My Furry Valentines

Pup pup's little leg was shaved for his IV.
He has been a very tired bear

Well the day did not start well...when I took the pups out for their walk this morning.  Reg was still walking pretty slow, but he also seemed a bit disoriented and tripped a couple of times...I called the vet around 10:30am and left a message for Dr. Tasky to call me back.

I gave Reg his Cerenia and he ate a little bit of canned food, but would not drink any water.  Around 11:30am he asked to go out to potty...he was still walking pretty slow, stumbling a bit, and seemed disoriented.

Around 12:00pm, I still had not heard back from the vet, so I called back and asked to speak with her.  She was about to do a couple of surgeries, but said she should be done around 3:00pm and to bring him in.  I had to go to a meeting at the hospital from 2:00 - 3:00pm, so I dropped him off around 1:15pm to hang out until Dr. Tasky was able to see him.

During the time I was gone Reg spent a fair amount of time harassing the resident kitties, Nezzie and Rogue (sorry kitties)...most of my friends and family know that Reg is the absolute most perfect dog in every way, except he would LOVE to kill him a little kitty or bunny...seriously...I have never seen a dog so cat aggressive in my life, it's a sad day for any kitty in his presence.  This is a bit ironic because before I got Bug and Reg, I was a cat person (I know, right?)...I had literally 7 cats throughout my childhood [Miss Grey, Bumble no-toes (don't ask), DOODLE! Snow, Buddy, Tiger, and Callie Boo]...

Anyway...Dr. Tasky came in the room to talk with me and told me she had performed another physical exam.  She said that she didn't see any conditions that presented a neurological issue, but that when she tested the range of motion of his neck he yelped when she tilted his head straight back and he seemed stiff when she moved it from left to right.

None of Reg's symptoms seem to align with any one diagnosis:

• Initially presented with fever and high WBC
• Persistant lethargy
• Stumbling when walking
• Head held low when walking
• No desired to drink water at all
• Mass in his neck
• Neck pain when head tilted backwards and stiffness when shifted side to side

The little guy has lost 3# since Friday, which yes I know isn't a lot, but it's still 3#.

Dr. Tasky is a bit stumped, but thinks due to the fact that he initially presented with a fever, he may have a relatively rare condition called Discospondylitis which affects the vertebrae in his neck.  Neck pain could lead to lethargy and discomfort walking (stumbling and head hung low).  She gave him a shot of Rimadyl for the pain and started him back on Cephlexin.

She does not think that the mass in his neck is related to his other conditions.  We have not heard back from pathology--48 hours is their max turn around time, so I will definitely know something by tomorrow.  I guess I am more concerned about the mass, and the fact that it could be cancer makes me want to throw up.

He has been eating better.  He had a little bit this morning, but also had some dry food and water! yay! this afternoon when we got home from the vet.

On another note...Reese (Bug) is so upset that there is something wrong with Reg.  If we all remember correctly, the whole reason I got Reg was for Bug.  She was having stress induced colitis flare up while I was gone during the day.  I started fostering Reg to see if having a buddy in the house would help her, and low and behold she hasn't had a single colitis flare up since Reg came to live with us over 1 year ago...until today.  Bug is so stressed out about Reg that when I came home she had had a flare up...for those of you that do not know what this entails, there is diarrhea everywhere...just not something that I want to deal with right now.  I have spent so much time focusing on Reg, that I haven't been good about loving on Bug and letting her know everything is going to be okay (so we hope), and I feel absolutely terrible about it.

I will spend tonight snuggle on the couch with both of my furry Valentines, and be thankful that I am able to do so.  I bought the babies Pawbenders (frozen custard doggie treats) on the way home from the vet, so they will get those and I will have a glass or two of wine.

We will get the cytology report back tomorrow, and hopefully Reg's pain will have lessened by then.