Chloe and Kane were making their way up from the basement but, when Kane got to the stairs he didn't want to climb them. It was a baffling situation but after some treats and encouragement, Paul and I got him upstairs. The rest of the night was fine but in the morning Kane had a little trouble getting down the deck stairs and then he wouldn't come up. And this time there was no amount of treats or coaxing that would get him up. In the end, Paul had to walk him through the gate and in the side door. He struggled up the few steps leading into the kitchen and then wouldn't sit. We knew something was wrong and since Paul was leaving for work we'd have to take him to the emergency vet later on.
What happened was worse than we could have imagined. Soon after Paul left I tried to get Kane to sit, but he wouldn't. I got really worried and started to massage and feel around his back legs and spine. He didn't cry out in pain or give any sign that he was uncomfortable. I kept trying to get him to sit and this time he did but, halfway down his legs gave out and his but hit the pillow. He sat for a few seconds and then laid down. I scratched behind his ears, told him he was a good boy and started folding the laundry.
The two dogs slept side by side for hours, which is very normal. At 6:00pm the neighbour came home and that's the exact moment I knew something was very wrong. Both dogs perked up and started barking but, it was only Chloe that ran for the door. I went to Kane and spent the next 10 - 15 minutes trying to get him to stand, but of course he wouldn't. When I tried to move his back legs, it was just dead weight. It really freaked my out and I didn't know what to do. Paul called just then, wanting to know how Kane was doing. I explained everything and he got really worried too. I spent most of the evening on the floor with Kane but eventually got up to eat. I had only been gone for 10 minutes before he started whining. I tried feeding him his food but he wouldn't take it. I thought maybe he was tired of lying on that side so I got some treats and tried to get him to sit up. He did, but you could see it was a major struggle. I helped keep him steady and quickly shifted his back legs so he could lie on the other side of his body. He was calm until I finished dinner and then started to whine again. Paul was going to be home in 1.5 hours so I went back to the floor. I put his head in my lap and was scratching behind his ears. I gave him belly rubs and was talking to him most of the time. When Paul got home he looked Kane over and, as quickly as possible, got Kane into the backseat of the truck. We drove to the vet in brampton and hoped for the best. No such luck.
After a physical exam, a shot of morphine and x-rays, the vet told us the bad news. For some reason, the disc in one of Kane's vertebrae had moved out of place and it was pinching his spinal cord. Until this was corrected, he wouldn't have the use of his legs and even then, there was no guarantee that is was correctable. The three available options for us were:
1-Keep him on a mild dose of morphine. Confine him to a crate for 6-8 weeks so as not to disturb his vertebrae and hope the disc would go back. The problem with this was that he would be soiling his crate, and it was unlikely he would get better.
2-Have an MRI done to determine the exact reason behind the disc moving out and then operate to place it back in. There was also no guarantee that this would make things better and of course it would cost us anywhere between $5000 - $15000. That was money we didn't have.
3-Relieve his suffering and put him down.
I can tell you it wasn't an easy decision and because we were expecting our lil' bean at any moment, we really didn't have a choice. Sadly, Kane died on June 12 at 2:30am. As sad as it was, Paul & I knew it was the best we could have done for him.
And since this post is already so long I'll just make note of the other things that have happened.
I went to the Safety Superstore to buy my stroller but apparently the kiwi colour is a special order. So now my Peg Perego Pliko P3 is on it's way.
To keep our minds off of Kane's death, we went out to car dealerships to visually look at the SUV's we'd been searching on-line. It was fun and daunting at the same time. The good thing about it is that I think we've settled on buying a Honda CR-V.
The nursery is finally complete. Paul finished painting the doors and they have been hung. Everything looks really great.
I've started to have more back pain and it may be because the lil' bean is dropping more. Other than that, I'm still feeling pretty good. Getting a little impatient but what can I do. He'll come when he's ready.
And at 40 weeks there's not much to report about. My lil' bean should weigh about 7.5 pounds, the size of a small pumpkin. And he should be approximately 20 inches long. I'll just have to sit back and be patient.
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