Last Updated on November 6, 2010
Things are never fully okay for a dog owner when their four-legged friend is feeling under the weather.
While I was in California last week, my folks babysat the pooch. And, as “grandparents” are prone to do, they spoiled her a bit more than I already have.  This, friends, is an accomplishment.
When I walked in the door just back from the airport, I took one look at her and could tell she’d gained several pounds in just a week. But when I went to pick her up to try to weigh her on a scale, she cried out in pain.
It seems like she may have pulled a muscle in a shoulder, though I can’t find any specific points that cause her pain.
She has since stopped trying to jump up on the couch or the bed, which for her, is a serious issue: she’s the biggest couch potato I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen quite a variety of them in my time. So for her to ignore a chance to have the couch to herself would be equal to Rush Limbaugh skipping a chance to criticize a liberal.
It just doesn’t happen.
My inner hypochondriac has spilled over into the area of my dog’s health, too, so I started looking up possible symptoms that might extend beyond a muscle pull. She’s still eating and drinking plenty of water, but she’s moving pretty slowly, particularly when it comes to going up stairs. She’s had a few minor coughing bouts as well, but those aren’t often.
I came up with possibilities like congestive heart failure, abdominal fluid buildup and other dreary diagnoses I really didn’t want to think about.
I wound up taking her to a veterinary clinic last night just to make me feel better, and the news was generally better than expected: they couldn’t detect a specific area of sensitivity, either, but after an exam, blood work and x-rays, they were able to rule out most of the really bad conditions.
They also indicated that she’s showing signs of arthritis, so any sudden weight gain could certainly make that a little worse. They also detected a little chest congestion, which could easily explain any coughing, but said that could easily be taken care of.
The only really worrisome part is that they said one of the x-rays showed that the margins of the liver and spleen were slightly abnormal. Translated, that means that the two organs are slightly larger than they might normally be, although this could be a sign of fatty deposits typical of aging.
And she is a couch potato.
So they gave me some pain medication and antibiotics for her. If she’s not markedly better in about 10 days or so, they’re suggesting an ultrasound to get a better look at the liver and spleen.
When I adopted her six-and-a-half years ago, the vet then estimated that she was about two to three years old. That puts her right at the 10-year-old mark, which amounts to roughly 70 years of age in human years.
I don’t know how long she might live, but if this continues to get more and more complicated, there’s a limit as to how much I want to put her through, especially if I can’t get a fairly reasonable assurance that a procedure should solve rather than just allieviate a problem.
She has reached that terrible age at which point you have to weigh expense, quality of life and length of life. That’s not a particularly pleasant place to be.
She’s a terrific dog, easily one of the best ones I’ve ever had. She deserves happy and healthy “golden years.” I don’t want to think about them coming to an end, but then in fairness, there will never be a time when I want to think about something like that.
I just hope she gets many more.
I like reading about your dog. She seems like quite an adorable character.
I hope whatever is bothering her will let up soon, and she’ll be crowding the couch or the bed as always.