Most of you know that my animals are my life and I love them each like they are my children. A while back I posted a blog about how Axel had put on a bunch of weight and had really slowed down even though he's not that old. After some tests he was diagnosed as having Hyperthyroidism and has been on medication twice a day since then. Poor guy will have to be on it the rest of his life. I guess I should say poor me as well! At first I was able to just pop the pills in the back of his throat and he would swallow it and we would go on with the day. Then I started finding bits and pieces and even whole pills on the floor and in couch cushions. So, I bought these stupidly expensive "Pill Pockets" that you put the pill in and squeeze together and they think they are just eating a treat. Well, that has worked for a while now and I thought all was well until we moved to Amarillo. Axel started putting weight back on and acting more lethargic and the hair down his back would stand on end most of the time. It was so odd so I took him back to the vet to make sure his thyroid medicine was still working like it was supposed to. Blood work came back great and all his levels were normal. Dr. Pearson did say he may be suffering from back pain or it could be stress and trauma from the move, although I don't really see why. So, things haven't gotten any better in the last month and actually they have gotten a bit worse. Back to the vet we go and this time we see Dr. Pearson's wife. She was quite concerned with Axel's posture and said he showed all the signs of a dog in chronic pain. Ugh, my poor baby. We had some X-Ray's done and sure enough he has some defects to a vertebrae on his spine. They are thinking that the defect is putting a lot of pressure on the nerves and causing quite a bit of pain. Also, while trying to reposition himself to be more comfortable he has put quite a bit of strain on his haunches which isn't good. So now Axel is on Prednisone for the inflammation, a pretty strong pain reliever, and a glucosomine supplement to help strengthen his bones. That equates to 4 pills in the morning and 4 pills at night. This is where the challenges have arisen. It was hard trying to make sure he kept one pill down, but now it's an impossible battle. We tried just putting all the pills in Pill Pockets and he got the first one down and then continuously spit the rest out every time! So I get this bright idea to get wet food in the packets and put the pills in the bowl with the food. Yeah right! He ate all the food and pushed the pills out of the way. Soooo, I put all the pills in pill pockets and mixed them with the wet food and guess what?? He eats everything but the pill pockets. I have resorted each time to cramming all of them one by one down his throat until he is gagging and slobbering everywhere and I'm covered in slobber. The vet today recommended putting the pills in vienna sausages, so I'm gonna try that tonight. Now, to complicate the pill matter a little more, I had Maxwell neutered today in Dumas and he has to take an antibiotic twice daily for 6 days. I wanted to get Chester scheduled for his neuter sometime in the next couple of weeks but they had a cancellation for in the morning and then he too will be on 6 days worth of antibiotics! On a side note, it is with a very sad heart that I must relay the news of the passing of not 1, 2, 3, 4 but 5 of my fishies who have left this world for the big ocean in the sky. Yup, and Nemo was one of them. I'm not sure what the sudden mass fatalities are from but Jason is lower than a snake's belly. He has been babying that aquarium since day one and he gets the water checked at least once and sometimes twice a week and all our levels have been perfect. The only good news we have had in the last 24 hours has been the fact that our shrimp is alive and kicking and getting huge! We put him in the tank to help control the aptasia and he promptly disappeared, never to be heard from until last night. Seriously, he has been missing in action for a little over a month. Anyways, for you animal lovers, please keep my pooches, fishies, corals and mushrooms in your thoughts as we mourn, heal and try to move on in this cold, cold world.
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