I awoke on Friday morning to find that Tojo was limping far worse than he had been the day before. What I had taken for a bent nail or other mere annoyance was obviously something far greater. By the end of Friday, he was literally crawling. Saturday morning I took him to the vet, that is, a strong friend of mine literally LIFTED my 90 pound dog and carried him to the car, then carried him from the car to the examining table. Diagnoses? Lyme disease, fever and a high heart rate. We were told he would be put on meds and that many dogs respond within 24 hours to such treatment. We were told that, of all the things that could have made him paralyzed, this was by far the "best". We were told to call back later in the day, and then to leave him overnight, because all he seemed to want to do is sleep. I called again today, and was told that, even though it normally takes from 3 to 5 days for the medication to work, Tojo was not improving at all, and that this was, "strange". I was given the option either to take him home and watch him lie paralyzed until the medicine kicked in, cleaning up his urine and bowel moments as he would pee and shit where he lay, or to leave him at the vets for a week where they could monitor him. I chose to leave him in that place. I don't know which is worse, really. My judgment for that kind of thing is very poor.
The end result of all of this is that I am now going through a grieving process for my dog. He is still alive and he very well may bounce back from this and be as he was before, but he is eleven years old and sometime very soon, I will lose him for good. I have cried over him so that, hopefully, I will not have to do it again. Really though, knowing myself, there's not much chance of that.
On a slightly more upbeat note, I realize that I cannot live too long without a dog in my life. I've been going here and researching breeds of puppies. If anyone has any suggestions for breeds to look into, let me know. It MUST be good with small children and cats and should be ok with a house and small yard to run around in.. Ideally it shouldn't shed too much (although that's a lesser criteria) and should be a good watch and guard dog as well. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I need a nap.
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