Monday, July 14, 2008
Choices
Sometimes the choices that you need to make are of the suckiest ones ever.
About a week back our Rottwieller Jade, started limping about the house. Not a new problem she has a rough case of arthritis and we have been dealing with these flair ups for a couple of years. Normally the pain goes away and she is back to her lap dogesque ways in a matter of days. This time however it was taking longer. So when she started carrying her right front leg instead of limping on it we decided we better get some better drugs in her. So we went to the vet and got another round of Tramadol and metacam, pain management, and anti inflammatory. This too in the past has been a big help, taking only a couple of days to work it's magic and get her back to lazing around the house in a normal fashion.
Again not this time.
So I got to take Jade to the vet this morning. Her right forearm is extremely swollen and we hoped that she had busted a bone, or got bit by a spider or somehow tiny gnomes had set up house. At the very least I was hoping that the swelling was caused by a malicious neighbor who may have shot the old girl, or maybe their kid, so I could then award them the "Beatin' O' the week" Jersey style complete with a bruised sack and missing teeth.
Not to be redundant, but again not this time.
As I sat in the office with the vet giving her the once over, spending a lot of time on her other parts, before even looking at her leg, all the while asking me the questions about her, How old is she, (9 by the way) and she has lost some weight (went from 135 to 115 over the last 2 years), her eyes seem a bit red, we'll give her something for that too. And then on to the swelling leg, WOW that really is swollen, how long has it been like this? we'll need x-rays, that came on quicker then I would think for a soft tissue mass or tumor, so that is good news. We'll be right back with the x-ray.
Good News! (30 mins later) there doesn't seem to be a tumor, or a pellet or a broken bone!
Hooray!
But the massive amount of arthritis is more then likely causing the swelling, and there is only three things we can do.
1) Play with her pain meds to make her comfortable. (ALARM BELLS start clanging in my head)
2) Amputate. (HOLY SHIT)
3) Euthanasia (fuck.)
Our choices seem to be limited. With the exception of her bum wheel she is a very healthy girl. She is also at the back end of her life expectancy as Rotties tend to only live 10-12 years and that is with perfect health. She has neither. So within a week we will have some serious thinking to be doing.
Choices like this, I'd rather not make any. 
