Doggie Bed Rest

I had a very scary morning. It started off fairly normal, Evan and I sat on the couch while he nursed, the dogs were sleeping on the loveseat, all was well. One of our neighbors was out walking her dog, and Daisy and Deiter ran to the front door to bark at her.

After a few moments of exuberant barking, Deiter ran back over towards me, and suddenly he lost control of his hind legs. He was dragging them behind him, and doing a funny roll. He then stopped using his front legs,too. He was sort of thrashing on the carpet, with all four legs sprawled out, yet limp.

At this point I am practically in tears. I am trying to keep Evan and Daisy away from Deiter, while at the same time trying to keep Deiter still, terrified he is doing more damage with his rolling and trashing. It was not an easy task, but I somehow managed. Eventually, he was able to walk again, so I put him and Daisy in their kennel, and called the vet. They wanted me to bring him in as soon as possible.

I tracked down Chris at school, with the help of a few of the very nice receptionists, but he unfortunately was unable to leave. Luckily, our good friend Jimmy, and his fiance Jackie, were home, and dropped everything to come help me. (We are blessed with some pretty amazing friends.)

With Jackie and Jimmy's help, we loaded Evan and the dogs, still in their kennel, into the Jeep and headed to the vet in Cedar Rapids. When we got there, they examined Deiter, who at this point was still walking normally. They said that the signs I was describing suggest possible degenerative disc disease, but the physical exam was normal.

For now, Deiter is on doggie bed rest. He can't run, jump, do the stairs or wrestle. I need to carry him outside to do his business. I am not sure how I am going to do this with Evan and Daisy, but I am going to make it work.

I am pretty scared for my Deiter-boy right now. If it is the disc disease, he will have to be on steroids, and possibly need surgery. He is such a faithful, loyal, sweet boy and he does not deserve this. If you think of it, please say a prayer or send warm thoughts for my pup.