Hi everyone,
Thank you for being such good friends with each other and finding things to talk about while I’m away… I did read all your comments and it seems EVERYONE has lots of things going on.
I do have a few ladies who have sent pictures and something else…and will be sharing those. I also received a wonderful box in the mail… from one of our Sofa Sisters… I cried when I opened it.
I know this isn’t your “normal” dolly blog post, but I hope you don’t mind…
I’ve had several ladies email about Reuben and thought I’d just tell you where we are right now… Thank you for your continued prayers.
I’ll start with Monday, November 10th.
Reuben jumped off the couch when he heard my hubby talking about going out to feed the chickens. He loves to go with him, but he usually waits for my hubby to come and get him down off the couch. Just as my hubby WAS coming to get him, Reuben decided to jump off the couch by himself and my hubby saw him hit the floor and his back legs did something like the splits. He limped for a few minutes but when he got out the door he seemed to be okay.
We didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary until Thursday when he seemed to be having trouble pooping. Friday morning he seemed to favoring his back legs and by Friday evening he wasn’t able to stand anymore.
My hubby took him to the vet Saturday morning and they did an xray and discovered he had severe inflammation in his spine and lots of arthritis. They said he would need an MRI to see if he had a herniated or slipped disc.
It’s like everything then started happening on the inside… no movement from his legs at all, no standing, no peeing, no pooping, not even any barking. He can only lift his head up for a few minutes and then has to put it back down. He is pretty much like a rag doll. We have to bring water to him and put his food on a paper plate. He DOES still have a pretty good appetite.
It was a long weekend and we went back to the vet Monday morning and they kept him for a few hours to observe. They put him on a stool softener, drained his bladder with a catheter, sent him home with Prednisone and something for nerve pain. They told us if he wasn’t any better by noon on Tuesday, to call them back. Nothing at all had changed so we called.
The tech told us after the vet had observed him, their recommendation was to send him to a 24/7 Animal Hospital…but they were in St. Louis, Champaign, IL, or Nashville, TN. And VERY VERY expensive.
My hubby told her we wouldn’t be doing that. We would just keep giving him the medicines they gave us, take care of him at home and hope for a miracle.
It has now been 10 days since Reuben jumped off the couch and hurt himself. There has been no improvement, no peeing, no pooping, but just a limp dog laying in his bed all the time, except for when my hubby holds him in his lap. He occasionally lifts his head up and sometimes twitches his ears.
My hubby does have a good friend who is a vet and worked with him at the SIU Farms, but he wasn’t available when we first needed him. My hubby said he might give him a call for a second opinion.
Reuben looks at us with those big brown eyes of his and his chin resting on his bed and I imagine he’s wondering what’s going on.
We had to go to St. Louis today for 2 doctor appointments and on the way there, my hubby told me he had had 10 good years with Reuben and he was at peace about what might be coming. He said Reuben is in the Lord’s hands from now on.
That’s where we are right now. I’ve cried so many tears I thought they surely must be all dried up, but I guess not…
Thank you for your love and prayers…
Love you, Jeanne
Oh, Jeanne, I am so so sorry….Such a hard thing for all of you. I’m assuming you have told Rebecca? I know she is Reuben’s “sister” and he adores her. My prayers for you all continue.
And, yeah, tears seem to keep flowing, even when we think we’ve cried ourselves dry. So, virtual hugs from my corner of the sofa.
Well, my foot seems to be improving quite a bit. So of course my right knee (which has been a problem for many years) has now decided IT wants some attention! All day today, I’ve had a hard time walking, because of pain in that knee (the opposite one of the hurt foot, of course). Tonight it seems to be marginally better after the first few steps. I’m wondering if I had it positioned oddly during the night or something; hopefully by morning it will be a little better.
I read thru all the comments from yesterday and added a bit here and there.
Tomorrow I need to grocery shop as our church’s annual Thanksgiving dinner is Saturday. I’m bringing salad and a pie; was going to make my own, but with my knee like this, I think a “store-bought” one will have to do.
Charlotte, I am glad you are taking it easy.
I get that pain in the knee thing when I have something else going on, like really sore arms from lifting a really heavy thing… almost like my knee wants attention. Silly body parts!
Store bought pie will be just fine.
