[Dailydrool] The Dreaded "Back Issues"

[Mary Lee]

Sunday night around 10:30 pm, my husband says to me, "Have you noticed Philby - he doesn't look right to me."  No, I hadn't noticed, but when he brought it to my attention, I realized Philby had not moved for over an hour, and he was shaking.  We decided to go to the emergency clinic.  Of course, by the time we got there he was all perky again.  That's when we could see that he was favoring one of his back legs and was dragging the top of that foot on the ground as he walked.
 
The xray showed, basically, a bad back - lots of calcification and deterioration all along his spine.  I was amazed - we have not seen any activity - or lack of activity - that would indicate what I saw on the x-ray.  Philby was given two injections, and one bottle each of Rimadyl and Tramadol.
 
Talked with our regular vet today - he would like us to start a supplement, The Missing Link, to eventually limit the Rimadyl at least.  Philby was pretty dopey until early this afternoon when I gave him the Tramadol in a peanut butter sandwich.  When he heard me drop cheerios on the kitchen floor, he managed to get up off his blanket and come in to clean up.
 
His one leg is still obviously weak, and the top is still brushing the floor.  However, his attitude is pretty much back to normal, and he has eaten well today.  My husband took him out the front door on the leash to avoid the steps, but he went to the back door to go in the back yard.  He is following us around the house.
 
We know this issue is not going away, but for now we seem to be getting a handle on it.  I would apppreciated any suggestions for treatments to slow the progress if possible and to keep Philby comfortable.
 
Mary Lee
 		 	   		  
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