On Tuesday January 9th Jake fell paralyzed from the waist down, from an unknown cause. After rushing him to the vet it was assumed (but never proven) he may have suffered a clot, a disk rupture, or even trauma. After several days of cortisone shots and clavamox (for the blood in his urine) we took our little boy home. Hoping the familiar setting would make him more comfortable--and hopes of watching his deteriorating condition improve.
Our original veterinarian suggested (after 4 days of laying in the cage there) that perhaps surgery would be an option. But offered us little help otherwise. With each question asked, he would reply "we really can't tell" or "we really aren't sure". But we really need something more to go on. We needed to know what our little boys odds of ever walking or living his happy dog life again were.
Desperate for a solid answer we took Jake on Saturday January 13th, 2007 for a second opinion. After some time --checking xrays, pinching toes, checking for reflexes etc, it was obvious that Jake was losing more and more feeling in his lower half. And to watch this once independent and strong dog urinating and defacating on himself was crushing.
Although the veterinarian did not want to tell us 100% that he would never walk again, she felt that with his age, breed, and symptoms, he had more than likely thrown a clot---and surgery would not fix our situation. And that his size would greatly limit his quality of life--even with the use of a cart. We would have to deal with daily bathing, flipping to prevent bed sores, and the constant reminder of the dog he once was.
It was probably, the hardest, most upsetting decision we have ever had to make in our lives, but in the end we decided the best thing for our little man was to have him put to rest. Jake was the alpha dog in our house and to have him sitting in the corner watching our other dog run and play was not an option for him, and this is somethign I believe would have broke his heart. And not a life he would have wanted to live.
He will be hugely missed by myself, my husband and our three children--as well as his big brother Baxter. But we know he is in a place where he can still run, jump and dig through all the garbage he wants!!!!
Sleep tight Jake 11/28/2001 to 01/13/2007