I would certainly go with a store-bought pie. Many of them are great these days. My hubby does the pies for Thanksgiving here. If it were up to me store bought would be the only option. Don’t you get tired of waking up every morning wondering which part of your body is going to cause you to have a bad day. My chiropractor said I have gluteal tendinopathy on my one side. Probably from when I tripped over my dog and couldn’t walk (still can’t very well). He said the only solution was to get more exercise and strengthen my body. Hence the walking with the walker – at the moment just a half mile, but better than sitting all day. I have to buy a new bed Saturday and I will be taking my walker. Not only will it be easier for me to walk the store, but it has a seat which I find very useful. Glad to hear your foot is improving day-by-day.
I write this with tears, it is so hard to have our pets ill, it is right up there with husbands and children. They are our children. We have had many pets through the years. It was always hard to say Good-bye. You and George are in my prayers! It is harder this time of year, Fred passed the day after Thanksgiving last year, hard to believe it is a year! I am having 19 here at the farm so I wish you All a good Thanksgiving!
Oh Sylvia, you are brave. ((((big hugs))))
Hugs to you, Sylvia. I’m glad you will have lots of family/ friends with you this year. Happy early Thanksgiving to you!
You always have such a marvelous turn-out for Thanksgiving. It reminds me of when my grandparents were alive and we all gathered at their house. Usually, due to weather concerns, we gathered for Easter rather than Thanksgiving. In PA we were more apt to have snow at Thanksgiving than Christmas. We lived in Bethlehem but would drive down to Wilmington, DE, after church on Easter. My one uncle and aunt would come from NJ. All the rest lived in Wilmington. It was wonderful.
Your family gathering reminds me of how we used to celebrate holidays. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all together. I think our largest group was around 30. We filled our family room with tables and chairs and had a delicious feast thanks to my mother. Of the group, there are only four of us left of the first cousins, but lots of second/third cousins. Now, we have all gone our separate ways with our own families, but the memories of the gatherings and football game linger on.
Oh Jeanne, how hard it must be to go through this, and to just keep on going. I sure do wish for a miracle for Reuben, but I also think it is cruel to out an animal through what some people consider life saving cures that only prolonged an animal’s suffering, causing stress and certainly not the comfort they need. We had the same thing with our two cats, and yes, we could have gone through very expensive treatments that might have prolonged their lives, but at what cost to their chance of recovering?
Reuben has had a wonderful life, and if it is his time to go, let him go with peace and dignity. He might just surprise you and us all, and recover! I think George is right, and you are doing your best to keep him comfortable.
Oh, Jeanne and George, so, so sad for little Reuben. I have had so many dogs over the years and it is so heart braking when something like this happens. I had 3 generations of toy fox terriers . The middle one got cancer. She is buried in our back yard in the Florida home. The granny and little boy each lived to be 16, but old age caused troubles we couldn’t fix. The Granny one is buried under the front steps and the little boy, later, under the side steps. I held each of them in my arms at the final with the vet. I do hope and pray for a miracle for that sweet little boy.
Oh Jeanne, we know this pain. I believe you and George know what lies ahead and it is a difficult decision.
Hubbs and I had a similar situation last May before we settled on the new house, so many other things going on… and Miles our red mackerell tabby got sick, and in the last day, lost all use of his hind legs.
I won’t go on, but you know in your hearts, when it is time.
Kiss Reuben and hugg him and dote on his wonderful being. When you are ready you can just let him slip away. Hopefully your vet will come to your house. If not, I hope they have a special room for both of you to be with him. It is so so hard to let go.
All of us are there, we have our hands on your shoulders
All of you are in my prayers today.
Love, Rosemary
Hope that you are feeling better today. Nothing like a bad cold to wipe one out. A nap always seems to help. 🙂
Oh, Jeanne! I am so sorry to hear about Rueben. He is such a sweet dog. Please give him a lot of pets for me! Prayers!
Oh Jeannie and George, I am so sorry – it is heartbreaking to hear about Reuben. I too am in tears for you both.
I’m praying for a miracle and if it’s not to be, may Reuben go peacefully in your arms.
