Well, that was scary

We have had a very scary few two days (it has felt a lot longer than that).  For an unknown reason, the dogs decided they were going to sleep upstairs on Tuesday night. They just went. Misty first, and Bones followed. Strange for a school night. But we went with it.

In the mornings, when they are upstairs, Misty sits with me in the bathroom and watches me get ready. Wednesday morning, she didn't. when I put her collar on, she felt dopey. Then she tried to stand up. She fell down. Repeatedly. Now I was scared. It was not even 6am. I carried her downstairs and took the dogs outside. She fell again. And again. And now I was calling the vet. I called the emergency care number.

Misty is a 13 year old mutt. We have been together for 6 years. She is dizzy. She is falling down. She can't support herself to poop. She is drooling. Her eyes are twitching. She threw up twice at home.

I woke Matt up. He didn't have an exam to give for finals. So he took her to the emergency room. I called my mom. I thought the worst. I said a tearful goodbye before they left. Somehow I made it to work in one piece. Then I lost it again. I walked straight into the office, and I started to cry all over again. I told them after my two exams, I was going home to be with my dog.

10 minutes before my first exam started, my wonderful husband called me. He had a diagnosis. She was drunk. Like a skunk. Whole-bottle-of-Patron-on-your-own drunk. Not in real life, just in her head. It made her nauseous beyond belief. And gave her a lot of the symptoms of vertigo (an inner ear problem that caused dizziness and balance issues. So she came home(!) and was put to bed with some dramamine.

When I got home, I curled up on the floor with her and cuddled. And then we slept for 2 hours. We had stressful mornings. By last night, she was eating and walking around (still stumbling) but stubborn about doing it herself. She does NOT like to be carried at all. Although, she was okay about being carried down the stairs.

This morning. She was lethargic again. And did not get up to say good morning to Matt - very strange indeed. But we went with it. She ate her breakfast while we were at work. And has been drinking. We are not worried about that.

And the eye twitching is mostly gone. I saw it a little at some point today. But only briefly. When Matt got home, she didn't want to get up yet. That worried him (but don't tell him that) because he immediately called the hospital and started looking for things for us to do to help her (that don't involve a CAT scan - just ain't happening). And then he called me, and I panicked and came right home.

So what we are dealing with?  A dog who is struggling to walk straight. She can walk. She does better on carpet and in grass - because of the traction and gravity. She is okay on the hardwood. She spends more time in her crate and laying in the sun on the porch. Her head is always cocked to the side. She cannot look directly at you, like the world has spun 90 degrees to the left. Her tongue hangs out. Her eyes are slightly out of focus, but she can still see you and find you.

No worries. She did NOT turn down pretzels, bacon strips, or a rawhide today. I think we are going to be okay. I think it will take us awhile to recover. But we will. That stubborn dog just decided she was going to climb the damn stairs herself to get back on the porch (with me spotting her, but not allowed to touch her).

Thank you for all the kind words, thoughts, and prayers. We are still a two dog family. Thankfully.

The best news? Matt & I can respond quickly in an emergency. And we are working together to find a solution to take care of our sweet girl.