February 2010 came and went in the blink of an eye. Bruno’s bladder infection cleared up and he had his usual session with Dr. Yamate. Nothing new or noteworthy was going on with the big guy so before I knew it, March was upon us.
March is a turning point for Bruno. My big guy was slowing down and tiring more easily. He was taking a little longer to get up from a down position and also starting to struggle a little to get on the couch. If he overexerted himself on our daily walk, his right rear leg would begin to drag a little. I changed our route and cut down the distance of our walks.
Our scheduled appointment with Dr. Yamate was Saturday, March 13th. I spoke with Dr. Y prior to our appointment and gave her a Bruno update. She came armed with a different treatment plan and new herbs. I crossed my fingers.
The week after Bruno’s acupuncture session, his stool fluctuated between being normal and being soft. I attributed this to his last treatment being a changed up a bit and the new herbs. I was not concerned.
The soft stool turned into full blown diarrhea. I cooked up some brown rice and picked up some cottage cheese to help bind up the poor guy. Bruno enjoyed the food variation and it firmed up his stool. His stool was not what I would call normal, but at least it was no longer liquid.
I returned home one evening from a night out and before entering the house I had a gut feeling that Bruno might have had an accident. My intuition was confirmed as I entered the house and was greeted by Bruno who had his ears out and his head hung low. He had indeed had an accident in the house. No biggie I told him as I gathered cleaning items.
From the evidence, Bruno was headed for the dog door but was nowhere near making it. The good news was, the stool was moderately firm.
So far March had been a rough month. Realistically, April might not be any better.
*Originally posted November 7, 2010 *
