Nellie
Seems like there is always something going wrong with me. I arrived at Asherpark with a horrible stinky infection in my pee trap. I had rotten teeth. One had to be pulled. I had a growth on my eyelid that had to be removed.
Once all that stuff was fixed, things were going along pretty good for a while until I got real dizzy. The vet called it canine geriatric vestibular disease.
Of course it’s canine – I’m a dog. Of course it’s geriatric – I’m a very old dog.
Mom said not to worry about what to call it. She says I have doggie vertigo. That sounds a lot less serious than what the vet named it.
I’ve had three spells of vertigo. First time I nearly scared mom to death. I was whirling and staggering and sick as a dog. Ha Ha! I always liked that expression…..sick as a dog.
Anyway, mom got me to a safe place in the house and gave me a pain pill that made me sleep. By the time I got to the vet I was a lot better.
I had vertigo two more times. The last time landed me in the hospital overnight. Worst thing was I lost five pounds and now mom can’t find them. She keeps feeding me extra food and treats, but I can’t seem to get the pounds to come back.
Ash has barked about how confused I am. Maybe that’s how I appear to others, but I don’t feel confused.
I do stand and stare a lot before I take a step, but remember I’m nearly blind. Of course I can’t hear a thing except for Asher’s big bark. Then I do get confused. What the heck is that boy barking at all the time?
Recently I got diagnosed with canine cognitive disorder. Isn’t that just as silly as the long winded version of doggie vertigo??
I don’t want that stupid condition. Or if I have it, at least call it something else. Ash went to work last night on the computer. He looked for different names, but they all sounded strange. Ash said ‘dementia’ is the most accurate, but it’s hard for us mutts to say.
Finally Ash asked if we could just say I’m goofy. That sounds perfect to me. I’m dizzy and goofy. Sounds like cousins to the seven dwarfs.
Yesterday mom got me some high priced medicine to make me less goofy. It’s called Anipryl and people take it too. I get one pill with breakfast. It’s supposed to help me think better.
We won’t know for a few weeks if it helps or not. It sure made me more active yesterday. Instead of slowly walking around in circles, I practically trotted around in my circles.
When it comes right down to it, we all get old and fall apart. If it weren’t for Old Dog Haven, I’d have died two years ago. Tess asked me if it would have been better to die before I got so old.
No way!! Even if I can’t see or hear, I’m dizzy and goofy, and I drop my bombs in the house pretty often, I love my grub and I love my mom. I don’t feel sorry for myself. I feel very lucky. I want to live forever.