Paulie's Not Well
I need some of your best, warmest thoughts today. I don't know what's up with my pal, Paulie the Pug. But he went from active, puppy-like happy dog to extremely lethargic, sad dog overnight. When I left him on Thursday evening by the door, he looked tired as heck. I thought that it was from a long walk so didn't think anything strange was happening. But I spoke with his owner that night to let her know about him and she said that Paulie didn't even greet them as usual. Just kinda laid on the carpet like a lump on a log.
That's very weird. I know that dog inside-out. He greets everybody, especially his family. He is not shy at all.
It was after 8:00 PM and too late to do anything then. So we decided to remain vigilant. If this situation persisted, we'd bring him to the vet the next day.
The next morning, Friday, same thing. Paulie wouldn't get up from his spot of choice. He ate and drank and went for a short walk but went right back to crashing down.
I went to visit with him in the early afternoon and was confronted by the saddest image I'd ever seen of Paulie. I shut the front door behind me and called for him. No sound. I walked up the stairs, whistling for him. Nothing. Not even the jingle of his collar caused by his wagging tail. It's rare to walk in while he's napping, but if he's too tired to get up from, say, the couch, he'll simply wag his tail a million times per minute and stretch and shake his head awake, making music with that jingle before diving to the floor.
It was oddly quiet in the house. I walked up the stairs slowly and when I reached the top of the landing, I looked straight ahead at his favorite couch for a view of his forehead and ears.
No ears. No forehead.
So I stepped up and into the first floor of the house, completely, and took a deep breath. I looked to my right, looked to my left... and then I found him.
Paulie was lying on the dining room carpet, hiding beneath a dining chair, his paws supporting a wrinkled head peeking out of a long, off-white cover. I've never seen his eyes look bigger. I walked over to him and sat down beside him on the carpet. He didn't budge but allowed me to pet him. Lifting the cover, I noticed that, while the rest of his body wasn't moving, his tail was. Not at the usual million swishes per minute but at a struggle of 20 slow wags per minute. He was happy to see me, even if he wasn't dancing around my calves.
It was the saddest scene.
"Aw. Paulie, what is wrong?" I asked him. Right. As if he was somehow going to tell me, in great detail, what was wrong with him.
He made an effort to look up at me with a tilt of his head before it crashed right back down onto his paws.
I had to physically slide him from beneath the chair as gently as I could to check if he had a fever. I didn't want my pal to be sick. And with all the crap that's going around, well, he could have caught anything from a cold to Lyme Disease. Anything. He turned to his left side, and I pet his belly. No fever but, stupid me, I started to cry a little seeing him this way. My 2-year-old, sprightly pal had gone entirely limp, falling asleep as I pet him. Couldn't help it.
I took Paulie for a short walk in his neighborhood just so he could relieve himself. He was excited to go but a slow walker. I thought the fresh air would do him some good before we went to the vet. It did. He cleaned himself out and felt better if only slightly.
After our walk, I gave him a tiny carrot treat and we were off to the animal infirmary otherwise known as Paulie's social club. He was very cooperative. So happy he was to be there that when his owner arrived to meet us, he greeted her. I was so happy to see him like that. It was a good sign. From then on, he went back and forth between the two of us, sitting beneath our seats on the cold tile (which he likes) or sniffing other dogs and cats. Between our two attentive selves, Paulie was in heaven. At least until the rectal thermometer came along to take his temperature and he was transferred to a different room for blood tests. He unleashed a potent fart in our room upon his return to get us back for that.
************
So far, so good. The physical went well, yesterday. Believe me when I say that the vet performed a thorough examination on Paulie, stretching and bending his limbs, massaging his frame and paws, twisting and lifting and lowering his neck to check for areas of discomfort and injury. And this morning, test results indicated that Paulie is healthy for the most part.
But he's still unusually lethargic and his owner has noticed that his left side is a little "off" when he walks. If this keeps up, the next step might be to have him tested for a neurological disorder. The symptoms exhibited by Paulie seem to coincide with something like it. I really hope that this is not the case. That maybe he just has some inflammation or strain somewhere. It's kinda early to tell yet but we're keeping a close eye on him.
In the meantime, we won't be stressing his system out, hoping for a swift recovery. Please send your warm thoughts this way as my pal could certainly use them. This is such a bizarre time.
I'm so sorry to hear about Paulie. I hope he gets better soon. That must be so hard to see him down like that and not feeling well. Will send good thoughts his way.
Reply to this
Poor puppy. I hope he bounces back.
Reply to this
Thanks Mary Jo and 9
I visited Paulie yesterday evening and he greeted me at the door in good spirits. He still appears to experience some
discomfort on his left side. But at least he wants to play like hell, again, and that's a tremendous step in the healing
process. I'm so glad! We were all worried about him and not knowing what was going on with his system was so
stressful. I'm so happy that my pal is back!
Reply to this
I'm so glad your little buddy is feeling better. It is scary when they just lay there and look all big eyed.
My baby girl is doing well and getting fuzzier by the day. It's cold here.
Reply to this
Thanks, Neith!
Aw, your puppy is adorable. Good thing her fur coat is coming in strong for the cold weather
Reply to this
sending your little puggie pal paulie lots of get well wishes. i know this weekend you said he was doing better, hopefully that will continue and he will be back to himself soon
Reply to this