Walked in for his Shot

Took him to Dr. Jeff for his Percortin shot for his Addison’s and he was walking great. From last week he continued to improve and was able to walk straight and did not look like he was in pain.

Barely Moving

Last night and this morning he barely moved. I made him go outside about 11 and he just lay in the shade watching the girls run. Later on I again made him move to a shady spot and as the day went on he moved more and more. By the end of the day he was certainly walking on his own and even had a ball in his mouth to play. It will be interesting to see how he feels in the morning.

He Needed Help to Go Outside

Yesterday something happened and he was not able to walk last night and his feet are really swollen. I had to take him out with a scarf around his stomach to lift the weight off his back legs. All day he barely moved but was alert to what was going on. I took him outside and parked him not too far from the fence where the girls run and he seemed to like that and would bark at them.

Talking with Marilyn he said he only has a little pain – can’t get comfortable – just really tired. He feels like his body was twisted like a rag. Nothing major or out of the ordinary happened yesterday. He doesn’t know if he had a seizure and she showed him what a seizure looks like and he said he has those all the time now and often it’s internal so that I if he lies down. He’s not in real pain but he feels like his insides are coming out of him – literally that’s not happening but he feels horrible. He used to think when he couldn’t get up anymore that would be it but now lying around is not so bad and he’s ok with it. Can’t get up now means he can’t lift his head and that’s how he’ll tell me it’s time. He likes that he’s spending more time with me and has to rely on me more and I’m his full focus now. He feels closer to me.

Not Too Much Pain

There hasn’t been much improvement in the last 2 days but I don’t think he has gone downhill either. He really struggles to get up and sometimes I think he feels it’s just not worth the effort. When I was getting the food ready, he did not come and I had to go to get him and encourage him to get up and come and eat. It’s the getting up and down that seem to be the problem. Outside today he hobbled around, barked at cars on the road, got between the girls and barked at them but did not go for the walk with me tonight around the yard. He told Marilyn:

• His hips look like girls hips now;
• Minor tremors occur when he is outside at times and he tries to hide it from me;
• He likes to lay in the sand because it feels good;
• He doesn’t have pain that he can’t handle right now and is taking one day at a time;
• It takes all of his concentration to get his leg muscles to work together to move now; and
• Sometimes his toes hurt on his rear legs.

He Needed Help to Get Up

I feel he went a bit downhill this week. His walk is very crooked and he stumbles. This afternoon he laid down on the floor in the living room and then couldn’t get up and after a few tries just stopped trying and looked at me like “now what”. I pushed a mat a bit under him and he got up. It was a struggle but he did it. Outside he is happy and hobbles around the yard. He seems to like to spend time under the porch. I don’t think he can control himself as I found a very wet spot on a rug today.

Ups and Downs

Maintained this week… no better but no worse. Occasionally find him looking scared and not wanting to go out or maybe it’s he doesn’t have the comprehension what I’m asking… who knows. When I go to him and lead him out he comes but I really have to be insistent. Once he’s out he’s fine. Sometimes he trots on all 4 feet and other times he can barely get up. The barely getting up could be because he overdid it perhaps. Eats well.

Hiding in the Bathroom

In the last few days he has gone ever so slowly downhill. This morning I found him hunkered down in the windowless bathroom and he didn't want to come out of it. I believe he may have had a seizure. He looked scared so I brought him out to the living room. I had to leave and when I got home he was outside hopping around and had a great attitude. Another thing I noticed this morning was how big his feet looked.