As the old year crumbles into memory, and the new year becomes present, alive, and filled with future, sometimes we are enthused, invigorated and refreshed. And sometimes it's just a lot at once. After returning from a wonderful week visiting family both Upstate NY and on Long Island, we realized DJ's hind legs were not working properly.He was having a great deal of difficulty going up and down stairs, and seemed to have almost no push off from his rear quarters. Robert had told me that the dog had fallen down stairs at my parents' house, but didn't seem this disabled at the time. That was troubling enough, but once we were home our very slippery floors were like an awful indoor skating rink for a massive injured animal. He walked with a limp on both sides; he became afraid of the stairs and has refused to climb them. He didn't seem to ever bark in pain, but after falling in the kitchen one night our gentle giant simply whimpered for help, as I struggled to lift his torso up so that all four limbs would no longer be perpendicular to his body.
We gave him canine aspirin, waited a few days, and let him sleep downstairs. I took him on gentle walks to keep his legs from getting stiff and keep his circulation going. One night after Robert had gone to bed, I stayed up late with the dogs watching Julie and Julia, DJ on the couch with me, his head in my lap dozing. Robert responded to the downed dog by getting things done; we agreed the slippery floors had to go, so he found carpet treads online, then went to Home Depot and came back with a truckload of inexpensive and mostly awful carpet runners, area rugs, and more carpet stair treads. Our house is now has a West Elm meets double wide trailer feel to it, but the dogs aren't skidding and stressed.
Finally after a few days, DJ's joy has started to return. But his injury had only somewhat seemed to heal. So I called the vet, Robert and I both aware that Bernese Mountain dogs are prone to hip dysplasia and other really uncomfortable and unfortunate physical fates. In the winter I drive my 95 Honda Civic for the most part, and it's fine—except when you need to stuff a 150 pound dog into the back seat. But it turned out actually to be easier than the usual mode of transport (a Ford SUV), because my injured 2-year old could simply step into the small car, and lay comfortably on the back seat. No climbing, scrambling, or futile attempts on my part to lift the beast.
At the vet, we got good news. She manipulated his legs and observed his walk, and said she felt no indication of hip dysplasia; that that condition normally comes with severe stiffness, popping or grinding sounds, none of which she noticed. When I told her about the new carpeting, she said to the dog, "Sometimes we make our houses ugly for the ones we love, don't we?" DJ was prescribed some anti-inflammatory meds and I was told to bring him back in a week if he's not getting back to normal. I was also told, however, that our cuddly puppy was topping out at about 20-25 pounds overweight, and this extra weight certainly would do nothing but add more injury to the next fall.
So, after one week of 2010, one of our dogs has already been to the vet (via a vehicle not intended to transport livestock) and limps around; the house looks like the "before" picture for an HGTV transform-your-home-with-new-carpet show; and at least one if not more of the Fursons and their caretakers have signed on to a 2010 diet. But now both dogs are getting long daily walks. They are safer in their home. And we're all ok—maybe even improving. These are just a few of the many many gifts we share in the new year, gratefully.
http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/julieandjulia/
