Unfortunately, last week Ranger’s health took a bit of a turn. Last Saturday morning, when we were in Kansas, I received an 8am call from Susan, dog sitter/trainer extraordinaire. Something was very seriously wrong with Ranger. Disoriented, he could not stand and had thrown up. Long story short, Ranger was suffering from Idiopathic Vestibular Disease (IVD), which is a disorder of the internal balancing system.
Right away, I learned two new words: Idiopathic = sudden onset for no known cause and vestibular = the system mammals have (including humans) to help them balance. Basically, Ranger was suffering from extreme vertigo. The vet made an immediate diagnosis right away because of the involuntary rapid eye movement going on - Ranger’s eyes were darting back and forth — which makes it a little hard to balance and focus. Apparently, IVD is fairly common in older dogs.
Typically, idiopathic vestibular disease lasts 2 to 3 days and the dog begins recovery. Sadly, many dogs are euthanized because their vet misses the diagnosis and the owner decides to put them out of their misery. Seeing Ranger in this condition was very, very painful to watch, so I can understand.
ranger at the hotel thunderbird, marfa, texas 2005
Susan then took Ranger to the emergency clinic where he stayed until Monday morning when i picked him up to take him back to his regular vet…
For the first four or five days with this problem, Ranger received IV fluids and barely ate at all. On day five, Ranger was just beginning to sit up, but still could not stand/walk. We were still giving him water with a giant syringe and hand-feeding him. I’ll respect Ranger’s request to spare his dignity and not reveal more details about the 24/7 nursing care he has needed from mom & dad. Ranger is very independent and loathes having to be helped by anyone - especially if help is in the form of someone carrying his 40+ pound self outside.
We began fearing that Ranger’s immobility was being caused by something much worse like a brain tumor and took him to the only veterinary neurology clinic in North Texas (living in a big city does have its benefits). The neuro-vet quickly ruled out an underlying cause and predicted Ranger would be better in a few weeks. She prescribed an antibiotic to tackle any potential inner ear infection and anti-dizzy medication (Bonine or Antivert).
Within an hour of Ranger taking the Bonine, Ranger was standing and began attempting to walk, leaning against the walls of the kiddie corral that had become his home. His appetite for food and water came back.
“dad” and ranger on the banks of the rio grande, 2005. mexico in the background.
Ten days ago, Ranger could not stand. He has progressed from standing, to walking with assistance…it’s really as if he is learning to walk all over again. We are blessed that our prayers are being answered and we are seeing such good improvement. However, Ranger is far from having a clean bill of health issued. He still has a “head tilt,” and may have that for the rest of his life. His walking is nimble at best and he sometimes will walk in a circle (possibly due to the head tilt to the right?).
In the last 72 hours he has been practicing his walking a bunch and yesterday, slipped on the wood floor and hurt his leg. Because of the severe limp, we’ve confined him to the corral again - something he’s not happy about at all.
We’ll keep you updated.
