Just when you think you have it all together and under control, life throws you a curve ball just to let you know that you are still human and not above the ordinary stresses known to mankind.

Keith has been warning me for some time now that our best buddy Porter dog is aging.  He's always so vivacious and overly excited for meals and walks that I forget he is over ten years old. 

Well today I was horribly reminded of his vitality.

I was working away and he came over and nosed me, his usual sign of wanting some physical attention.  After some heavy scratching he rolled on his side to have his tummy rubbed. I grabbed his front legs and moved him a little, a sign that we are going to play while he is on his back, but this time he yelped in pain and then as he scrambled to get up, continued yelping. 

I was hoping this was just a fluke, a kink in his back or he had felt something on the floor.  Unfortunately later, he refused to walk up the stairs to be upstairs which for Porter is HUGE; he is a people dog and always chooses to be in the room with one of us.  When he would attempt to make the first couple of steps, again he would yelp in pain and then stay downstairs. No one wants to see their pet in pain.

Keith and I were very worried. 

We called Alessandra who promised to escort us to the vet first thing in the morning.  The next morning, even rising from his bed he was slow and a bit yelpy although he soon seemed to smooth out.  Alessandra drove up with her car, which has easier access for Porter to get in, and soon we were on our way.

The vet took a while, a lot of talking, poking and prodding and finally x-rays which consisted of poor Porter having to take a sedative to sleep although he still was struggling as they were trying to get him into the right position to take the x-rays.  Me, I was just trying to stay out of the way and not cry the entire time.  I did a pretty bad job.

After the vet reviewed the x-rays, he seemed to think he knew what the problem was, but wanted further confirmation.  He pointed out Porters spine to us and explained that he thought he was seeing some bone degeneration and a herniated disk, with an infection in the area.  All I could hear was bad, bad, bad and worse.  The vet talked about probably having to do surgery to fix the area of the disk that no longer had lubrication and but now had visible calcification.

He sent us off with an appointment to have a CT scan in Bologna on Thursday for Porter and some anti-inflammatory medicine to give him over the next few days to ease his pain.  Porter was so out of it, he could barely keep himself awake and I was just horrified to see him like that and just so concerned. My poor puppy!

The vet had told us to keep him away from stairs and Alessandra immediately offered to let us keep Porter at her house in the back extra room which we jumped at.  We were willing to do anything to make Porter comfortable and not have to experience anymore pain.

By the time we got Porter back to Alessandra's he was more alert but immediately went in and laid down and fell asleep; he still was feeling the effects of the drug.  After making sure he was comfortable we went back to our apartment and tried to be normal for a while, although the house seemed so incredibly empty without Porter dog in it with us.

I was absolutely distraught.

We agreed that I would go down and stay with him and keep an eye on him while keeping him company.  Which I did, after calling my parents to fill them in on their gran-dog.

So now we have to wait.  I'm dreading going to Bologna for this test, actually I'm really dreading finding out horrible news and with the limited information we have I just can think of too many terrible possibilities.

All in all, I feel like our vet knows what he is doing.  He speaks English and specializes in hip replacement surgery so he is familiar with the skeletal structure of animals.   The fact that he wants us to take Porter to Bologna for another test tells me he doesn't assume things and wants to be absolutely sure before he confirms his diagnosis and goes ahead with treatment/surgery.  If I could only stop worrying.

Yes I know he is just a dog, but he really is one of my best friends.  Porter dog was rescued eight years ago just before he was about to be destroyed at a shelter.  We adopted him from a foster home and have been a big happy family ever since.  Porter really is the best dog I could ever have imagined and we have loved every minute of the time we have spent with him over the years. 

You really learn the meaning of unconditional love through a dog. 

I just hope we can fix him...

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