If you were expecting a Sunday post inspired by Jake, you won't find one because Jake's computer has let him down - he must be devastated. Here's hoping things will be back to normal soon, Jake.
Life's complicated...
One minute you are smiling to yourself in the mirror, looking forward to your weekend and the next you are in the middle of a crisis:
I discovered my oldest dog, Mimosa (12.5 years old), had peed and was vomitting violently in the living room. As I opened the sliding doors to let her go outside, I noticed she wobbled and stumbled like a drunk. It was a heart-wrenching sight!
This happened on Friday afternoon. She took to her bed, eyes twitching, lethargic but raising her head now and then to see if I was nearby. By bedtime, she looked slightly better although she wouldn't eat.
Yesterday morning, she had another vomitting spell when she got out of her bed and wandered clumsily outside! I thought she might have had a stroke or eaten something toxic!
She has been diagnosed with Vestibular Syndrome and I have learnt a lot about a disease that I had never heard of before! It seems it is quite common in older dogs.
I am hoping that, like many other dogs I've read about, Mimosa will also recover. I let her sleep with the lights on so she won't get confused when she wakes, something a blogger who has been through this suggested.
This morning I helped her get out of her bed and kept her steady until she was outside. She didn't throw up again, thankfully. She's still wobbly and lethargic but she even tried to run to me when I returned from the café (but she veered dangerously to the left and slowed down).
Her lack of appetite is worrying - she has only eaten very small bites of chicken from my hand since she had her Vestibular Syndrome Event.
Here is a photo of Mimosa looking happy and alert, calmly waiting for me to finish taking photos of my garden for the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post on the 14th of this month.
I discovered my oldest dog, Mimosa (12.5 years old), had peed and was vomitting violently in the living room. As I opened the sliding doors to let her go outside, I noticed she wobbled and stumbled like a drunk. It was a heart-wrenching sight!
This happened on Friday afternoon. She took to her bed, eyes twitching, lethargic but raising her head now and then to see if I was nearby. By bedtime, she looked slightly better although she wouldn't eat.
Yesterday morning, she had another vomitting spell when she got out of her bed and wandered clumsily outside! I thought she might have had a stroke or eaten something toxic!
She has been diagnosed with Vestibular Syndrome and I have learnt a lot about a disease that I had never heard of before! It seems it is quite common in older dogs.
I am hoping that, like many other dogs I've read about, Mimosa will also recover. I let her sleep with the lights on so she won't get confused when she wakes, something a blogger who has been through this suggested.
This morning I helped her get out of her bed and kept her steady until she was outside. She didn't throw up again, thankfully. She's still wobbly and lethargic but she even tried to run to me when I returned from the café (but she veered dangerously to the left and slowed down).
Her lack of appetite is worrying - she has only eaten very small bites of chicken from my hand since she had her Vestibular Syndrome Event.
Here is a photo of Mimosa looking happy and alert, calmly waiting for me to finish taking photos of my garden for the Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day post on the 14th of this month.
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| Mimosa, looking alert and healthy, the way I like her |
I so hope she will be fine soon. It's so hard when a loved pet becomes ill - they can't tell us what their symptoms are and they are so helpless. It makes me feel like weeping.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind comments. I'm hoping for the best and sort of expecting the worst. Yesterday she seemed better, today she's trying to move faster and actually falling down now and then. She will only eat a bit of chicken if I hand feed her.
ReplyDeleteIt´s so sad when our beloved pets start getting old and sick. Hope Mimosa recovers soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind thoughts. She's looking better.
DeleteMy dog had Vestibular disease. When I read the start of your post, I was thinking that might be what it turned out to be.
ReplyDeleteHer first attack was exactly as you are describing. She would have an attack every six months or so, but lived with it for nearly 3 years. I think she would have been 13 when she had her first attack. She took a drug called Vivitonin, which may have helped, but there was no absolute proof.
It seems to be common in older dogs. I'm going to read up on the drug you mentioned. I'm not ready to lose Mimosa yet.
DeleteIt took my dog a while to get back to almost normal - her head was tilted slightly to the side for weeks afterwards, but she was perfectly happy.
ReplyDeleteI realise my dog will never be quite the same as before. Today is day 7 and she seems happy enough - we are taking 1 day at a time.
ReplyDeleteVery upsetting I hope your precious Mimosa recovers fully. I admit I have never heard of this before.
ReplyDeleteThamk you, GB. I'd never heard of it, either.
ReplyDelete