Over the past week or so we have noticed Scooby's rear legs have developed a mind of their own. We all laugh at Tom & Jerry when their legs are all over the place, but it's not so funny when it happens in front of you. He suffers from hip and elbow dysplasia, arthritis, iffy skin, degenerative disc disease, and possibly degenerative myelopathy. The latter has no diagnosis, it's just what is left after unsuccessfully treating whatever else it might be. I am hoping against hope that he's just tweaked something and will improve over the next week or so, but realistically A & I are preparing ourselves for the worst.
The vet has said that making it to Christmas is expecting a lot. She is going to contact the orthopaedic/neurological specialist who did Scoob's dorsal laminectomy two years ago. This operation involved removing part of on vertebra and all of one ruptured/protruding disc. He recovered well from this, the only lasting side effect has been his tail hanging slightly off centre.
Back in October Scooby had some more x-rays and MRIs done. These showed that scar tissue is forming at the operation site and he has another pinch point developing in the spinal column up near the neck. At 9 he is too old to go through that sort of surgery again. Plus the bill for the last operation, inlcuding all the diagnostics, was over £4,000. Needless to say the insurance company have said no more spinal/hip/nerve coverage - is fair enough really, our premiums will never amount to the £4,000.
So my boy is growing old disgracefully. At the vets there is a wallchart for dogs ages. It's not 7 dog years per human year. This is just an average. Small dogs age more slowly than big dogs. Scooby's 9.5 years make him nearly 85. When you think of it like that, his lifespan doesn't seem so bad.
It hurts like hell to think about though.
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