I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this or not, but our sweet old girl, Tally, went blind between December and January. For the most part, it hasn’t changed the spunky dog we know and love … she still barks at people walking by our backyard, she still tries to chase squirrels and bunnies, she still gets as excited as ever for her food or a treat, she still howls, cries and talks whenever anyone comes over to our house, she still digs in the trash, and she’s still her normal SPASTIC self! All that really changed is that she bumps into the walls and the furniture if she’s walking with a purpose. When she wanders she does just fine, but when she’s on a mission she hits everything that gets in her way. We haven’t been too concerned, just thought she was getting older. Which is true – next month Tally turns 11.
Well, this morning something peculiar happened. Bill let the dogs outside to go potty, but when he called them to come back in, Tally stood with her back to Bill frozen on our patio. She was non-responsive and shaking just a little bit. Bill picked her up, brought her inside, and tried to get her to eat her breakfast, but Tally continued to just stand there blankly. I tried talking to her, but nothing. Finally, Bill turned her head toward him and asked her if she wanted some food and she seemed to snap out of it. She ate, but I immediately got on the phone with the vet. While I was on the phone with the vet, Tally kind of jumped Sadie just for walking by her {which is really out of character}. Bill got them separated and Tally calmed down.
So, we took her in this morning and the doctor thinks that she had a petite mall seizure. For now, she seems healthy in every way with the exception of her vision. So he’s unsure what caused the seizure and just wants us to keep an eye on her. He said that it may never happen again or that it could even be a brain tumor. We had some lab work done and should get the results tomorrow. It obviously won’t tell us if she has a tumor or not, but it should tell us about her thyroid, kidneys, liver, etc. and if anything is going on in those areas.
Tally has been completely fine the rest of the day. But I can’t help but worry … which is no surprise to those of you who know me well … I’m a major worrier by nature. It’s just that I love that dog more than I can really express. She’s my very first dog in my life and I can’t imagine our household without her. I just snapped this pic a few minutes ago and I felt like it captured her sweet, kind spirit. I love those floppy ears, I love that soft nose and mouth, and I love those deep soulful eyes, I love that sweet face … I just love Tally. So, here’s to hoping that she’s just gettin’ elderly and that nothing is seriously wrong with her. I hope our old girl has at least a few more years in her…
4 comments:
omg...this gave me a huge lump in my throat...it makes me super sad to read that!
she has always been such a sweet dog and I can't even believe what I just read.
poor tally...i hope all comes back clean for her.
so sad to hear this!
aww poor girl! maybe this will make you have some hope...our chocolate lab is 16...yes 16 in human years. he started having seisures about 8 years ago. no one could tell us why so i did a TON of research and it ended up it was nutritionally related. i changed his food to something less fatty (nutri max), stopped giving him scraps and the seisures slowly went away. soooo there is hope! those things can come and go and you would never know that they were once there. i will be praying for sweet tally! i was at the vet for my 14 year old cat today so i know how you are feeling. hang in there! it's hard..especially when all pets ever give you is love. : )
Poor sweet doggie. Hopefully you'll not find anything wrong and she'll hang on a few more good years.
I am sure your girls love her and that would be ever so hard on them (you too!)
Very sweet picture.
oh no, i hate hearing that about sweet Tally. I remember when you got Tally and how tiny she was, and how she made your new little family complete (oh how that would change!). hopefully it was a one time occurence, and she will stay healthy from here on.
and I can vouch that she IS spastic!! :)
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