Well… 15 weeks yesterday Franklin became a Tripawd! We had to go to the vets on Saturday morning for our regular rabies, bordatella shots and I happened to mention to the doctor about how Franklin sometimes will start trying to cough up a furball and then kinda clear his throat in a “gagging “AAACK” kind of way. I will admit, he kind of chuckled at my description.. and I really didn’t want to embarrass myself by demonstrating.. lol
My main concern was that I was wondering if there was a possibility that there could be lung mets and that this is what was causing him to do this. Franklin only seems to do this when he is lying on his side on the couch.. or when he kind of rolls over on to his semi-back… then it starts after a little bit.. you get the “wheeze, wheeze, WHEEZE… argurghhhh gag ACCCCCCK” and then all is good. Well… the doc came to the conclusion that it is probably NOT lung mets. If there was lung mets, that you would hear that wheezing, hoarseness all the time.. whether he was sitting, standing, lying down. This, Franklin does not have.. even when he is galloping through the soccer field, he does not wheeze or gag or gasp for air.
We figured that Franklin has a poor gag reflux and that it is probably his tongue lolling back to his throat.
Go figure!
I also asked him about Franklin’s fur.. I’ve mentioned before that his hair on his back, and the area that was shaved, as well as the top of his neck, has gone sparse, and a bit wirey. I asked him if possibly this would be a reaction to the pain killers he was on, or the antibiotics. His reply was that unless they ran some allergy tests, etc that he could not really pinpoint why his hair has gone that way. He did say that the area where they shave down does take some time to grow back in correctly. He also said that animals, and humans, tend to change in their body when they go through a tramatic event, such as a limb removal. The stress that comes from it, the after shock, etc can affect their hair in that way. I remembered when I had my first child… after they were born I was pulling clumps of hair out of my head!!! Lol
He has also lost 2 more pounds.. and my Maggie has gained 3!! Hmmmm.. I can tell you where his weight went. Franklin seems to only eat a little bit of his food at one time.. and then Maggie tends to slide over to his bowl.. and then back to hers. I have watched her! She is sly!! So.. plan is to entice with just a touch of gravy in Franklin’s bowl to get him to eat a bit more of his food.. and it is working! He weighed 50-52 pounds prior to his operation. An almost 12 pound loss is a bit much for him. When he went back to the vets in late January, he weighed 42… and he looked good. So, my goal is to get him to just put a little bit back on.
Yet.. overall.,.. Franklin is good.. clear lungs.. and still a happy dog.
When I sit and think of the first time I posted here back in November 2012, I was so worried about him going through the operation. I was worried about his age. Since we got him in November 2005.. and the SPCA told us that his owner said he was 6 years old at the time.. that would have made him 13 in November.. that is.. IF he had been born in November 1999. Lol.
If he had been born in May, 1999, that would have put him at 13 ½!! Which means he would be almost 14 years old now.
I have had two springer spaniels in my life time. My first was a pup that I got when I was 13 years old. He went to the bridge when I was 25, his back legs went and he could hardly walk. My heart ached for a long time. He was my first dog.. and my bud.
My second girl, Brandy, was a rescue from the SPCA.. she had the most beautiful brandied colored hair streaks in the liver part of her head and ears. We discovered she was pregnant after I got her. I got her on my birthday in July the same year that Brownie went to the bridge and she gave birth to 7 purebred pups in early September. One of them was a tri-color!! Lol I tried to track down her past through the CKC and AKC as she had been found wandering the highway road. But, no tattoo, and her nose print didn’t bring anything up in the records. Anyhow.. she was also around the age of 12 when she developed a tumor in her head. My poor girl.. She will be one of the first that I find at the bridge to tell her how much I loved her and to pet her sweet head again.
And then there is Franklin… somehow I just can’t believe that he is almost 14! His hearing is not what it used to be… and I find that he is a little more slower getting up from the bed in the morning to go outside.. but he just does not seem 14 to me! If he is still with us at Christmas Time, I will be one of the happiest, blessed owners here! I can’t wait for him to experience a beautiful, warm summer lying on the grass eating pig ears like he used to. He’s had a bit of a struggle with the snow and ice for the winter time, but he has been a trooper. A few slips, here and there.. but in the spring and summer.. there is nothing but grass to run on!! Come on Spring!! I need to spoil my pup a little more!
bark atcha later!
