This was yesterday when we were on our evening walk (still considered
afternoon here, even though it was around seven o’clock). She was bouncing
along, as she does, and we were crossing a street where road work has been
going on and all of a sudden she started limping. It was her back left leg. I
examined her paw but found nothing stuck between the pads so I put her down. But
the limping continued and seemed to get worse every second. My vet closes at 8,
so, with Sweet Pea in my arms, I high-tailed it over there.
Salomo felt around and told me she had a torn a ligament in
her knee. Had she fallen? No. Then she must simply have made a misstep, maybe tripped
without my noticing it. It wouldn’t take much. At her age, those joints are
brittle. I understand; I know that something similar could happen to me.
This torn ligament is not going to heal. The only way to fix
it is with surgery. But Sweetie is an old dog and although she’s practically a
whole new old dog from the one I adopted a little over year ago, in her former
life she had not been well taken care of. The recent improvements in her environment
have helped, but they haven’t erased her history (whatever that might have
been). He legs are all bowed and crooked. The funny way she walks is one of her
many endearing characteristics. The vet said initially that she had probably
suffered one or more falls and had never been seen to. And her heart is much
enlarged, which, together with her age, does not make her a good candidate for
major surgery, which this knee operation would be.
Salomo gave her a shot for pain and gave me pain pills to
give her for the next twenty days. Let’s see how this develops, he said while
also talking about possible future medications. We both noticed that her front
leg on the same side was also doing strange things – bowing out at an alarming
angle. She’s compensating, he said, trying to keep her balance. Of course that
could mean that she will end up injuring that leg too. I should keep her walks
to a minimum; just take her out to the street and let her do her thing under
the nearest tree out front. I am to carry her up and down the stairs (I live
on the 2nd floor, which in the U.S. would be the third floor). There
is no elevator
At home I got on the internet and started reading about torn
ligaments in the knees of dogs. It didn’t look good. Everyone says it’s very
painful. It doesn’t heal, it can only be fixed with surgery. In an older dog,
if it happens in one leg, it is likely to also happen to the other because they
would both be in the same state of deterioration. Of course that might not
happen. Compensating for the discomfort could mean inflicting injury on one of
the other legs.
I was plagued with doubt. I don’t want to keep her drugged
for the rest of her life, and I don’t want the rest of her life to be painful. She
loves to walk and to sniff. If she won’t be able to walk except to go to a tree
and pee, what pleasure is she going to have? I got very little sleep.
This morning when the vet clinic opened, I was there with
Sweet Pea. I told Salomo I had more to understand. I needed to know what the
best possible outcome could be. If it was going to be lifelong pain, I wasn’t
sure there was any reason to continue. I don’t believe in just keeping a pet
alive if the pet isn’t able to enjoy his life and there is no cure.
But he said no. The tear would never mend, but the pain
would subside after three or four weeks so we would reassess her need for
medication when the pills run out. He said that Sweet Pea was a real trooper.
You could see how in her life she’s managed to successfully deal with all kinds
of physical problems. If all goes well, the pain will subside, and she will
learn to compensate for the leg that won’t function properly as she did with her
legs before.
As for now, she’s eating, she has the desire to go out and
once out she wants to walk, even though she can’t and has to stop. At home she
gets all excited about going out, like before (although now she doesn’t jump up
and down), and she gets excited at meal times. She still likes her treats and
she still enjoys a belly rub. She’s still shows signs of being a happy camper.
I’ll know when the time comes, he said. She won’t want to eat, she won’t want
to walk, maybe she won’t be able to walk, she’ll be lethargic, or we just won’t
be able to help her with ongoing pain. That was what happened with Cupcake.
You have no idea how relieved I am. Now it’s just a matter
of taking care of her, letting nature take its course and Sweetie’s
determination drive the next twenty days, and hope for the best.
I had wanted a senior dog, so when they told me at the
shelter that she was at least ten years old that was fine. Two days later, when
I took her to the vet and a long list of physical and health problems came to
light, I thought, well, that’s okay. Maybe she only has a few weeks left, but
she will spend them in comfort with me. I was more or less prepared for a short
relationship. But Sweet Pea blossomed during this last year so that now, I am
not at all prepared for her to leave. She’s my wonderful companion, she’s
funny, she’s sweet, and she’s incredibly stubborn. I hope Salomo is right and
my little trooper will get the better of this latest problem and keep on being
her cute, sweet self for many more happy years.
