pupdate: cody health report

I told you that Cody has been having some problems. She seems stiff and sore, she's been avoiding stairs, and showing other signs that Our Wonderful Vet thought was probably arthritis and hip dysplasia.

We started her on some anti-inflammatories - it's actually a Coxib, a canine Celebrex of sorts - and saw dramatic improvement. In fact, when I saw Cody running around in the backyard, zooming up and down the stairs, I realized how much movement she had lost. Like most of the changes we experience from aging, it happens gradually. You don't notice on it a daily basis, and then one day you realize how far it's gone.

OWV urged us to have x-rays done. If there's something else more serious going on, like a bone tumour, the medication will mask the pain while the problem is growing.

We had the x-rays taken yesterday. The diagnosis: arthritis in the hips, with significant hip dysplasia.

When I expressed relief that there was no growth present, OWV emphasized the word significant.

Aw, crap.

This means Cody almost certainly has been in pain - at least serious discomfort - for quite some time. I wish I had done this sooner. But as the vet reminded me, dogs don't complain. In addition, Cody is so quirky and odd. How another dog acts when it's under the weather is normal for Cody. If we went to the vet every time she acted strangely, we'd have to live there.

So far she's responded really well to the medication, and that's hopeful. But "significant arthritis and dysplasia" mean she's in the last years of her life.

The biggest lesson I've learned from my own health issues is to stay in the present. I'll work on applying that to our sweet Cody Brown.