Anna and Troy’s Weblog

Max the wonderdog is sick.

It all started this past weekend when we noticed that he was holding up his left hind paw.  We assumed that he had just strained it a little bit while he was romping in the yard with Booda, but as the days passed it did not seem to get any better.  So on Tuesday I made a vet appointment for him.  He and Booda both needed to go in for their annual well-dog visits anyway, so Max’s injury just pushed that errand to the top of the list.

As the week progressed, Max’s leg did not seem to be getting any better.  If anything, it seemed to be bothering him more and more.  He has still been cheerful, but his overall “volume” has definitely been turned way down.

Then yesterday morning he didn’t finish his breakfast.

Now, if you have EVER met Max, not finishing his breakfast is a VERY BIG DEAL.  Max has always been an incredibly food driven dog.  In fact, we often worry about his eating habits because he has a tendency to not chew his food – he just inhales it.  It is almost like a doggie magic trick.  You know the one – the incredible vanishing food trick.  When he was a puppy he swallowed an entire rib.  Whole.  In the flash of the splittest of seconds.  I was sure that I had killed our brand new puppy.  We took him to the vet, fully expecting an expensive surgical extraction.  The vet sent us home with instructions on the emergency symptoms that might occur – NOTHING EVER HAPPENED.  It didn’t even slow him down one bit.  The days passed and turned into weeks…..and eventually we just figured that the rib was no problem for his SUPER DUPER digestive system.

Our present worry was further compounded when he wouldn’t touch last night’s dinner or this morning’s breakfast.  Something is defintely very wrong in Max-land.  Last night I coaxed him into eating some roast beef – but it was difficult, and I am not being sarcastic.  This morning, he wouldn’t eat any of the wide array of tasty treats we offered him (roast beef, peanut butter, bread).

Today we took him to the vet.  What ensued was like the very long doggie version of House.  Dr. McGee looked him over from head to toe.  He took his temperature.  He palpated his leg.  He drew blood.  He ran several blood tests, which counted his blood cells, and organ function.  He tested his urine.  So far, everything has turned up in the normal range.  Which is good because it rules out some of the really bad things that could be wrong with him, but frustrating because all of that testing and we are no closer to knowing what is wrong with him.  So Dr. McGee gave him a shot of analgesic for his leg discomfort, and one of antibiotics – just in case, pumped a couple of syringes of “doggie nutrient paste” into him, and sent him home for observation.

Poor Maxie-poo has been lying in the same spot since we came home four hours ago.  Poor puppy.

I have made some yummy boiled hamburger and rice dog food for him, and hopefully I will be able to get him to eat some of it.

Hopefully he will feel better soon.