Daemon celebrated his 13th birthday on July 4th, by being alive and staying as cool as possible on yet another near-100-degree day. What weather!

Daemon, July 16, 2010, out and about

Today he is fine, not back to his pre-”event” (whatever event it was) condition, but doing well, moving around with only occasional tumbles. He considers himself to be totally normal, and is often betrayed by his hind limbs, which just don’t have what it takes to be Super-Aussie. They’re still working on it, though!

He sees his friend Carol Lundquist (Singing Stones Animal Wellness Center, now in Marshall VA) as often as he can. He failed swim therapy, not believing that his feet could actually move in the water. We will try again, now that he’s more mobile. His prednisone is now down to 5 mg every other day, with only 3 tablets remaining, so by mid-week next week he’ll be off the stuff.

His recovery is a testimonial to some very caring and talented people, who don’t believe in saying “uncle!,”  a strong and determined constitution, and a group of friends who rooted for him, prayed, cajoled, and breathed “recovery.”

Ken went in to see Daemon this evening. The dog is being totally spoiled by everyone at that facility. He’ll probably weigh 300 pounds when he comes home! Yesterday afternoon Dr. B had Linda call me to say that Daemon’s limbs were now stiff instead of flaccid, and he said that to him that was a good sign. So if it’s a good sign for Dr. B it’s a good sign for me. Hoping for continued improvement!

June 2

When I visited Daemon in the evening of June 2, he was bright and alert, quite happy to see me. He was lying sternal and could move his left front leg very well, and the others (at least two of them) some. Hard to tell, since he was down in a cage. We played a shaping game: he’d move a foot or leg and I’d “yes” and feed. He caught on very quickly and was twitching and jerking his front legs and feet quite actively. He kept slamming his paw on my right hand(oh boy do his toenails need cutting!). Very sweet pain indeed.

Having him there at VSRP with friends was comforting; communications were easy and information easily obtained – and I knew they were all spoiling the old guy to pieces.

Thursday, June 3

He got into a sit when he saw me, and then tried to get his hind legs under himself, tried to stand. Didn’t succeed, but he tried. Very bright and alert and keeps pulling out his urinary catheters. Ken said he was up on all four when “they” were working on him this afternoon. Not especially steady, but up and not supported by anybody. Dr. B says he should be able to come home on Saturday.

June 4

He was in a run (indoor, air conditioned, but bigger than his “cage”)  when I went to see him. He’d yanked out yet another urinary catheter and had to be bathed, so he was out there drying. He got up and lurched out of the run to see me. Dr. Bradley asked if I’d like to take him home. OF COURSE! So soon we were off and running (not really running, but leaving), me with a sling under Daemon’s belly, leash in hand, and him staggering around, out to the car. Bless VSRP and Dr. Bradley and the techs and other employees there!

June 5

My report to VSRP: Daemon is doing OK. I’m a little discouraged because I expect (want?) more now, not sure how to assess improvement. He’s still toeing under quite a bit, not doing much for himself. I’m ready for him to run races, and he’d rather crawl, or fling himself around in circles. I’ll get over it.

I can say that the circulation to his rear legs is good, as evidenced by the amount of bleeding when I quicked him this morning. Poor guy.

I carried him out front this morning to lie in the grass out there (our back yard isn’t so nice; besides, the other dogs were out there to hassle him). He had a pleasant near-two hours out there with me. I think our front hedges and so forth will be prettier for all of this. I cannot sit there and look at it. Lots of bennies to this, if I think about it.

He’s eating great, peeing every time we take him out (his bedding this morning was DRY!), and pooped a big poop this morning while he was lying out there. I was wondering about that and hoping it would happen soon.

Later that day: I had him out an hour or two ago in the back yard. Harness up front, sling in the rear (he’d already peed) and we wandered around the back yard a bit, at his instigation. Much of the time I was there for emergency use only, since the devices were basically slack. His turning isn’t too good, and he definitely has no stamina. His strength lasts about as long as his interest. But I was pleased; he did more than I expected he could. We were late getting him out, so he did pee in his enclosure.

.
.
.

June 9

This morning he was standing *four-square* in his ex-pen and moving around while I put the other dogs out! He then walked all the way through the house and out the door without any help from me (sling on him but not engaged). Helped him down the stairs. He then peed and fell down. Got him up and he basically dragged me almost to the agility field, pooping on the way. This is huge! There’s still some neglect in the rear, but oh my is he doing better! There will be no leaving him out on the front lawn today. Of course, the rain is a deterrent with that, too.

