Isabella has been with us over nine years and will be turning ten in October. She has been a happy, healthy little dog and a great addition to our family.
In mid-March, 2011, our kids noticed that Isi wasn’t herself: “Mom, something’s wrong with Isi. She won’t even look at the ball when we throw it to her. Something’s definitely wrong.” Isi, being female and a terrier, can certainly have her moods. I didn’t think much of her disinterest in play until the following day when she wasn’t interested in much of anything. She was clearly uncomfortable and was having a hard time lying down and getting up the stairs. She hadn’t eaten in two days and hadn’t gone number two for at least a day. When I put my hand under her belly (which had become tense) to move her aside, she yelped. Of course she had waited until Sunday evening to show us these troubling signs and we decided to make a trip to urgent care.
Once at urgent care, Isi had a fairly loose bowel movement in the middle of the floor – completely unlike her. We suggested that her anal sacs might be full and they certainly were. Isi appeared to feel better after having them expressed so we left with antibiotics and pain medication and hoped we were on our way to recovery.
The following morning, however, Isi wasn’t getting back to normal the way we expected. Over the course of the day we realized something was still going on. On late Monday afternoon, we called Care Animal Hospital, our regular vet clinic, and were told to bring her in immediately to see Dr. Garnett. After checking Isi over and reviewing her case, Dr. Garnett was not convinced that this was a stomach or anal sac issue; she began to explore the possibility of a disc problem. Isi would need to be immobilized immediately and Dr. Garnett decided to keep her overnight in anticipation of x-rays the following morning. We knew it would be best for all of us, especially Isi, so we said goodbye and waited anxiously for news.
The next day, Dr. Garnett called and said her suspicions had been confirmed; that the x-rays showed evidence of degenerative disc disease. The radiologist would later confirm Dr. Garnett’s diagnosis so we prepared to immobilize Isi for at least the next two weeks so that she could heal and hopefully return to normal. We also prepared for the worst case scenario – full paralysis.
So how would we immobilize our otherwise energetic little terrier with two kids in the house? The emotional logistics would actually prove to be the most difficult. Fortunately, we had done most of the work when Isi was a puppy – we had made the decision to crate train Isi many years ago. While Isi typically has the run of the house, she does love her crate. She sleeps, travels, and seeks respite (when the kids get to be too much) in her crate. Over the next two weeks, we would come to find out that it was probably harder for us than for Isi to be in her crate that long. Diligently, several times a day we carried the crate outside, put her on a leash for short bathroom breaks, and carried her back inside in the crate. We brought her food to her door where she could eat - from her crate. She watched tv in the family room with us – from the crate. We missed her warm little body at our feet and her pretentious prances across the floor but slowly and surely, she improved.
We decided to continue to restrict movement for the next two weeks – letting her out only to eat or relieve herself and have a good stretch. We saw Dr. Garnett nearly one month after Isi’s initial signs and everything checked out ok! Isi is restricted from jumping on the couch or the bed (easy, because we never allowed that anyway) but otherwise is looking like her old self. The kids couldn’t be happier that she wants to play ball again and I’m happy to have her sit at my feet. It wasn’t easy (mostly for us) but we’re glad Isi spent most of that month in her crate.
My family has been coming to Care Animal since 1989, when we had Quincy, a sweet little Yorkshire Terrier. We have had confidence in Dr. Garnett and her staff since that time and are happy to share a partnership with them in the health of our pets. Thank you!
-- Darcie B.
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