This past weekend, little Callie took a turn for the worse. Up until then she had been doing so well, rarely showing any pain and having no neurological signs. Then it suddenly all showed up again.
I took her back to the vet this morning. (By the way, I love this doctor. She is the best.) We still can't figure out why she isn't gaining weight. All logic points to an underlying condition. But what is it?! She has the heart murmur, but no symptoms of cardiac disease. No coughing, no exercise intolerance, a great appetite. Being a boxer, she is more likely than any other dog breed to get cancer, but her blood work was totally normal. Of course, blood work can't diagnose cancer, but it can often tell you where to look (elevated liver values may point to liver cancer, for example). This is just so damn frustrating. I'm sure glad that she doesn't have to wrap her little mind around any of this.
Since the only thing actually bothering her are her hips, we are treating that condition as the priority. She needs to be able to run around and play and be happy. The nerve damage is irreversible, but we haven't completely lost hope. We are just trying a different course of action. This time around, high dose steroids. She got a giant shot of them today (she should feel really good for the next day or two!) and I will give her daily pills, starting high, and tapering off over the next three to four weeks, depending on the results. Our goal will be to find the lowest possible dose that she can do well on. Long term steroid usage certainly poses a risk of side affects in the future, but that risk is out weighed by her living a good quality life.
Sadly, this is pretty much a last effort. We have exercised all other options. It's very hard to balance being optimistic and realistic at the same time but I'm trying my best.
Mentally, she lives in the moment and thrives, but physically, she just can't escape her awful past. All we can do now is make sure that the next few weeks are really great for her and hope for the best.
Poor Callie. I think managing her pain and making her life happy is such a good plan. Remember that even when she is in pain, her heart is happy because she knows that she is finally loved. Even though you can't figure out what is causing her physical pain, you have totally healed her emotional pain.
ReplyDeleteMary is absolutely right. You know that any pain she's in now is nothing compared to what she's already been through because she knows she is loved. I hope the steroids work & that she can start gaining some weight and building up strength!
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