Mr. Buddy Rose The American Staffordshire Terrier Part XV

(Parts I-XIV of Mr. Buddy Rose's story are posted below. If you would like to read them in chronological order, please scroll down. You may need to click "Older Posts" at the bottom of this page to get to Part I.)

Saturday, September 25, 2010
Mr. Buddy Rose has had a set-back.

On Wednesday, while walking Buddy and Mollie at the park, you'd have thought I had the best-behaved dog on a leash. (This would be Mr. Buddy Rose, not Miss Mollie Pollie!) I should have known that Buddy trailing a few steps behind me was not a normal position for him, but he has gotten so much better on a leash, I guess I just thought he was really getting the whole leash thing and maybe he was still a little tired from his "doggie play day" the day before. I was praising him and patting myself on the back for doing such a good job leash-training him.

On Thursday, Mollie, Buddy & I walked to the park. Soon after they had finished all of their toileting business, I made them both heel and walk on each side of me. That's when I noticed, what I thought was Buddy limping. His head was down, his back slumping and although he was moving forward, he seemed to struggle more with each step. From my cell phone, I called the Colonel to come to the park to watch Buddy walk and to "rescue" us so we wouldn't have to walk the half-mile back home. The Colonel watched Buddy walk at the park and agreed something was wrong. Maybe not a limp but something was going on. We loaded Buddy in his kennel and Mollie in the back seat and brought them both home.

Maybe he pulled or strained a muscle at doggie play day? Maybe he's just not feeling well today? Maybe, whatever was wrong with him when we got him was recurring? We watched him and every move he made. We didn't have a lot to watch. He slept almost all day on Thursday. Thursday afternoon, I took him on a short walk down the street, just long enough for him to do all of "his business." Although he seemed to start strong, within a block, he was struggling.

Friday morning, we did everything just as we do every morning, right down to getting ready to take him and Mollie for their walk to the park. The Colonel and I had already decided that I would take each dog separately. Mollie would stay home first and I would take Buddy and evaluate how far he could go. Again, he started strong, but within a block from the house he was struggling. After two blocks, I knew we didn't need to go any further. As I turned a corner to start back to the house, I wondered if I would be carrying Buddy home, or if I would be calling the Colonel to rescue us again. We were about a block and a half from our house when Buddy stopped, then sat, then laid down in the middle of the street.

As I approached him, he rolled over on his side and laid his head down in the street. I rubbed his head and his body and waited. Soon, I was able to coax him back up to his feet and get him to move toward the house. It took us a little while to get there, as he laid down in the street another couple of times on our walk home.

A healthy Mr. Buddy Rose doesn't lay down in the street. He has been known to take a roll in the grass on our walks, but this lying down in the middle of the street was really out of character for him since he has been healthy. When he first started walking, he had to rest often. But since he has been walking a lot, resting during his walks has not really been on his agenda.

The Colonel called the vet's office and asked if he could see Mr. Rose. Of course, they had to call us back. I took Mollie to the park for her walk. Returning from the park, Mollie and I were standing in the yard talking to a neighbor when my cell phone rang. The Colonel wanted to know where I was because we could see the vet with Buddy if we could leave right then.

I wanted the vet to check Buddy's reflexes. Although we both knew his recent struggles to walk weren't our imagination, we are also all too aware of what we have been through with Buddy and maybe a little to quick to notice a limp or something going on with his walking. When Buddy's reflexes were checked in May - when he couldn't walk and only crawled - he had NO reflex response in any of his four legs. His last two reflex tests-the most recent was the last week of August-he had completely NORMAL reflex response in all four legs. We really don't know what is wrong with Mr. Rose, but reflex response is at least something we can use as a gauge.

The vet gave Buddy another thorough check-up. His temp, heart and breathing were all normal. Teeth and gums looked okay. No vomiting or diarrhea. Neutering incision has healed. Head and eye reflex response was normal. While Buddy was standing, he turned Buddy's feet under, to see if Buddy would automatically correct the awkward position, a test we have seen Buddy pass before. He was a little slow with one of his front legs.

We watched as, with Buddy lying on his side, the vet started tapping his legs looking for his reflex response. We have watched the reflex response tests with Buddy so many times. We have seen no response. We have seen normal response. We have seen the vet struggle to find any response. We have seen the vet (and the reflex response) immediately. I swallowed hard as I rubbed Buddy's head and watched the vet struggle to find the reflex response. He would try again. I would see some response in Buddy's leg or foot. Then he would try again and there would be no response. The bottom line is he has lost some reflex response in all four of his legs.

The vet said we would "start medically managing his condition." I should have asked the vet, what he thought we have been doing for the past 4 months, but I didn't. Buddy has been off steroids for about 45 days. Yesterday, the vet put him back on 10mg of Prednisone taken twice daily, for 20mg a day. Buddy is also taking Pepcid at 20mg twice a day to help his stomach with the Prednisone. He'll take the Prednisone for at least a month, with decreasing dosages every seven days. He may be on some kind of maintenance dose for the rest of his life. We don't know about that yet. As long as he is the same or improving, we will consult with his vet on a weekly basis. If his condition deteriorates, we will call the vet as soon as possible.

I really struggled with this whole putting him back on Prednisone but I am scared to death he will lose his ability to walk without the help of this drug. Prednisone has a lot of side effects, not the least of which is a developed dependency. He is a little different dog when he on Prednisone. He is not a hyperactive dog, but Prednisone tends to hype him up. He pants A LOT. He drinks a lot more water, meaning he has to urinate a lot more. We're hoping the Pepcid will alleviate his stomach issues of gas and diarrhea that the Prednisone previously caused. There's also a small risk of "roid rage" in dogs on steroids for an extended period of time. And, let's face it...I simply don't like having to keep him on any drugs. Right now, I know he needs this one badly.

Today, Saturday, his walking is worse than it was yesterday. He shook-you know like dogs shake,the whole start at the head and shake, shake, shake all the way through to the tail shake - and one of his front legs collapsed and he fell. I haven't seen any of the "hyper" effects of the Prednisone yet. (He's only had two doses.) He seems to sleep most of the time. We are not going for our walks but I am taking him outside on his leash 5 or 6 times a day because he still needs to potty. He loves being outside, so according to how the next few days go, I may start sitting outside with him for a couple of hours at a time. This afternoon, he laid down on the ground to urinate, his white-pointed tail flagging straight up. This was a familiar trait from when he was crawling around the yard. I know he isn't improving yet, but I am praying his condition at least stabilizes by tomorrow.

I'm trying to be as positive as I can be but it's very hard. It's so incredibly hard to watch this big, beautiful dog - the same one who has surpassed every dream I had for him - lie down in the middle of the road because he can't go on. It's hard to watch him once again lie down to eat his food or treats or drink water. It hurts to watch him lie down to urinate with his tail flagging straight up. It's devastating to think he is hurting again and we have and are doing all we can do and it may not be enough. I feel so bad for the big, handsome guy. I wonder if he remembers crawling? He became quite good at it, but he has been much happier since he is walking everywhere.