How we noticed something was wrong...

Last Sunday, November 15th, was a morning just like any other Sunday...lazy, slow getting around to stuff.  Both Cassi and Ori went outside and did their business and, when they are good puppies, we reward with small treats.  We noticed Cassi didn't eat hers and thought nothing of it, because they occasionally have "tummy" issues...in fact, I ended up giving her half a Famotidine 10Mg as recommended for them by the vet.

As the day went on, we noticed that she wasn't eating anything...not her food or any offered treats.  I palpated her stomach and it felt "hard", which I still thought meant tummy issues.  At this point, she was still walking and jumping up on the bed, but she was lethargic and couldn't seem to get comfy.  The evening before this, she had been trying to eat grass, so all this was still pointing to "tummy".  We thought "if she could just throw up" she would feel better, but that wasn't happening.

Being Sunday, our regular vet wasn't open so we had to call the Pet Emergency and Specialty Center of Marin in San Rafael.  The examination fee of $72 was well worth the peace of mind knowing that it was just "gas" or something.  Off we went to San Rafael, Orion in tow (these two had never been seperated).  On the ride down, Cassi couldn't get comfortable and kept switching between Diane and I...and at this point she was still walking.  What she WASN'T doing was "shaking" like she usually does for the first 20 minutes of ANY car ride we take, which was unusual.  We knew something was wrong, but didn't expect what was next...

We checked in at the front desk and noticed it was very crowded, which is always sad to see.  The last two visits we had to the PESCM were not joyous occasions.  The people there are fantastic though and genuinely care about your animal.  Anyway, we were waiting in the lobby for about 10-15 minutes and both doggies were getting fidgety, so Diane decided to put Cassi down on the floor...and that's when we noticed she had lost the use of her hind legs...I must have turned pale as a ghost, because that's how I felt.  I scooped her up immediately, went to the check in desk and told them we had a drastic change in her condition.  She was fully lucid, just paralyzed on her hind end...the nurse came out and took her to the back immediately...ahead of a few other people.  They do a wonderful job of triage there and most the others were waiting to pickup their animals (a chicken, a rat and a few cats).  I think we only jumped in front of one other doggie that had an actual tummy ache.

Now we just waited for word.  "Pins and needles" as my Mom used to say...and a sick feeling in our stomachs.

Next post...Dr. Jim Clark's diagnosis...