I recently went to Phoenix to help with the AZ JR Rescue for a few days. I left Marshall at the vet so they could observe his frequent seizure activity. Marshall did not fare well.
Understand, I trust this clinic and the vet implicitly. I have no complaints with their care and indeed, find them to be good and trustworthy people. The problem was Marshall. Ten years at a mill does a real number on a dog, both psychologically and physically. Marshall had been doing so well, despite the more frequent seizures. He was running, jumping – all with a little gimp in his stride, but he’d made such progress. I was hesitant to leave him, and thought more than twice about it, but really wanted someone to see his seizures in person, not just from my Droid recording. I should have paid attention to my gut instinct –
that niggling little inner voice that said in a very loud way “DON’T DO IT.” Alas I did not.
Marshall had never been separated from Sharkey, Charm and I except at the Arizona JR Rescue where he knew Sandy and the bunch and felt comfortable. He was so traumatized by being left at the vet in their boarding facility that he refused to move. He wouldn’t walk or run, simply peed and then cowered in one spot. They put him on a leash thinking he would do better – that was even worse for him. The techs said they couldn’t coax him into anything – he gulped his food as if he was back in the mills and would possibly not get his next meal. He developed diarrhea and began to vomit. They checked him over and could find nothing physically wrong with him. It was stress.
Because he refused to move his arthritis became worse and his left hind leg is so stiff he is having difficulty moving. He walks sideways as if he’s doing a Dressage half pass. When he tries to change direction he falls down behind. He approaches me and yet when I approach him he’s fearful again. He is refusing to go in or out the door, so I carry him out, although I was able to tempt him to the door with a Sharkey Bite – his favorite treat.
He does seem happy to see me, and will put his head under my hand for a pet. I will need to find a reasonable solution to this problem, whether that be to purposefully leave him overnight a few more times so that he gets used to the fact that I will always come back for him or arrange for a dog-sitter to come to the house when I'm away.
I’m going to observe him closely for the next day or two and see if he can quickly overcome this setback.
Note to self – pay attention to your inner voice.
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Staci
I hope the introduction of Indy will go along well, also.
How do you manage to share your time and love with all these wonderful creatures who need it so badly? Someone is surely looking out for you. ( and did you get any answer for the seizure activity?)
Marshall has you. You=love. He will come around again. Love always wins.
Thank you as always for sharing his story.
We love our gal, and so do the dogs!