another spell

Thursday, January 24, 2008


a noodle in the snow

spell n a period of bodily or mental distress or disorder

My boy's had another spell, just a few hours short of a week since the last episode (which I'm feeling is pretty good). And a healthy and energetic, back-to-normal 7 days it's been. It's funny how I've become so incredibly attuned to his every move, facial expression and all the subtle nuances in the qualities and characteristics of the Jake personality. Early yesterday morning he was just not quite himself. Not the usual exuberant early morning Noodle dog, there was no big dramatic demanding of cat food, and he actually slept in (which he never does - if I'm up he's up) on his bed by the fire.

We did pile into the car to go for a walk in the big field next to the cottage lane but we didn't stay long. Both Winnie Dixon and Jake seemed to find it cold (although the temperatures were fairly seasonal to mild yesterday) holding their little paws up and looking at me as if to say ... do something, fix this please and I've become paranoid about taking Jake anywhere too far from the car or from home, especially on a day like yesterday when my spider senses were definitely tingling.

Sure enough around lunch time he followed me into the kitchen and when I turned to look at him he was staring off into space, his body stiffened slightly, tail wagging and I held onto him around his middle as he sunk to the floor, suddenly too weak to stand up. This morning he's still resting and doesn't seem to want to get up yet, he's bright and alert and drinking water, but sadly, declined a few spoonfuls of cat food - a sure sign that he's not feeling well.

It's baffling, I guess I'm supposed to stop trying to figure it out ... but that's really difficult to do and it's very upsetting to see him like this, to be wondering if he's suffering and to be wishing that I could just lift him up like a cat and take him outside to sit in the snow for a minute and breath in that fresh cold air. It's just so strange (strange in a good way) that he has so many days of normal-ness in between these spells. If he had some very serious senior dog illness these symptoms should not retreat for days at a time, but remain more constant. There should be more symptoms, a variety of things beginning to show up. It's totally baffling and frustrating, and I'm really trying to just be calm & positive thinking, to comfort him and remind him of how much I love him ... a million, zillion times.

3 comments:

  1. Darn, darn darnit anyway!! I am like you and hoping for a total reprieve for poor old Jake!

    I wonder if the cat food is a culprit? ... is there anything in it that a dog might not handle well?

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  2. No Vee ... it's not the cat food, I'm sure of it. I think realistically, he's beginning the down hill slide of old age, it's just a matter of his comfort now. He still having many more good days than bad, and I can only hope for that trend to continue as long as possible.

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  3. Has epilepsy ever been considered?
    What you describe today sounds very much like what one of my Mom's dogs would experience. This link is an UPEI Veterinary Collage article on epilepsy.
    http://www.upei.ca/cidd/Diseases/nervous%20system%20disorders/epilepsy.htm

    ReplyDelete

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