Life outside of the barn

Life outside of horses? Who knew.

Unfortunately my riding had to take the back seat for a bit. Not too long ago I mentioned my two Miniature Pinschers that rule my apartment. I've had these boys for a long time, and they've been with us through a lot. Moving from Wisconsin to Boston, graduating college and getting into the real world, unemployment and long hours and multiple moves, they have been along for the entire journey.

Old age catches up with them eventually. Cruizer (the black and tan) has been dealing with a herniated disc for about two years, which occasionally flares up. It's painful when that happens, but a week or two of rest and some meds and he's back to his usual self. About a month ago he suddenly started to show neurological symptoms, mostly lack of coordination, and the theory was that he had a stroke. He was happy, pain free, and not particularly distressed about anything (okay, he was a bit doofey afterward, but very happy), so we just let him be. At thirteen with a tricky heart and hints of other problems, surgery was never really an option.

This weekend his herniated disc flared up. Not surprising, considering how often he would lose his balance and bump into things. It was a bad episode, and we knew that his condition was degenerative. He couldn't keep his balance in his crate, so he would thrash trying to get comfortable, just making things worse. It really wasn't a hard decision. There was no treatment for his neck outside of surgery that he couldn't handle, and he was in pain.

We put Cruizer down on Monday.

Our other dog (his son) has also started showing neurological symptoms but of a different type. He's pain free, but knuckling over when he walks. It's mostly his left front. It progressed quickly, he was walking with a slight limp last week, this week he has trouble navigating the living room. He's pain free and in very good spirits, but with the speed things are going, the latest theories include a tumor. We're in a holding pattern with him, trying to ensure good quality of life while enjoying as much time as we can. He's getting around on his own and his appetite is fabulous, so he doesn't seem quite ready yet.

Understandably, with all of this going down so suddenly with both of our boys, I haven't been to the barn much. One of the teens has been riding the princess for me. I'm going to go see her tonight and see if she still recognizes me. I think it will do me good to spend some time thinking about something else.