Ah, Boscoe! You're breaking my heart

boscoe fell three times this weekend. we're not sure why.

the first time was on saturday. he was standing at the top of the basement stairs--and you know how much he hates those stairs--and doug was coming out of the basement. boscoe panicked, maybe thinking doug was going to make him go down there, and he skittered to get out of the way and, instead, crashed to the floor.

we figured he'd just lost his traction on the hardwood floor.

later that day the four of us went for an hour-long walk in the autumn sunshine and he seemed fine. he also romped in the back yard with riley. again, no trouble.

he fell again on sunday, after our evening walk. he tried to jump up on the couch next to doug, and couldn't make it, but fell halfway, splayed partly on the couch, partly on the floor. doug hauled him up and boscoe lay there quivering. the third fall came just a half-hour or so later--he trotted into the kitchen to get his dinner and, once again, slipped and fell.

after the third fall, he had trouble walking. he was limping heavily and wouldn't put any weight on his back leg. it's the same leg that he had TPLO surgery on. i don't know if that's significant.

he managed to haul himself into the easy chair and lay there looking kind of dazed. he didn't seem in pain--we could rub his leg, and bend it, and stretch it out, and he never flinched or moaned (and he is not a stoic dog). but he couldn't walk on it.

so sunday night i decided i'd sleep downstairs with him. usually he sleeps upstairs, on the bed, but i didn't want him attempting the stairs or jumping onto the bed. so i got a pillow and an eiderdown and lay down on the couch. at first, all was well. he lay in his little dog bed at my side.

but just about the time i was drifting off to sleep, he decided to hop up with me. CRASH! he couldn't make it. his leg gave out again. so i hauled him up by his butt and he lay down and proceeded to hog most of the couch. i couldn't stretch out my legs, my butt was hanging off the side, my neck was kinked at an odd angle, there was nowhere to put my feet, but boscoe seemed fairly comfortable.

"if this couch were only six inches wider, it'd be a lot more comfortable," i remember thinking in my sleep-deprived fog. and then i thought, "hell, if it were six inches wider, it'd be a bed."

i got very little sleep. he panted, i think because the eiderdown kept him too warm. i tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable but trying also not to disturb him--i didn't want him jumping down and falling again. i slept fitfully. got up at 2 a.m. to turn on the ceiling fan but couldn't find the chain in the dark. (turns out doug, who bonks his head on it, had tucked it up amongst the fan blades.)

in the morning, boscoe could walk a little better. me, i was hardly walking at all--my right hip was so damn sore from lying in such cramped quarters all night, and my left knee had a pronounced crick in it.

monday evening he was still limping, but putting a little weight on it. so maybe it's nothing terrible.... i called the vet, who said to keep him quiet and watch him closely and bring him in if it's no better in a few days.

so monday night we brought the mattress down from the spare room and put it on the floor of the front hallway, and boscoe and i will sleep on that for the next few nights. we're penning them both in the ktichen during the day, keeping him off the couches, off the beds, and off the stairs for a few days, to see if he gets any better. walks are truncated to pretty much doing his business, and then going straight home. riley is frustrated, but seems to know something is wrong; he comes up and sniffs boscoe gently and doesn't cause any trouble. he doesn't like walking alone, and after about six or eight blocks he suddenly stops and looks behind him for boscoe and refuses to go another step.

boscoe turned 12 on the fourth of july.

aging dogs: just one worry after another.

****** UPDATE ********

this morning i watched carefully when he stood, and boscoe did push off with both legs. that's a definite improvement over sunday night, when he pushed off only with his right leg.

he's still limping, still favoring the left leg when he stands and walks and eats. but he's definitely doing better. our regular vet advised rest and anti-inflammatories, so that's what we'll keep doing. he'll see dr. heather next week, assuming he's able to get into the car then.

it's hell getting old!