Not a Sparrow Falls...

When we first began this blog we included some information about our three pets; the two cats, Tex and Cassie, and our dog, Bella. Those of you who correspond with Olivia on Facebook already know that Bella has been struggling with some health issues lately. This has been strange and alarming for us as it came out of nowhere and as she is a very young (not quite 3), healthy and energetic dog. In all honesty, she seems like she's invincible most days as she runs "buck-wild" through our lives spinning and jumping and banging into everything she can in the process. So, we were really concerned when she began to act fearful depressed and began flinching away from our touch, especially to her head and neck and even yelping in pain! We checked her temperature and found that she, in fact, had a little fever and made plans to see our veterinarian. If you have never met Bella, she is our adopted former shelter dog and came from the Williamson County Humane Society. We lost our dog Jewels to hemangiosarcoma several months earlier and decided that we needed an addition to the family and that we would try to rescue a dog. When we went to the shelter, Bella (then named Rose) immediately coaxed Madison over to her cage and convinced her that she was "the one".

Bella on the day we adopted her, on the ride to her forever home. It's LOVE! Madi & Bella, Summer 2009

It is almost unbelievable how she has snuck into every aspect of our lives since that time and I guess, I didn't realize how big a part of everything she is until she started to act differently. Part of this is because we promised ourselves that in Jewels' memory, our next dog would be as big a part of the family as we could possibly make it. If you have been around us for very long since we adopted Bella, you are nodding your head now and saying, "well, she's definitely that, all right." The other main reason that she is such a big part of everything is all her. She has so much personality! If you were to see her you are immediately struck by her energy and goofy expressions. This is of course, after you shrink back in fear after realizing that she is at least part American Pit-bull terrier (I'm not judging, I was there too!). Bella is incredibly sweet and like many dogs she loves to kiss all over her family and wants to play anytime she isn't sleeping. This attitude is especially inspiring to me because she has clearly not lived a life of ease. What we know about her previous life is that she was at the shelter as a puppy before being adopted, was adopted and returned and received some tremendous injury to her back at some point. This scar is the second thing about her you will notice. It is about 3 1/2" wide and about 5" long in a jagged roughly T-shape. It may have happened trying to crawl under a fence, it may have been caused by a bad burn of some kind but, one thing is sure...IT HURT! Bella has taken this hand that she was dealt early on and chosen to be loving, curious, outgoing and playful. Despite her past and the fearsome reputation that her breed might carry she responds to most negative attention whether because she is in trouble or is being poked at by the vet by rolling onto her back defenseless and asking whomever is attacking to "have mercy". In fact, in our house it is a well-known fact that no-one can sit, kneel or lie on the floor at any point if Bella is conscious without receiving a good licking. This is an indication for her that you are needing some attention and she can always be bothered to provide it. Another well-known fact is that anytime someone takes more than two steps in rapid succession, this results in Bella, sprinting in that direction, huffing and wagging her tail, ready for action! I have been guilty of proving this about eleventh-billion times (much to Olivia's chagrin at bedtime). I guess that's enough of a run-down for now but, I'm trying to convey the sheer joy and exuberance and yipping, spinning, jumping, floppiness that she brings to each moment of her life and all of ours. So, last Thursday we noticed that she wasn't quite herself and she seemed to flinch away from being petted on her head and neck especially. We discovered her temperature was a little high and Olivia took her to our vet the next morning. Well, they weren't able to find anything after a pretty good once-over and took a fecal test that came back negative. They gave her some pain/anti-inflammatory medication, as well. At that point, I think Olivia was feeling pretty good about her situation and I guess I am more of a worrier but, I wasn't convinced. I had hoped that they'd draw blood and take x-rays, at least. Friday evening after work, I took Bella back to the vet and again, they gave her a pretty good look but, nothing definitive. Her fever was up slightly and she wasn't too interested in eating (something she normally handles with the same energy and joy that she does everything else). We were given all the appropriate words of comfort and promised to watch her closely and bring her back in or call if anything happened. That night was a rough night for the Beanster. She was clearly in pain, wouldn't eat and at one point she began pawing at Olivia as if to tell her something was wrong. She climbed in Olivia's lap and when she tried to pet her, Bella yelped and ran across the room yelping.

