Disheartening News

Hi everydoggy.

This is Amy, Newton's mom. We've been having a rough go of it lately, hence, no blogs. It all started about a month ago when Newton started walking around all hunched over. We thought this was a reoccurance of a back injury he had about a year ago. It seemed to be clearing up fine when he started limping on his right front leg. We had X-rays taken, and they looked good ... no signs of arthritis, fractures or anything like that. Orthopedic tests narrowed the problem down to his shoulder. We started him on a combo of Rimadyl, another pain killer and a muscle relaxer. We also started him on Companion Laser Therapy. Nothing seemed to be helping.

Yesterday when I got home, I noticed he was not only limping on his front leg; he was also dragging both back legs. I rushed him to the vet--they were AWESOME--and we were referred to a specialist in Salt Lake City. Our vet even helped us get an appointment ASAP. The staff, meanwhile, helped console me! We went to the specialist this morning, and after a series of neurological tests, he decided he needed to do an MRI. He was concerned that it could possibly be a tumor on the spinal cord or something wrong with a disc. We're hoping it's a disc. That can be fixed. A tumor cannot.

He's in good spirits and is playing with his beloved loofah puppies. As you can imagine, I am distraught. So is his daddy. Please, please, please keep Newton--and us--in your prayers. The MRI is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. I will keep everyone updated.

Worried about her sweet baby,
Amy