Scary Day

Our sweet little Val Pal hasn't been feeling well lately. It started a few days ago - we noticed that she would only jump up on one of the couches in our living room. Steven figured out that it was because it has a rug in front of it, versus hardwood, so it must have been easier for her. Then on Sunday morning, Val wouldn't walk down the stairs to go potty outside. I told him that it was probably muscle pain and if it didn't get better in a few days, we would take her to the vet.

So then yesterday I came home and found that she had pottied in the house (which she never ever ever ever does) and she spent the whole day away from us, which is very unlike her. This morning, she went potty in the house again! I was so angry, I made her go outside (in the snow) and wouldn't let her back in until she relieved herself.

Then Steven came home from grocery shopping and felt her abdomen, which looked swollen. We also noticed that she was walking funny and screamed when I held her by the collar to wipe off her feet. It was time to call the vet. Unfortunately, with all this crazy weather lately, all the vets in the area were swamped! After several calls and conversations with some very compassionate office staff members, we finally found a doctor who was willing to push back a surgery to see sweet Val and make sure she was ok.

Steven took her to the clinic and I immediately called my mom to keep from contemplating the worst-case scenario. I come from a family of worriers, which I have really embraced since becoming a parent. I was so worried that Steven would call and tell me to bring Jackson over to the clinic to say goodbye to his first dog... whose name was one of his first words. What would I tell Jackson? How would I feel knowing that I hadn't been very compassionate towards her in her last hours? Thankfully, my Mom kept me distracted and I didn't go overboard on my crazy made-up scenarios.

Luckily, none of my fears were realized. Steven called to let me know that the doctor believes that Val is much older than we were originally told when we adopted her, and is probably developing arthritis in her joints. He asked us to put her on bed rest for five days (hahaha - how is that different from her normal days?) and prescribed her some muscle relaxants.

Val came home and immediately laid down on the couch and fell asleep. She only stirred once to get water and another time when I was making pigs-in-a-blanket for Steven and had given Macy a few of the extra cocktail weenies. Val wanted her share too! Other than that, she was wiped out.

I am so grateful that my concerns were totally misplaced. Val is such a sweetie puppy and we have only had her for a year and a half - I would hate to lose her now.

And for the next few days, we will have a very druggy doggie.