A run for our money

So, the red head is giving us a mental, a physical and a financial workout these days.

A little over two weeks ago he quit eating. Period. He’s always been finicky since we brought him home, but this time even with the tastiest treats he walked away. This was quickly followed by watery diarrhea and vomiting.

Panic took over and we spent quality bonding time with the vet clinic. He was x-rayed from stem to stern, a complete panel of blood tests and stool tests were performed. We stopped when we discovered he had tape worms, treated him and thought we were on our merry way.

Last week, we began repeating the entire scenario minus the vomiting. We were just plain scared at this point. More blood tests, more poop tests and the possibility of a bowel biopsy.

I started doing a little research and checked with my chiropractor and believe it or not, he referred me to an acupuncturist here in Salem. Today the last series of blood tests showed that Timber’s B-12 value is low.

I ran him over to the vet clinic at noon to get a weekly cobalamin shot for the next six weeks. This afternoon we took him in for his first acupuncture visit.

He did amazingly well for both, but especially the acupuncture. The vet practices both eastern and western medicine. He detected some narrowing of the vertebrae space in his mid-back. I’m scared, but the vet is optimistic because of his age. He doesn’t know whether it is a genetic thing, a new injury or an old injury.

For the next six weeks the red head doesn’t get to play or go for our long walks we’ve begun to enjoy. He has to be leash walked out in the back yard.

We’re fully vested in this dog, like all of the others. We love him with all of our hearts. We’ll do every thing we can for him. Paws crossed for the acupuncture, for a healthy, well-balanced appetite and the patience of saints.