The Little Pack

The other day as I was checking Jack over for ticks–don’t get me started on ticks! They are the bane of my existence!–I came across a hard lump on the inside of his knee. It felt like bone. Actually, it felt very much like the lump I found on IO’s foot last year that turned out to be bone cancer. I could feel hot tears rolling down my cheeks before I could even begin to try to be rational about the whole situation. For a week every time I was in the car, I found myself sobbing and bargaining with God to let me have him here just a little while longer.

The vet took x-rays and found that the lump we are feeling is simply arthritis from an old injury and ACL surgery. What an absolute relief. Jackson is almost 10 so a little arthritis is not unexpected. For now his discomfort is mild and intermittent so no real intervention is needed yet other than some supplements and the occasional Rimadyl.

I can’t help feeling as though one of these days my luck will run out and we will receive The Diagnosis and it will be time to say good-bye. But for the time being, I will hug him close and throw his toy and breathe the biggest sigh of relief.

Dixie had a check-up tonight. The stone has not moved. Because she is continuing to do well, we are going to adopt a wait and see approach. This little dog just continues to surprise us. Everytime we think her time may be up, she rises to the occasion and manages to overcome the situation at hand. So for now, I am breathing a sigh of relief.

Dixie’s courage continues to impress me. But I should probably explain. After keeping Dixie at the vet on IV fluids all last week, the stone did not move at all. The worry, of course, is the the stone is either blocking the ureter, causing the kidney to shut down, or the kidney isn’t functioning and sending fluid through the ureter to push it through to the bladder. At the end of the week, we brought her home with the intent to manage her pain and see how it goes. Our vet consulted with several specialists and we brought her back for x-rays tonight. The plan if the stone did not move was to inject her blood with dye to better see what was going on with the kidney. This was the route we were prepared to take. However, the x-ray showed the stone moved about an inch, which was great news. The vet checked her kidney function levels, which were absolutely fine. So she is on an anti-inflammatory which they think may help push the stone through the ureter. She goes back for a follow up in a week and we will continue to monitor the stone’s progress.

After laying around all day Saturday, yesterday afternoon and all day today she has been absolutely wild, clearly feeling better, so I was not surprised to find out that the stone had moved. I am starting to call her my little Timex dog–she takes a licking and keeps on ticking. And as small as she is, her courage knows no bounds and her determination is resolute. I have learned to never count her out. She proves that being tough has absolutely nothing to do with one’s size. And I, for one, am inspired by that.

Tonight finds Dixie at our vet with a stone again. She has been there since yesterday morning and is expected to stay 2 to 3 days longer. We came home from vacation on Sunday night to find her in serious pain. She was lying on the floor, writhing in pain, whimpering. And seriously why does this stuff always happen after hours? I knew it was another stone. So we packed her up and brought her to the emergency vet. Four hours and $400 later, Dixie had been given fluids, a shot of morphine, x-rays taken, and we had determined that she did indeed have another stone. This time the stone is located between her kidney and bladder. We left dejected and exhausted and feeling quite honestly hopeless.

We took her to our regular vet first thing the next morning and found out that the stone itself is actually quite tiny—only 2 to 3 mm—and they completely expect her to pass the stone no problem once it gets to her bladder.  Her kidney function is fine and her electrolyte levels are normal. So they are giving her IV fluids to try and help flush the stone through. The stone has moved a little bit, but it is a slow process and right now, it looks like at least 2 to 3 days longer.

To review, Dixie has had 3 surgeries, and has been catheterized twice since last October—her bladder was flushed just two weeks ago and 8 small stones were removed at that time. She has calcium oxalate stones, which are notoriously hard to treat and often reoccur. Although uncommon in females, it is a known issue in Yorkshire terriers. And, as I understand it, in canines, the stones normally form in the bladder, so it is again unusual that this stone formed in the kidney. Information about these stones is readily available but beyond conflicting.

Trying to determine the correct course of action is worse. I feel as though I am negotiating an emotional landmine and there are no easy answers. Her quality of life is the most important consideration, but nearly impossible to sort out. This isn’t a life-threatening condition, just painful, and the condition can be easily managed through surgery… which is clearly not ideal. Unfortunately, I need to be realistic about the resources we have available and the health and needs of the rest of the pack. I have no idea how this will all turn out, but I do know that unbearable decisions lie ahead in the coming days and weeks.

Just call me Pet Mom of the Year. Again. Jackson badly tore his dewclaw over the weekend–the nail sheath was completely torn away from the nail bud. It was super painful for him and I knew the vet would need to put him under anesthesia to cut the nail back. I decided we may as well get his teeth cleaned at the same time. Unfortunately, he had a cracked tooth with an exposed, infected root. I am sure that this has been causing him considerable pain, especially when eating. So, turns out, the reason he acted as though eating his dinner was pure torture was because… it is. Every night he would look at me with agony as though to say, Please don’t make me eat..and every night I would sternly say, Jackson, this is ridiculous, eat your dinner. The end of his tail would wag: thunk, thunk, thunk, and then I would give him The Look. You know, the I-Mean-Business-Boy-and-Don’t-Make-Me-Come-Over-There Look. And because he is such a good boy, he would comply.