Happy Birthday, Theo!

I don't normally track our dogs' birthdays. I have a bad memory for dates, there are at least six of them to remember, and in many cases it's a made up date anyway, based on our best guess at the dog's age when it comes into rescue. Besides, I'm just not a dress-them-up-in-a-party-hat kind of guy. However, I was checking on Theo's age the other day and noticed that his birthday was coming up and it came up today. 

Theo came with paperwork and documentation from the original owner and breeder, so there's reason to believe that this is actually his birthday, and Theo is nine years old today.

Theo has been on activity restriction for a few weeks now. He turned up lame after what I assumed (and still believe) was a slip on the ice accident after that last icy rain we had several weeks ago. I didn't do anything about it at first, but when he wasn't improving I did impose an activity restriction and we went to the vet. The x-rays didn't really show anything so we proceeded on the theory that it was a soft tissue injury and put him on an anti-inflammatory and pain meds. 

A couple weeks of that regimen still didn't show any improvement. I recalled a similar incident that occurred with Serena a few years back. She injured herself, again on ice I always believed, and didn't improve in the time frame that one would have expected improvement. We went to the vet and ended up with a specialist who prepared me for a bone cancer diagnosis but ultimately the problem was just an infection in the joint that cleared up in a few days on antibiotics. I was really hoping that Theo's problem was similar and the vet agreed that it was worth a try. However, the antibiotics will be gone tomorrow and Theo is still limping on that right front leg. 

I could see that this was not a repeat of Serena's problem so a few days ago I called for an appointment with the same specialist, but that is still over two weeks off. In the meantime, Theo can't play ball or run the fence line barking at whoever is on the other side. He's kept strictly indoors now, no pasture time, or even walks like I do with Maya. The pain meds will continue, obviously. It may still be a tissue injury but it may be one that will require some intervention to fix.

This afternoon I took him out to the front yard on a leash and later took him out to Daneland with Maya and Serena for a little off leash time because I had moved all three fosters to the dog yard with Max after breakfast this morning. 

He's a big boy and at nine years old, he's getting up there in age, but his eyes are still bright and his mind is active. He'd still rather play ball than eat, drink, or breathe, even though it hurts him. I want to see if we can get him back to where he can play without pain, even if the play is not as vigorous as it once was. Maya is also nine, Max is in that range, and Arby of course is older than time itself. We have an aging pack again, and I love old dogs, but it's tough to see their bodies begin to fail them.