Vet Visit for Tom

Okay, deep breath...yesterday Tom had, what I am referring to "an episode". He started to go downstairs and I was in front of him. He wasn't coming, so I looked up to see him frozen at the top of the landing. He was sticking his left front leg out and had the look of sheer panic in his eyes. Suddenly, I had the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Finally got him back up from the landing. He was walking funny. Not necessarily limping. I refer to it as "high stepping". Almost like a cat when they have something stuck on the bottom of their paw. Then I noticed he was stumbling too.

Our house looks like a single story from the front, but on the back side it is two stories. So, to get to the backyard, you need to able to maneuver the stairs. Found the leash and took him out to the front yard to potty. He promptly walks to the sidewalk and just starts going. No squatting or hiking his leg. He just pees. Now, that doesn't sound good. For the rest of the day, we did no stairs, just going out on the leash.

He continued to have these episodes off and on during the day. I debated about taking him to the vet, but then he would get better. He was still kind of unsteady on his feet by evening and I decided he would go to the vet in the morning. Needless to say, not much sleep here for me.

We go to the vet, and it was crazy there. I guess everyone was going today since it was Friday. I see one of the older vets in the practice and explain what is happening. He says right off the bat, "I don't like this one bit". Then he calls one of the younger lady vets in for her opinion. She gives him the once over too.

Tom has kidney disease and had a horrible experience with anesthesia last time. We discussed sending him to Louisville for further testing. After much discussion, we decided to just treat the symptoms and give him the best quality of life that we can.

I know it will be a hard decision to make when the time comes, but I will not allow him to suffer. He deserves so much more than that. He has blossomed into such a loving, goofy boy and I hope to have lots more time with him.