Chorizo

Our dog, Chorizo, wasn't feeling well. Last Saturday night he was listless, wouldn't walk down or up the rig steps, cried out when you went to picked him up. We called the Ironwood Vet Clinic in Yuma on Monday and made an appointment for Tuesday.

Blood tests on Chorizo showed nothing positive for upper respiratory infection and nothing positive for lower GI problems. That’s good.  Two x-rays didn't show any herniated disks in his back. But physical exam by the vet pressing down both sides of his spine with his thumbs sure brought out a yelp when he got down to the lower back. It was determined Chorizo has a backache, probably caused by hitting wrong when he jumped down from the bed or chair. Nothing serious, but we have to give him pain pills twice a day for 2 weeks and then return to the vet for blood tests to make sure the meds are not affecting Chorizo's liver/kidneys???

We have to keep him from jumping up or down from chairs and bed and of course we have to carry him up and down the stairs to go outside....like he isn't already spoiled to death! I have to feed him rice and boiled meat to have before his meds if he won't eat his kibble. So that was a $385 trip to town...think we will definitely have to do gate guarding next fall and winter to make up for all the expenses we've had this fall.

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Update-----------Chorizo is doing fine.  I cooked up some quinoa and mixed in some ground turkey, which he gobbled down like it was prime rib.  He loves the pain pills, as the vet tech said they taste like beef.  The first day he slept a lot and gave me “moon” eyes of pity.  But come Wednesday even before I gave him his “happy pill”, he jumped down off the recliner and started playing with his ball and even jumped back up on the recliner with it….hummmm…if we had waited a couple of days more would he had recovered all by himself?????  Who knows we didn’t want to wait and see….you know how our pets are like children to us.

Chorizo continues to display no ill affects of his backache.  He jumps on the recliner and couch and does well walking down and up the RV steps to go outside.  He’s eating well and playing with his pink stuffed bone and plastic ball.

We are going to continue with the “happy pills” for this week and then take him off of them and see how he does.  If there is no decline in his behavior we’ll just cancel the next vet appointment and call it good.

Thanks for all the kind comments and concern shown on my Facebook page when I wrote about Chorizo earlier this week.  Chorizo is such a ham and all who meet him fall in love with him…he sure knows how to charm you.

Here’s a photo of Chorizo when he was twelve weeks old back in July 2002.

He was so small when you compare him to Jim’s shoes.

Remember, you are loved.