bedroom, so I petted Sophie when she would wimper and that would make her feel better and she'd stop. So basically, I didn't sleep last night -- I just kept petting her belly and tried to make her feel better.

She slept on her side the whole night, which is irregular since she's usually flopping all over the place when she's a happy pup. This morning around 6am she sat up and then collapsed on her other side...which I suppose is good that she could get up on her own. When Steve and Sharon got up around 7am they gave her some water and more painkillers
so she was still a bit groggy and wobbly, but her tail wagged when they spoke to her.

As I was getting ready to leave for work, Steve and Sharon carried Sophie out the door to take her to the vet for more tests. There is no way in hell that I'm going to get any real work done today. But I'm crossing my fingers and toes today that Sophie will feel better and that she'll eat something and go to the bathroom properly. I know I'll be bugging Steve and Sharon (they're both staying home today with her) for updates and such. And I imagine I'll be back over there on the weekend to help watch her.

I know this may sound silly to some of you, but Sophie is the one thing in my life that means the most to me. She's been there with me through heartaches and gigglefits, licked tears off my face, smiled at me when I was blue and everyone who meets her falls in love with her. She's the best dog in the world, and she doesn't deserve to be in any pain...EVER.