Friday morning, Ralph woke up with partial paralysis in both of his hind legs. This was a complete surprise as it was an immediate injury with no warning. After taking him to the vet, I was given two options. I could take him to Louisville for emergency back surgery or confine him in a crate at home to prevent him from moving around a lot and let it heal on it's own (about 8 weeks) with the help of an anti-inflammatory and a pain pill. With Evan out of the country for a wedding, I chose to try the crate route so brought him home.
Unfortunately late Saturday night when I took him out for the last time before bed to use the restroom he had lost all feeling in his back legs so was completely paralyzed. I called the emergency clinic in town and they gave me a referral to head to Louisville to the surgery center.
After talking with the surgeon about possible surgery (and talking to Evan over the phone) we both decided it was best to not put Ralph through invasive back surgery. I was told there were three stages of paralysis. First to go is feeling, second is movement and lastly is pain response. He had lost feeling and had no movement and they weren't sure if he had pain response because he was so anxious when he was back with them. If he did not have pain response then the chance of recovery through surgery was grim. If he did have pain response there would be a 70-80% chance that he would recover. Unfortunately, recovery only means that there is a chance he will be able to walk again. If he did gain the ability to walk again, he likely wouldn't be able to go up and down stairs, run or jump without the possibility of re-injuring his back. Unfortunately the chances of us preventing him from chasing after that pesky rabbit or from jumping up on us when we get home is slim. I asked them to please give him a short acting steroid shot to provide some relief and I added a muscle relaxer to his list of meds with the hope for a miracle. I was told, though, because of his rapid decline, the chance of recovery through meds was very slim.
Sunday morning Ralph lost his ability to control his bladder and Sunday afternoon he lost his ability to wag is tail. As damage to the spinal cord increases, there is a predictable path of deterioration. It starts:
* Pain caused by the tearing disc and the resulting inflammation in the spinal cord (Luckily he was never in any pain.
* Wobbly walking, legs cross
* Nails scuffing floor
* Paws knuckle
* Legs do not work (paralysis, dog is down)
* Bladder control is lost
* Tail wagging with joy is lost
* Deep pain sensation, the last neurological function, is lost
Evan returned home around midnight Sunday night and we both took him to the vet this morning. They tested his deep pain sensation (our last hope) and we were told that it was lost. Unfortunately, this meant that he would not recover. We left the vet and took him to the Arboretum to sit in the grass and get some fresh air for awhile and got him a big chunk of hamburger to enjoy. Afterwards, we had to say goodbye.
As devastated as I am, I still truly believe that everything happens for a reason. I don't know yet why this all has happened to my young, in shape, happy and healthy dog. As sad and frustrating as it can be at times, believing and knowing this helps get me through. I am so thankful that he wasn't in any pain through any of this and am thankful it started and ended so quickly. I'm also thankful that it didn't come to this until Evan was home. It's comforting to know that I still truly feel that all of the decisions that were made throughout the past couple of days have been the correct decisions and have been what was best for Ralph.
Ralph- I am going to miss you so much. My heart is so heavy in my chest. From the moment I saw your picture on petfinder.com, I knew you were meant to be with me. The first time I saw and held you, I fell in love. You have always treated the kids as if they were your own. I'm going to miss hearing your feet crawl out from under the bed to run downstairs to greet me when I walk in the door. You always were so happy to see me! I am going to miss our frequent walks through the neighborhood and our trips to the dog park with the kids to find four leaf clovers on weekends. I'm going to especially miss playing out in the backyard, getting you so excited you run around with a case of the crazies. Thank you for coming into my life and for bringing me so much joy.
Ralph
(May 25th, 2004 to May 14th, 2012)
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