Monkey on your Back

Along with my recent electricity woes, my poor little Buddha has been suffering terribly with a twisted back.  Last Friday night, he was pacing all night long, couldn't lay down, and usually stood in an "s", so last Saturday, I took him in to the vet's office.

The vet cleaned out his anal glands in case that was the problem. Ugh! They were pretty impacted, and it smelled! About three or four years ago he needed to have them cleaned out then too. It's a common small dog problem. He has been dragging his tail a lot recently. Maybe that's why. He also cut Buddha's toenails and boy, did he shriek! All the other dogs and cats must have thought he was being murdered. It's a common thing for the Japanese Chins to cry out when they get their nails done but Buddha has never been that vocal before. It must have really hurt being moved around.

Sometimes, he appears fine and sometimes his back gets all twisted like he's having muscle spasms. The vet gave him a short term steroid shot and said to come back in a week for a longer term shot if he's not feeling better. Right after the doctor appointment, we had to go up to my mom's for some car and yard maintenance. Buddha slept restlessly on the seat but, isn't he cute?

He seemed to rest a little better from the shot, but then a jolt would send him into yelps of pain and trembling. This went on all weekend. Often, we'd think he's getting better and then he'd go worse again. Laying on the couch next to me, if someone sat down and the cushion moved, he'd yelp and pace around all twisted up for a while.

When we were at the vet's office last weekend, he gave us Simba's body so that we could bury him in the back yard. So, before we drove up to my mom's house, my boys dug a grave in the back yard.

Along with Simba's body (black sack) we decided to bury Daisy's ashes (white box) which I had gotten back from the vet in February, when I took Simba in. All the cinder blocks are covering Gunnar's grave which is right next to the new grave.

 We had a moment of silence to remember all the dear pets we've buried and Yalla! joined us from afar.

Along the way to my mom's house, we pass this cool rock formation. It's known as the Devil's Backbone and sure reminds me of my little Buddha and his current back problem.

At my mom's house, Ross worked on her van. It has a hole in the oil pan, which he tried to weld, but as soon as he'd repair the hole, another one would appear from the heat of the welder.

 

We decided to get a new one which means a return trip this weekend-tomorrow, to put it in.

That evening, we were lucky to see a dozen or so turkeys in the distance. By the time I got my camera, however, I only managed to capture three.

 

The sunset was beautiful with fast moving clouds of pink and purple which brought snow in the morning.

 Here's Buddha surveying his snowy surroundings in the morning. 

While we were at my mom's house, we cut down some trees that were hanging over her back yard. It was tough work on the rocky hillside. The ground was slippery too, from the fresh snow we got early in the morning. Here, my son is lassoing a tree. I held the rope, with the help of other trees, of course, while he cut it down so that it wouldn't take out her fence or house when it fell. We made a good team and cut several down with no damages to person or property.

He even managed to save a little pine tree growing right next to one he chopped down.

Seeing this photo of Buddha with my mom's dog, Tobey, he almost looks normal, but he has been having recurring bouts of twisted "S" back and neck all week.

Today, I took Buddha back to the doctor for a long-term steroid shot and he will be going back on Monday for Xrays. We found a large swelling on the side of his neck. He's been keeping his neck kinked at an angle all this week, and we're hoping it's a pulled muscle and not a tumor. Please send prayers that my little guy gets better soon. He's only five pounds, four ounces, with his harness on. Often, he yipes and jumps away when he thinks he's going to be stepped on, and he has hurt his back himself, this way. This is what I think happened to him last week. I sure hope it's not cancer!

Monkey on your Back - song: How Lucky You Are, artist: David Bowie