I have  chronicled Daemon’s progress in such detail in the hope that others with dogs with a similar ailment can see that there is hope.

Daemon at VSRP, looking happy and feeling some better, thankyouverymuch

Daemon will be 13 on July 1, 2010. Under normal circumstances, that’s plenty of cause for celebration. But with the recent complications to Daemon’s life, it’s more than special.

On Sunday morning, May 30, I got up at 5 AM and let the dogs out of their crates and into the yard. Daemon was lying on his side in his crate and didn’t move. I ascertained that he was indeed still among the living and surmised that he was sleeping in, which he sometimes does. However, by 6 AM with all the shuffle of letting the other dogs in, he still hadn’t moved. When I checked him out I discovered that his front legs were being held rigidly and his rear legs were relaxed. Manipulating his front legs caused him to cry out.

I commenced to drag him out of the crate, which also caused him to whine. Movement of his neck was painful. He lay on the floor, totally still. I called the Emergency clinic. I had no idea what I was dealing with but knew it was bad and it was far beyond anything I could deal with.

I got Ken out of bed; he found a board, onto which we loaded Daemon and carried him to my van.

Long story short, Daemon was found to have a tetraparesis (muscular weakness affecting all four extremities, also called quadriparesis) of spinal origin. Spinal x-rays showed no gross abnormalities. Other diagnostic studies suggested were a myelogram and an MRI, but I demurred. Since we couldn’t/wouldn’t subject our old guy to neurosurgery, the only treatment could be non-surgical, and that treatment would be the same, whatever was going on – intensive steroids, pain relief, good nursing care and time.

Here, by the way, is a plug for the Prince William Emergency Veterinary Center and Dr. Kent Smith. We arrived there at 7 AM on Sunday of a holiday weekend. Dr. Kent was quick to get to Daemon, examine him, accomplish the necessary radiography and dealing with Daemon’s distraught mom (that would be me, of course). I left the emergency clinic at about 8:30, still distraught and downhearted but feeling that Daemon was in very good hands. His entire hospitalization there only served to increase my admiration for PWEVC, Dr. Kent and the staff there. Good, caring care and  good communication.

By Tuesday Daemon had managed to get himself sternal, was no longer painful, was eating and looking better. He still couldn’t move his hind legs, but did have the ability to move his front legs a little. He was off all medications except for steroids. He had a urinary catheter for cleanliness and to monitor his intake and output. He had to leave the emergency clinic, since they aren’t set up for nursing care after the emergent event has been taken care of.

Here I was faced with a difficult decision. The cost of his two days in the emergency clinic was in the region of $2000. I felt we could not manage him with a urinary catheter and getting him up and down multiple times a day. He still was unable to move his legs to any purpose. I was concerned about bringing him home and managing him in the middle of our pack of nutty dogs. I didn’t think the chaos would be good for him, and knew it would make me crazier than usual. I really wanted a good situation for him. My local vet doesn’t have 24-hour care, and 24-hour care is expensive. I also wasn’t sure that he’d made much progress and thought he wouldn’t be able to make much more. Nobody could make any promises, of course; nor did I expect them to. Crystal balls are not accepted veterinary equipment – though I think they’d appreciate being able to use them if they were real.

When I went to pick Daemon up on Tuesday morning I was fully prepared to put him in our van and bring him home for an hour or so in the grass under a tree, and then take him to my local vet for euthanasia. I just didn’t have much hope or confidence in his ability to gain sufficient functionality to have a happy life.

Other people felt differently. On Monday evening his notes state: “Daemon is in good spirits… He is no longer rigid in his forelimbs. He will get himself up sternally. He will move himself around in his cage. My hope is the owner will continue oral Prednisone and supportive care for at least 48 – 96 hours. The owner is concerned about being able to do his nursing care.”

And on Tuesday morning, “Dr. Bradley with VSRP came over to evaluate Daemon. He supports continued supportive care and oral steroids. I asked Dr. Bradley if Daemon could be hospitalized at VSRP and he agreed.”

On Tuesday morning when I arrived I was told of Dr. Bradley’s agreement to care for Daemon in his hospital. I don’t believe this is their standard procedure; I think they generally care for their post-surgical patients until they’re well enough to go home, and that this was an exceptional case and Dr. Bradley in his goodness agreed to do this. Perhaps he knew he was saving Daemon’s life – because like a drowning person I immediately grabbed for the hand that was held out to me. Lisa and Mark came over from VSRP and carried Daemon to his new digs.

More to come…