Aw hell...

Chaucer was a little slow on Wednesday night, spent Thursday in a crate while I was at work, even slower when I got home. Friday he yipped when Stormy bumped into him on the way out in the morning so another day in a crate. When I got home he was roaching noticeably and would follow me only to flop down against my legs and tremble. Rushed him to the vet and his core muscles were so tight the vet couldn't evaluate him. At that point I started praying for a stomach problem and pretending I had never heard of back problems in corgis. They gave him a steroid and kept him overnight.


Lots of emergencies today so they didn't call me until they were closed...apparently not concerned about giving him back anytime soon. X-rays showed significant spondylosis with signs of previous and current fractures. Turns our L4/5 and L5/6 are very bad and the disk spaces significantly narrowed. Somehow he's fractured them again and according to the vet our best hope is that they will fuse. He's walking but they told me that he could easily paralyze himself if he's too active at this point. Shit! Have you met my dog?!! I'll start working on telling the sun not to shine 'cause that will be easier than getting The Dude to not play. Good thing his likes his crate.

I won't know more until Monday afternoon but they gave him a stronger steroid for the pain and are keeping him through the weekend. Blood tests will tell us what kind of pain meds he will best tolerate for the rest of his life. I don't know how bad this really is since I've not seen the x-rays and I don't know what the long-term prognosis really is because it all depends on how these fractures heal. Very scared at the moment. No matter how you slice it, a fractured spine on a long dog turns my stomach.

On top of that I had to help host a baby shower today. Thank god for good friends who know when not to ask questions and just hug.