Mobility

Addie on Lake Arenal at Sunset

We know…it’s been awhile since the last update…sorry to those of you who still read this blog.

Ordinarily when we don’t post for awhile it means all is well.  This time we are sad to report that Addie’s mobility issues have not improved.  We took her to Dr. Mario (the vet in Tilarán) for another Legend injection nearly 5 weeks ago.  After the first two injections we noticed a marked improvement after just a couple of days.  This time, we did not notice any appreciable difference.

We now live in a two story house and that requires that Addie traverse the stairs several times per day.  Needless to say it is a problem for her and we end up carrying her up and down once in a while although she can usually navigate the stairs herself with a little stabilization help from us.  Additionally, she tends to drag her hind legs when she first gets up and starts to walk.  Usually, this stops after a few minutes but it seems to be worsening.

On the bright side, we take all three dogs down the lake nearly every day.  Addie is so excited to go down there and swim that it seems her mobility issues fade away.  I think the adrenaline rush overpowers any pain or discomfort she might have.  In and of itself, I think this is a good thing.  She also loves to swim again although we usually have to coax her into the water the first time.  Afterwards, she insists that we throw a stick so she can retrieve it.  This will go on for 15-20 minutes and would go on longer but we usually stop her once we notice she is getting tired…after all, in human years, she is well past 100 years old.

Her appetite and attitude towards us remains very good and she still insists on being near us.  In that regard we remain quite happy.

Oh, yea…lest we forget, this is the dog, who over 55 months ago was given less than 10 weeks to live.  Regardless of what may happen now, I am happy to report that hemangiosarcoma does not have to be a death sentence for dogs.

Given everything that is occurring, we realize time is short.  But as always, we will continue to cherish every hour we have with her.