Thursday, July 15, 2010

My Fur Kids

Two days ago I noticed that, while she was panting, my older Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Lexie’s right jowl seemed much more slack than left one. Plus, she was drooling more. She also did some unusual circling now and then--and the scariest part was some fortunately infrequent darting of her eyes.

Naturally, I took her to the vet. Diagnosis? Unknown. Lexie has some kind of neurological malady on the right side of her head and face, and it’s not clear what caused it. A stroke? Maybe, but she’s too young for that to be likely. The sun? I don’t leave her outside for long periods. Some kind of tick or other insect bite? Maybe, but we’ve found no sign of it.

At the moment, it seems most likely to be a major ear infection. Cavaliers are prone to certain types that sometimes require surgery.

Her stumbling has gotten worse, but she seems stable now. We’re keeping an eye on her and will rush her to a doggy neurologist or ENT specialist if she gets worse. With luck, she’ll improve instead.

Meantime, she can now join her best friend Mystie on medication--since we’re always dealing with Mystie’s chronic tummy issues.

When I don’t feel well, I let it sit for a while. Generally, whatever it was goes away. When my babies, my dogs, don’t feel well, they get a trip to the doctor ASAP.

Is that true in your household, with your pets, too?

Oh, and by the way, happy birthday to my younger son!

12 comments:

Mason Canyon said...

It is funny that when we're sick we'll wait to see if it won't get better on its own. But let our four-legged babies get sick and that a different story. Maybe it's because they can't tell us when they feel bad and we know when we see that they're sick, then they're really sick. Hope your baby improves.
And Happy Birthday to your son.

Mason
Thoughts in Progress

Linda O. Johnston said...

I agree, Mason. If our pets get sick, they can't tell us where it hurts but we know something is wrong. Thanks for your good wishes, and for the birthday wishes, too!

Camille Minichino said...

Definitely happy birthday Linda's son! It's also my husband's birthday today, and when he's sick I waste no time making sure we get help. For me, deny deny deny!

KateH said...

By any chance, might there be a foxtail awn in her ear or somewhere in her sinus cavity? I think dogs in SoCal aren't as prone to them as in NoCal, but still....

Linda O. Johnston said...

I understand that, too,
Camille. Happy birthday to your husband!

Monica Ferris said...

One of our cats has a tiny, scabby "spot" on one of his ears. When I first saw it, I thought it might be from a tooth belonging to our other cat. But the thing hasn't healed. It doesn't seem to bother him, and it hasn't gotten bigger, so I'm leaving it for our annual home-visit vet to look at in about a week. I agree that we tend to fuss a bit more when one of our cats is sick, because cats are notorious for not appearing sick until they are in serious trouble.

Linda O. Johnston said...

I hope all works out well with the kitty sore spot, Monica--and everything else on the vet visit, too.

Betty Hechtman said...

I'm sorry to hear about Lexie. And yes, I do the same. When any of my pets are sick, I take them to the vet right away.

I hope your son has a happy birthday!

Linda O. Johnston said...

Thanks, Betty!

Linda O. Johnston said...

Good question, KateH. We do have foxtails around here and, although I accompany my pups outside and try to keep them out of the areas where there could be weeds, they like to go where they please. I'll ask the vet to check Lexie for foxtails on top of everything else.

Janie Emaus said...

I hope all is well with Lexie. She's such a cute little doggie.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Thanks, Janie.