I tell you I have held all our doggies as they went over the rainbow. One of our greyhounds, Breeze, had injured his spine, our other greyhound, Savannah had liver problems, Honey, our toy poodle, had heart problems, and other pets had other illnesses. To this day, it still brings me to tears for each one. I miss them and love them,
I’m just so sorry you both are going through this as well as poor little Reuben. I’m sure he doesn’t understand but he trusts you because he loves you.
Little Reuben has touched all of us. Seems most of us have had pets with problems, I’ve had three that had motility issues at some point, usually arthritis or strains was involved. With one of my dogs I thought how athletes rehab after an injury and hydrotherapy and water aerobics came to mind. So nothing to loose I filled my laundry tub with really warm water and held my dog so she was floating and it seemed to help a lot! Of course one bath wasn’t enough but she started to do much better. It may not work or be best for Reuben but to others it may. There was a Dr here that specialized in massage therapy (for people) and because she had a dog with a similar problem she used her massage knowledge for her dog and ended up offering selective animal therapy in her practice with great success. Just wanted to share with pet parents who might find value in thinking outside the box.
Yes im crying too😥, we all prayed for the situation this morning 💜
I am very upset that Reuben has not improved. If you make the decision to have him put to sleep, there are vets that will come to your home, at least here they do that. It is much less stressful for the pet. Maybe check and see about it. I am so sorry.
I remember the year 2000, well. Our cat of 18 years Sam, died in July. My mother died in August, and our elder sheltie pup, Pete, died Thanksgiving morning. Since he was born on Thanksgiving, in the back of a Volkswagen, he must have known that it was his time.
Oh Joy, so much at once. I totally understand. That must have been very hard.
I will never get over any of our pets or pets in our whole family throughout the years. Each one so special and never forgotten.
My sister just lost her Great Dane. Janie was her comfort doggie. It broke our hearts.
Thanks. Sorry to hear about your sister’s GDane. My cousin had several. Great pups.
Dear Jeanne, I continue to hold you and George in prayer as you comfort Reuben. May you all find peace.
Thoughts and prayers are with you, Jeanne and George.
So sad that Reuben’s problem was caused by a freak accident. I’m praying for a miracle for Reuben but if it is not meant to be I will pray for strength for you and George. And for Rebecca who I know will be heartbroken if he does not recover.
David and I had to make the decision a couple years ago to let our beloved Cocker Chelsy cross the rainbow bridge with the assistance of our wonderful vet. Usually when she saw the vet she headed for the door. This time we knew she was ready and it seemed almost like she was relieved. I still tear up when I think of it. I thought she was 12 but the vet said she was 13. She was almost a year old when we got her. She loved road trips and had her special place in the backseat fixed up so she could look out the window. The last couple trips her eyesight was failing and riding in the car was no longer fun for her. Then she started falling off the steps at home and we realized it was time to think about saying good-bye. She was starting to have other health issues too and was beginning to sleep most of the day. We decided that at our age a pet would most likely outlive us, and I knew I would fret over what would happen to them once we were gone so we made the decision to remain furry family member free from now on. David has his shop cat and the pasture kitties, but even they are getting up in years.
I was late to the blog yesterday and I did make some comments if anyone wants to check back. One is an update on Hubby’s ear problem.
Glad that your husband’s ear problem is being treated. Hope it heals quickly. And thanks on your comment from yesterday about the fire department field trips we used to take.
Hello again, everyone! I just got an email from Anne in New Zealand, and she is having trouble getting on the blog. Just wanted you to know why she wasn’t commenting today. Who knows what is going on with all our problems! I do think mine was some sort of error in the preprinted email and address that pops up when you are ready to put them in. Mine had a slash between my first and last names, and when I took that slash out, viola, I was in! My typing does leave much to be desired, and having an iPad that changes words from what you want doesn’t help! I hope Anne finds out what is causing her problems and gets it fixed! So sorry Anne!
Interesting, as that is what happened to me recently. Didn’t catch the different address. So glad you’re back on.
I know how frustrating it is to not be able to get on the blog. I think we are all addicted to reading Jeanne’s words every morning. So hard when we can’t.
Hope that Anne has success in getting back on soon. 🙂
Je pense que nous sommes toutes touchées par l’histoire de Reuben .Avoir un animal,apporte enormément de plaisir ,mais aussi beaucoup de peine ,quand il souffre ou quand il part. Pleurer fait souvent du bien. Faites une grosse caresse à Reuben de ma part .