Griffey in his tux on the wedding day!
One day you have this happy, healthy dog, who although is close to 10 years old, still seems to act like a puppy…he jumps on beds, he steals your socks, he barks when he sees the iPod, because he knows that means a walk, he devours every treat like it could be his last.
Then one day, you notice he has a harder time getting up, he eats a little less a day, he takes a little longer naps, and he is less concerned about chasing the kitty around the house. You wonder if he is sick, or if reality is staring you in face, and your good buddy is starting to age. We slowly seen this coming with Griffey, but were probably a bit in denial, until his recent health scare.
Shortly after Thanksgiving, we noticed he didn’t want to get up and greet us, he was less interested in his treats, he was moaning a bit, and was finding newer places to sleep in unusual spots around the house. After a few days of this, it was off to the vet we go…figuring it was arthritis, we got the confirmed diagnosis that he may have some inflammation and not feeling so well. So, home we go with anti-inflammatories. However, a few days later we realized it was much more serious. We started to notice he was wanting to potty all the time, and would not come in the house…he was trying over and over to urinate. Not understanding this behavior, we headed back to the vet. After rounds of testing including urinalysis, blood/chemistry screens, x-rays, and about 10 days of having a catheter put into the poor guy, it was determined that he had a neurogenic bladder and reflex dyssynergia.
Having no idea what that meant, we asked a lot of questions and did a lot of research…the simplest way to explain it is a degenerative nerve disease, and it affected the nerves that control his bladder, making him unable to control the muscle. Very scary, and quite problematic when a large dog’s bladder can become full within 24-hours, which is what led to the 10-days of catheters. But, was our guy a trooper…after a few days, he knew what was coming, but he took it like a champ.
With the help of a great team of vets, especially our favorite vet, Dr. Toepke at Howdershell Animal Clinic, and the emergency pet hospital at Midwest Vet Referral Services in Chesterfield (three trips after hours to this clinic), we found a drug that could help control the bladder by targeting the nerves around the bladder muscle. After finding a vet pharmacy that could compound the drug, overnighting the drug via FedEx (plus almost having to have words with FedEx when they failed to deliver it), we finally had the phenoxybenzamine in our hands, and we prayed this “miracle drug”, as we like to call it, would work. Three days later, Griffey started to urinate, and after a few more days, the ultrasound at the vet’s office confirmed that his bladder was emptying! We were so relieved…but not as much as Griffey was I am sure (pun intended!).
Thinking we were in the clear, it would take several more weeks to figure out the right dosage for him. Our boy has a hard time taking medicines, and can take only small dosages of drugs to feel the effects. Having a very close call where we (Jaime) overdosed him with sedatives and muscle relaxers, we knew we’d have to adjust the drug so his system would tolerate it.
The phenoxybenzamine has a few side effects, and our Griffey got just about all of them…naseua, lethargic, loss of appetite and nasal congestion. Our usual 100 pound dog, had lost close to 15 pounds, coming in at 86 pounds. The dog who once could eat anything you put in front of him, was turning his nose up at everything from chicken and rice to ice cream. Nothing is sadder than watching your furry friend get weaker and weaker from not eating, he started having tremors, would be unresponsive until you had to literally wake him up and would look at you with sad eyes pleading for help. Back to the vet for more testing, we ruled out the dreaded cancer, and decided to lower the dosage of the miracle drug to see if the side effects would subside, but still allow him to urinate.
We are now a little over one month since Griffey was first diagnosed, and three weeks from starting the medicine, and with a lower dosage, we are finally starting to see his appetite pick back up and he is getting a bit more energy. He seems to be suffering from the nasal congestion and has had a bloody nose (and now he needs a humidifier in the room where he sleeps!), but we are seeing improvements…finally.
My reasons for sharing this??? Twofold…one, there isn’t a lot of information out there on his condition, and if other dog owners are experiencing something similar, then we hope to share Griffey’s story in the hopes that it can help them. There were days when we thought we were close to losing our old boy, and we are so thankful to have a great and patient and thorough vet! And, I like to think Griffey is pretty lucky to have a mommy and daddy that didn’t give up on him!
My second reason, is that I have had a big dose of reality, my best friend is a senior dog, he is not the little furry puppy that I brought home 10 years ago, he is not the “teen” dog that tore the wallpaper off my wall, and he is not the adult dog that he used to be, even just a few months ago. Not many things in life can compare to the loyalty, love and companionship these four-legged family members give you. Sharing these past 10 years of my life with him has brought a tremendous amount of joy to me. I plan to make the most of the time I have left with him.
And, with being a senior dog comes some perks for him. He is getting to eat canned dog food, some human foods, more belly rubs, quite a bit of babying and special reserved seating on the sofa.
I will keep you posted on his progress, and if you have a dog with similar condition or symptoms, feel free to contect me for more info.
And to Griffey VonLudwig…we love you our best buddy! Go ahead, take up all the room on the sofa, you have earned it!
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