Wednesday, May 11, 2022

three days of the spinny


It’s been a rough few days for tiny chumley in the real world. Suddenly on Friday afternoon his world became spinny, his shorty legs unsteady underneath him, his eyes uncontrollably darting back and forth, his head turned and tilted, his little mouth drooly and his tummy so unhappy with his situation that it emptied its contents.  Luckily, there was no pain, no incontinence, no numbness or paralysis, no lingering nausea, nothing to strongly suggest that anything other than patiently comforting, waiting, and indulging his wildest food desires would be the best course for the weekend.  Tiny chumley’s symptoms were fairly consistent with idiopathic vestibular disease, or as it is called in more recognizable terms, old dog vertigo.  A sudden, lingering spell of crazy scary looking and feeling dizziness that can happen to an old dog for reasons nobody knows. At least not yet. A condition that often shows marked improvement after 72 hours. 

And just like clockwork, on Monday, he began to improve, his eye darting significantly slowed, and his world a little less spinny. Yesterday, he ventured off his bed more times that we probably would have liked, making his way over to us like a sailor in rough seas, ever hopeful to encounter a delicious fallen morsel of food.   





There are still some loose ends to tie up, a visit from his regular tushie man that we hope to have in the next day or so, actually managing the balance of baxter’s physical recovery, whatever that may look like, and, having been reminded once again that meals are more delicious with birthday meat cake, dealing with a voracious but stubborn little wolf who will be snubbing his plain ol kibble and lobbying for his dizzy dinner mix. As I get my keys to drive to the pet food store to buy more canned meat for little wolves, something tells me he has already won that battle. :)



8 comments:

Lovable Lily said...

Oh Mr. B. I'm so sorry to hear you've got the roller coaster blues. That's how I was yesterday coming off the new Guardians of the Galaxy coaster at Disney yesterday. Except I didn't empty my stomach contents. I'm so glad to hear you're starting to feel better. Pretty frightening for everyone! Hang tough little buddy.

Hugs,
Kim

SamCookie said...

We were worried when there was no news of Baxter for a whole week, and we are glad to hear you are on the mend now. Harley (age almost 12) has bouts of doggy senility, which is somewhat similar, and we are able to control his condition with a drug called Senilife. With prayers and best wises for Baxter having a quick recovery too...

Brian said...

So sorry that you had that awful spell, sometimes aging is not fun at all! Glad to hear you are improving and you will be in our thoughts today as we wish you a speedy recovery.

Kathy G said...

So happy to see he is recovering. Our Lab got the same thing a few years ago & also recovered. It is scarey but so happy he is doing better!

Jane said...

Oh little Baxter! Please get better quickly. I know you scared Mom and Dad but I know you are in good hands.

Anonymous said...

Get better soon Ferocious Wolf! The world stands waiting to hear -- your phoophies!

Anonymous said...

Baxter,
We were worried when your post(s) did not appear on schedule. Little Klaus (11 years) and I send our very best wishes to you, Baxter. May the Force be with you as you make your recovery. Even though each of us have our own precious little dachshunds, you still hold a special place in our hearts

Krista and Little Wisconsin Klaus

Cecelia said...

So sorry B was super duper dizzy. That is no fun at all! Glad he is well on his way to recovery. Give him a hug from me - a friend in TX.