VJ Starfire

VJ Starfire arrived here at Lazy Day's Greys on February 7, 2015. It had been a while since I had a dog straight from the track.  The first night was a bit rocky, but once the sun came up, it's like someone flipped a switch and he's been the perfect dog ever since.

Off and on I over the next few weeks, I would hear someone yelp from time to time.  With four dogs in the house, I was having trouble figuring out who it was.  One afternoon, I was sitting in my chair enjoying my favorite pass time of watching dogs sleep, when I saw Starfire try to get up and he yelped.  At first I thought it was static electricity from moving around on the dog bed.  But upon further observation, it seemed to be his neck.  Then I noticed the yelping more and more.  He would yelp from time to time when getting up from a laying position, playing with a stuffie or if someone would bump into him.

A vet appointment was scheduled with the vet that handles the group's foster dogs and x-rays made.  It appeared he was having some issues with the discs in his neck, but would need further tests to confirm this.  In the mean time he was on anti-inflamatories and seemed to be doing a little bit better.  Of course, until we could pinpoint the problem, he was on medical hold for adoption purposes.  This truly broke my heart as this is the sweetest boy ever.

The first trip to Louisville to the specialty clinic there was to determine what the plan would be.  After the doctor reviewed his x-rays and did a physical exam, it was decided that he would need a myelogram, ct scan and possibly a MRI to properly diagnose his issue.  We were leaving to go out of town the next day, so it was decided to wait and do the testing when we returned.  Evidently with a myelogram, they like to keep them at the clinic for a few hours to make sure there is no reaction to the dye that they use.  We made the appointment for Starfire for a couple of weeks later and were to keep him quiet, use a harness and continue with this meds.  It was also made clear that if this was a disc issue, he would need surgery.

The morning of his appointment, I packed up his food (enough for several days), his meds and a blanket for him.  We were fully expecting to be leaving him for surgery as he was still having issues from time to time.  We just needed to get this boy better.  So the president of the group and I drop him off and hang around Louisville to play the waiting game.  But instead of getting a call that he was heading to surgery, we get the call to come back to consult with the doctor.  We were both nervous.

Doc showed us the imaging from the myelogram and ct scan.  He said the discs were okay, but needed to get a confirmation from the radiologist.  It seems that whatever the particular problem was, it was just an abnormality for Starfire.  There was definitely something there, but it wasn't a tumor.  That was ruled out by the radiologist.  So, while we really don't have an exact answer, we know that he is better.  Since his testing was done, he's been fine, knock on wood.  I can say that I have heard him yelp twice.  He is currently on tramadol, as needed when he exhibits pain.  It is the weirdest thing.

This boy is the best boy though.  He will be 5 years old on August 21st.  Loves everyone, but really adores children.  He raced 127 races and his last race was on September 21, 2014.  I was very lucky to be able to connect with the lady who worked with him at Pensacola.  I asked her if there was anything special I needed to know about Starfire.  Her response, guard your heart, because he will take it with you when he goes.  Boy, is that the truth.  But, my hope for him is a forever home for his birthday.