Friday night at her worst.

You got it, back to the vet Saturday morning. Our vet even brought in her partner to get another set of eyes to have a look. Bella's temp was up to 104.1 by this point and the docs decided to anesthetize her and look in her mouth, throat, ears etc. really well to see if there were any signs of an abscess. We went home, pretty worried by this point but, hopeful that they'd find something definitive and easily treated. When we got the call, we were told that unfortunately, they didn't find anything for sure although, there was a little debris in one ear that they were excited about at first. They drew blood and didn't see anything wrong with that, either. Weird!!! The vet's best guess was maybe an inflamed nerve in her neck but, they really didn't know. Not what we were hoping for. She was woozy from the anesthesia but, seemed to be better. She even ate a little that night before bed.

Saturday evening after a long day at the Vet.

From that point on, Bella has seemed to be a little better each day, I guess. Her fever began to go back down and has gotten back to her normal 101 range. She still isn't herself though. She will play with her toys a little but, tires of it after a bit and isn't quite a rowdy, when she does. She's not as affectionate with us and seems much more aloof. She has had no desire to eat her normal kibble although she gladly eats hard treats, hot-dogs, cheese, canned dog-food and boiled chicken. Maybe she's training me? She has been on prednisone for the inflammation and doxycycline for any possible infection, as well as, tramadol for pain. The prednisone has made her extremely thirsty (pee a lot) and she pants a lot. On the pain issue, like most people who've ever watched a pet go through any health issue, we really wish they could tell us what is wrong and whether or not they are hurting. As one of the vets (we've seen three, now) told me, Bella is an extremely tough dog and not very good at showing signs of discomfort or pain. Now that I think of it, has anyone ever known a dog that at some point, didn't amaze you with their toughness, man! Anyway, Bella has been whining very softly at night when she tries to sleep and when we pet her or hold her muzzle up to our ears. She shivers sometimes and clenches her jaws. She whined when she tried to put her front paws up on me yesterday and you can tell she's hurting but, not necessarily where or why. Olivia and I have spent literally, hours and hours, combing the net looking for the possible condition. Distemper and parvo she's been vaccinated for. Lyme's Disease - no lameness and not really exposed to many ticks (I know, anything can happen). Leptospirosis, Erlichiosis, Toxoplasmosis, Histoplasmosis???? She has a slim chance of contracting each but, who knows? She doesn't necessarily have all the symptoms of any of them but, has many of each. I keep coming back to Meningitis which apparently has a lot of different causes some of which, are not known. The vet told me that this is now known as Inflammation of the CNS (Central Nervous System). It can be brought on by viral, bacterial or fungal infection among others. It causes pain, fever, depression, loss of appetite and can have other neurological symptoms like twitching and ataxia (loss of coordination). Bella has most of these. It could also be masticulatory mysitosis which affects the nerves in the temple and jaw muscles. It normally causes dogs to be unable to open their mouths or eat. Bella can open her mouth but, maybe it is painful for her? Most of these possibilities are treated by prescribing the medications she is already on and we are praying that they will help her get over whatever it is that is wrong. I was able to get her to eat a couple of big meals last night and this morning by mixing her kibble with lots of other good stuff and she seems a little peppier. The next step would be a referral to the Vet. Hospital at Texas A&M for either CSF (cerebro-spinal fluid) to be drawn or an MRI. This would be either really expensive for us, really painful for Bella or, BOTH!!! I am also giving her some supplements to help her deal with whatever is wrong (The Dog Whisperer's Restor by Cesar Millan). It looks and smells kinda like soy sauce but, it has all kinds of magic potions in it. Hey, if pre-historic trace minerals, sea kelp and other mysterious nutracueticals help her feel better, I might start taking the stuff myself. Anyway, we just really, really want our Beans back! Please, keep her in your prayers. At this point, I am rolling over onto my back, defenseless and asking for mercy. "The providence of God rules over the smallest concerns of men. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without Him." - Esther 6:1