Bad Day for the Big White Dog

A couple of days ago, The Big White Dog started coughing. So this morning I was planning to take him to the vet for a check-up. Then, when I got up, The Big White Dog would not move from where he slept last night. He would not even lift his head for an hour.

Finally, he headed outside and slept in the sun for an hour. Then I saw him dragging his back legs when he was walking to the back of the yard.

So I loaded the kids into the van and carried The Big White Dog to the front yard. He was able to walk part of the way. I put him in the van and we were off like a rocket.

The first problem, and the most likely explanation for his dragging his feet, he was dehydrated and running a high fever. Sheer exhaustion could cause him to be lethargic and drag his legs. The vets office has run x-rays, looking for a joint problem or a tumor in his chest. They wanted to, but were not able to get, a sonogram of his abdomen. We will have that done soon.

Now his heart is racing and he has fluid filling his lungs. The fluid is at least partially from an IV he had for dehydration. But the vet is at a loss for why his heart might be racing. They are going to do an EKG tonight. Hopefully everything will show up clear.

Since BWD's brother died a couple of years ago, from bone cancer, we have worried about that possibility with BWD. Now, we don't have a clue what is going on. Hopefully we will know something quickly. Or it may turn into a very long weekend.