I talked with the vet a couple of hours ago and her exact words were, “That little guy of yours scared me to death; I thought for sure he wasn’t going to pull through this!”
She went on to explain once again that the only reason she was even willing to prescribe the hard-on-liver meds that she did was because the only other option was to put him to sleep. She said, “What did we have to lose?”
She was beyond thrilled to hear that he’d had a largely pain-free day.
The vet did agree to give me another round of the heavy pain meds just in case Snowy has another bad spell but she said to use them as little as possible. Her suggestion was to just give him a dose right before bed for a few more days to be sure that he doesn’t have a pain episode while we’re asleep and can’t help him through it.
She also said we could gradually introduce some more activity into his schedule which made Snowy very glad. However, it didn’t make him as glad as the wonderful news that if things continue like they are, he gets to keep on livin’!
Last week when Sarah and I were sitting with him on the front steps of the porch she said, “Mom, do you think we can take Snowy on one last drive to school together, since he has taken me to school so many times?” That question made us both start crying.
And now? It looks like Snowy will be taking Sarah to school for her first day as a junior and for many days after that. He has truly, miraculously turned a corner today, surprising us and his vet.
I am all about GOOD surprises!
To close out on a happy pictorial note, here are some shots I took of him this evening.
After dinner, when I got up from my chair, he stretched right up there to see if I had left any morsels behind. He didn’t look stiff or shaky in the least.
When he realized he would have to find his own dinner, he trotted on over to his personal buffet. (We had put the food/water dishes up on a board because the vet said it would hurt his back less if he didn’t have to stretch down so far to eat.)
Unfortunately, our over enthusiastic, toddler-minded, geriatric dog had a little accident with his food dish. Oh well!
After his evening repast, it was outside to the porch . . .
for a sniff test . . .
and a pooch-esque perusal of the property.
That was followed by little stroll across the lawn . .
. . . and then he was back up on the porch to pose for his close-ups.
I think we can officially say he is out of the woods and has dodged the bullet once again. Is it just me, or does this dog have more lives than a cat? Our whole family is absolutely stunned at this wonderful change in our beloved fifth member of the family.
This is the most at peace I have been all week as far as our decision goes about putting him to sleep. Out of the whole day, Snowy was probably in mild to moderate pain for less than hour. Every day gets better for him—and as it does, every day gets better for me.
Thanks again for each of you who has ridden the emotional roller coaster with us for the past week; your comments, words, hugs, and prayers have meant the world to us.
Thanks too, for your understanding when I wasn’t able to reply to every comment. I hope to get back to that practice in the next post.
This is one happy mama . . . signing off.
OH, Becky!! So thankful right along with you!
Snowy, so good to see your eyes sparkling again!
Snowy has taken up his sentinel post on the porch once again! Look at that big Maltese smile! That warms my California heart!! Good boy, Snowy!!
I’ve been following along through this latest rough patch and obviously didn’t give Snowy enough credit. What a tough little heart inside that little creampuff body! So glad that you’ve worked with him to get through this; even happier that his will to live is so strong! (((hugs))) to all of you!
Look at that sparkly, happy doggie – can’t tell you how happy that makes me. He is nothing short of amazing and I just couldn’t be more relieved and pleased and proud of that fluffy white angel of a dog – just looking at that happy smiling face with bright eyes has finally dried up the tears. You go, Snowy, my man, you rock!
This post makes my Snowy loving heart so happy. I for one would like to hear from Snowy himself? And the $1,000,000 question is………..will he ever eat dog food again? Glad to hear he’s on the mend once again! Love, Jodi
I couldn’t even check your blog yesterday because I was too afraid of what I would read…What a relief!! I am so happy Snowy is feeling better. Hop off that roller coaster! It sounds like he’s planning to stick around for a while. Yayyy Snowy!
Yay Snowy!! You really do look like you feel so much better!! Happy dancin’ in Nebraska! 🙂
This is excellent news! We went through something similar with Mojo…he had just finished a round of radiation (he had fibrosarcoma) about a month prior to the episode. He looked terrible and acted like he felt even worse. My sister and I called the vet to the house to have her look him over and help us make a decision. Keep in mind, I was leaving in two days to go to Japan for almost three weeks, so I didn’t want to leave my sister with a burden or decision. The vet came out and said, she thought his problem was not tumor related. She gave us some meds, and he perked back up. We ended up with almost 4 more months with our sweet boy.
so, Snowy, what were you thinking when you were staring at that wee green tipped dish with your food on the rug? I really liked that photo, and, of course, loved all the feeling-good photos, too! can’t wait to see you on duty for the first day of school.
woof and love and prayers
I just LOVE Snowy. You can tell by the pictures that he has the best little personality. Way to go Snowy!
Hurray Snowy!
This made my heart happy to read this! Snowy, you have love pouring in the world over, and many more stories to tell us on your mum’s blog before the final curtain comes down! it’s not time yet buddy! 🙂
I’m so glad Snowy’s feeling so much better. Tell him not to get so excited that he overdoes it! I’ll be praying for him to continue improving.
I don’t comment very often either, but I have to regarding Snowy. After several posts which have left me teary-eyed, I’m both happy and amazed to have happy tears tonight. That is a completely different dog from the one in the video, and what a spectacular recovery (I love the smile on his face in the last couple of pics- that tells the story right there.) I’m very happy for your whole family, especially the little man himself. Best wishes for his continued recovery!
HUGE excited happy dance happening in Utah! Go Snowy go! Love to you all. 🙂
This is wonderful news! I am so relieved to hear that he had a good day and hopefully seems to be out of the woods. Yay, Snowy! He might be tiny but he sure is a tough one, isn’t he? 🙂
Snowy looks so much better in these pictures. Praise God for His goodness. He knows how we love our animals. Hope all have a good night’s rest tonight. Love you!
I was a little leary of reading your post tonight and was really surprised at the relief I felt after I read the first few lines! Go Snowy!! Ya!! Ahhhhhhh And thank you God. I’ll keep on’praying, just in case.
Love, Hugs and Blessings to All,
Judy
Happy! 🙂
Love deb
Becky, I don’t comment often, but I am so thrilled to read about Snowy’s recovery! Thank you for keeping us updated on that precious pup. He is a loyal companion and I’m happy to see him smiling and doing so well.
Hooray for Snowy! So glad to hear he’s doing better.
I was so scared to click the link to the blog today, me and my son were away since thursday at cubscout camp and i had no access to the internet. i am so glad he is feeling better and i hope it is mostly over.
Yay Snowy!!
Woo hoo! He looks so happy, so good to see him back up and at it 🙂
Way to go Snowy!! I’m so happy he is doing better… Praying that continues for a long time to come….