Sad days, my friends. Our beloved Andy (aka Black Lips Houlihan, aka The Finest Example) is not in good health. In fact, this looks like it might be the end. We talked to the vet, and are going to give it one more day, to see if he improves. If not, we have an appointment tomorrow afternoon. Gulp.
A couple of days ago I was reading in the living room, and Andy came in there stumbling around like a T-Mobile salesman on Thursday night happy hour at Chili’s. He dragged his entire body along the loveseat, like he was listing hard to the right, then turned and vomited a great load on the rug. What the?!
I took him outside and he was wobbly on his feet, but seemed otherwise fine. He took care of some business out there, and the next morning was back to his normal self: barking at people through glass, and begging for food. Hey, dogs are weird. I didn’t think any more about it.
But yesterday afternoon Toney was on her break, and I was downstairs on my computer. She texted me and said Andy had puked again, but she needed to get back to work. Nice! So, I went up there to clean up the mess, and saw that our old friend wasn’t doing so well. He was lying down, panting really hard, and kept falling when he’d try to stand.
He seemed to get a little better as the evening progressed, but it still wasn’t great. Toney has spoken to the vet twice, and we’re doing what she suggests. But he’s not getting any better, and doesn’t even try to stand or walk anymore. I think he had a stroke. It’s sad.
He’s drinking a little water, but hasn’t really eaten since yesterday afternoon. While he’s lying still he seems fine. He licks my hand, in a friendly way, and doesn’t appear to be in pain or anything. I don’t know. It’s only been about 18 hours, but it feels like a week to me. What’s with all this “let’s just keep an eye on him” bullshit?! I want her to examine him. That’ll happen tomorrow, I guess.
Andy’s 14 years old, and our boys don’t really even remember a life without him. We all love that hound, of course. He’s a sweet and silly part of us. Our hearts are breaking.
I’ll keep you guys updated.
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Sorry to hear about Andy, Jeff. He’s always been a fun part of the WVSR. Hoping for the best.
Keeping my fingers crossed that it’s treatable. 14 years is a good run for a dog, but that doesn’t mean you don’t want them around for longer.
Thank you guys. I really appreciate it. Andy’s doing a little better today. Not great, but better than 24 hours ago. I had him outside just now and he’s still a little wobbly, but there’s definite improvement. I hope I’m not fooling myself, but I think he might be coming out of it.
Yay!!!
Great news Jeff. The lump in my throat has subsided.
Are you sure he is not getting into something he is not supposed to? Sounds like our boxer many years ago. The vet said to give him an aspirin a day for his knee joint problems. We did that and almost killed him. We went to another vet and found we were poisoning him. He acted the same way Andy is now. We got him away from it and he lasted another 4 years. WORST day of my life when we finally had to put him down…..
That’s great news Jeff! If it’s Vestibular it can last several days, even weeks, but they do normally recover. Our dog has had 4 episodes so far. Please keep us posted!
Cheers to ya, “Black Lips Houlihan.” You’re one of the good ones.
Sorry to read about Andy’s current state – I have enjoyed hearing about his antics over the years. And as I type now, I have a clear image of him jumping in banks of snow to leave snow crullers behind…good ‘ole Black Lips Hulihan! Hoping for the best…
Oh, man I am so sorry Jeff. My puppy boy, Dylan, went over the rainbow bridge back in April. It broke my heart. I hope Ol’ Blacklips is out slingin’ urine and making yardbiscuits like always real soon.
We had a dog with similar symptoms, take a look at his eyes and see if they jerk from side to side or up and down if they do then he has nystagmus which can be from stroke or can be from ear problems. Basically its like spinning in circles then stopping and everything just keeps on spinning which as you can imagine if you had that non stop can make you quite off balance and sick to your stomach.
NOOOOOOOO!
Why can’t some scientist splice tortoise genes with dogs so we can have dogs that live for 300 years?
Brilliant!
They did but there was no market for a dog that took a week to bring back the tennis ball.
Any updates on Black Lips Houlihan? Been thinkin’ about him!
My dogs bring me more comfort and joy than any family member.
Mother of 3 sons who are adults who hold me in contempt.
Scooter and Sugar have my undying affection!
My children love themselves to all exclusion.
Done over, NO CHILDREN.
Dogs a plenty!