Maddie is a really good dog. She does all the good dog things. She loves catching sky raisins (flies) and loves watching light reflecting on the walls. Sometimes a bit OCD. She'll stare at lights and shadows on the walls for a long time. Spot a fly and she'll sit there and stare at it until it goes on it's merry way or she's lucky enough to catch it.
She loves bubbles, too. She will jump around the yard snapping away at those soapy bubbles floating around, filled with light from the sun, just as happy as can be.
She also really loves a good ball. (What Lab doesn't? Well, Ellie, not so much, but...)
Thursday she had a day of bubble catching and a couple of throws of the ball in the house. It was too much, I guess, because Friday morning, as Bill is leaving for work, he tells me Maddie hasn't gotten up out of the bedroom. I found her in the bedroom near the door. She would cry whenever she moved.
She lay in the hallway all morning. I sat with her every few minutes and checked on her often, wondering what in the world we were going to do. She has had trouble with her hips and legs for a while now and we are really careful about how much jumping and running after the ball she does, but Thursday was just a bit too much for her, I guess.
I reached out on the neighborhood page asking if anyone knew of a vet who made house calls. As slight as the possibilities were I had to ask. I had no idea how to get Maddie into the car even if we were able to get a vet appointment.
When Mary got up she managed to get Maddie up and outside to go potty. Her poor back legs were shaking and I could see she was having trouble. She stood on the patio a few minutes, legs shaking and her tail straight down. (It's never straight down.) She finally made it back in the house and laid down on the rug right inside the door. We got her into a dog bed next to where she was and she stayed there for a couple of hours. Mary sat down on the floor and fed her by hand. She was hungry and ate all she was given.
I talked to the vet's office where we took Annabell when she was hurt. The first regular opening for an appointment is October 28, but the emergency vet would be available. I told her I would keep an eye on her for a little longer and call back if we thought we should go in to see the vet.
She rested all day, and seemed to be better and better. She yipped once getting up out of the dog bed, but, even though she struggled, she seemed to be feeling a little better. Even snapped at the fly that kept landing on her while she rested.
By evening she was much better, but still walking carefully. She ate her dinner and had some quality begging time when dinner was being consumed. Her eyes were bright. Her tail was up and wagging. I think she's feeling a lot better. A vet appointment will be made and we will keep an eye on her, of course, being careful of how much Lab antics will be allowed, and take her sooner to the emergency vet if the need arises, but I think we have gotten through the worst of it.
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