This was an awful week. My Droo Bear was very sick. It seemed to come on so suddenly but as I look back over the last weeks and months I am seeing that there were some signs of something being wrong. I am not a believer in coincidence. I have had enough experiences in my life to convince me that there is always something behind what happens "coincidentally".
Droo had oral surgery in March. He had an infection in his gums and had lost one tooth already. He had a sinus infection that came from the infection in his mouth so he had to have 2 teeth removed and antibiotics to clear up the infection. As soon as the antibiotics were in his system he was a different boy acting like his happy puppy self again. I realized that he had been in pain for a while and I had no idea because he didn't show me. Since we had moved across the country from California to the Midwest he was dealing with so many changes.
After the surgery and the antibiotics he was my sweet boy again. He seemed to be adjusting to this life style in the country pretty well.
Then he started moaning. It started when we had a storm and I wrapped him up tightly in his vest and a blanket. I had found that the only way to calm him in a storm was to put his vest on him and make it snug, then add another vest over that and then wrap him up in a blanket and hold him tight. After the storm wrapping he was moaning so I undid the vests and thought it was just too tight and he was uncomfortable.
Well... that was partly true.
He stopped moaning then but he would do some groaning when he laid down at night to sleep and when he would get up. I started noticing he was a little stiff in the back legs when getting up and down. Since he is in his 70s in dog years I figured that is to be expected.
But then the drooling started.
Now, I don't know which came first. I called the vet about his storm anxiety because it was so bad and the storms were coming one right after another. Poor Droo was having such bad anxiety I was really worried about him having a heart attack or something. The vet said her own dog suffers from storm anxiety as well and she gives him Doggie Xanax which works really well. I was willing to try it if it would calm him down. She said it is not sedating rather it just helps them feel "happy" and not stressed. I want my Droo to feel happy and not stressed so I was onboard.
At first it seemed to help because he wasn't panting and having a full-blown panic attack.
I have to mention that it was around the 4th of July so there were also fireworks being set off around us alot.
Between the storms and the fireworks it was something every night.
And Droo was scheduled for his "Summer Cut" grooming. I tried the "Xanax" again to see if that would help him be calm for his grooming. It didn't work.
In fact, I think he had an adverse reaction. He couldn't be groomed because he wouldn't let anyone near him. His groomer who loves him was so confused and disappointed because she loves Droo and has bragged about how good he is and one of her favorite dogs of all time. But he was not having anything to do with her or anyone. I had to bring him home and reschedule for the next week.
After a week of calming down he did get groomed but I had to hold him the entire time.
I honestly can't remember if he was drooling at that time or not.
There was the moaning off and on when he laid down or got up but it was not all the time and he was eating normally.
Droo's groomer told me about the ThunderShirt. She swears by it. She told me of several dogs that were completely calmed and had no more anxiety with the ThunderShirt.
So we decided to give it a try.
And it instantly calmed him. He slept so deeply and peacefully.
I thought I had finally solved all our problems.
But then last week it hit like a tidal wave. The drooling was over the top.
Then he started coughing and retching. He vomited several times. Then he ate like he had been starving and we waited. He didn't throw up again. But that night he kept coughing and retching all night.
I called his doctor and they were booked up for the next 2 days solid and tried to give me advice over the phone. But by Tuesday morning we had not had any sleep for 3 nights and I knew there was something very wrong.
I talked to his doctor personally and she told me to bring him in and she would see him between other patients. I got there early and she saw Droo first, before any other patients.
Thank God!
She did x-rays and blood work.
His esophagus had become enlarged and the paristalsis action that moves the food to the stomach was no longer working so food and water were coming back up into his throat and got into his lungs. He had Aspiration Pneumonia and Megaesophagus.
I don't know if the Xanax was a contributing factor or not but the timeline is suspicious.
I don't know if the moaning was actually because he was starting to have heartburn from the esophagus not working properly or not. His back legs became very weak at the same time.
The Pneumonia was life-threatening so that was our first priority. To get antibiotics into him and get the lungs clear. Which was complicated by the Megaesophagus which doesn't do it's job of getting nutrients into the stomach and causes regurgitation.
It was a nightmare.
But we got through it.
Droo is such a trooper. He wasn't ready to leave me and I wasn't ready to let him go.
We fought it. I held him through the night and kept adjusting him so he wouldn't be on his side. I pushed a pillow under one side of his bed to prop his head and chest up and he understood this was helping him. He got himself up to go outside and even though his back legs were so weak and wobbly he did it himself.
He took the medications I gave him and when "Dad" brought home his new food he ate it.
He sat when I told him to and he calmly let me hold him sitting up after he had eaten for about 15 minutes. When he got a drink I told him to lay on his bed and he went right to it and laid down with his head propped up.
He is not coughing and his breathing is back to normal.
I believe we beat the Pneumonia.
Today he is doing great!
He is eating his new food, drinking water, sitting up for me after he eats and laying on his bed with his head propped up. He is getting up and down and going outside well. His doctor wants us to come back after 2 weeks and we will discuss the diagnosis of Megaesophagus further.
From what I understand there are treatments if we find one of 3 causes. There are tests to see if the cause is Hypothyroidism, Addison's Disease, or Myasthenia Gravis.
If one of those is the cause there is treatment.
Also the recurrence of Aspiration Pneumonia is a strong probability.
But we can handle it.
We will be back on the front porch very soon watching the birds and the squirrels and Droo will be looking for bunnies again in no time.
Thank you to all who kept Droo in your heart and prayers this week.
That is one of my favorite things about golf courses.
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