A Trickle Of Piss And Vinegar

Many of you have been asking for a little update on Leroy so here it goes.

Leroy is continuing to do well and I couldn’t ask for anything better with his recovery.

Every day he seems a little better but I’m not sure if he’ll ever be 100% again.

I was going to say that I didn’t know if he would ever be himself again but in my heart I don’t think that’s the case.

He might physically not be himself again but I think mentally he will be.

As far as his IBD goes he seems to be responding well to the new medication. He’s totally off the Prednisone and he finished up the antibiotics last week.

He’s eating well and his poop is still as solid as can be.

I’m thinking (more hoping) that he may have gained a pound or two. That’s all I can ask for right now, a slow and steady increase in weight.

I’ve started making his treats out of his prescription food in order to keep his diet as low-fat as possible. All I do is soak the kibble into a mush, add a little pumpkin and basically dehydrate them in the oven for several hours. I’m extremely grateful for the person who gave me this idea and you know who you are 🙂

He has managed to get up on his own a few times here and there but he still needs help getting up from a sitting position. Once he’s up he’s more stable on his feet than he was. He rarely falls but his back-end coordination is still off. The knuckling has improved but it’s there when he’s on his feet for more than a few minutes.

The heat and humidity have not been cooperating with us so it’s been hard to get him up and outside and moving which is why I think he’s still struggling a little bit but the other night we did walk almost 4 houses down the street which is the longest he’s walked in months.

He fell once but that was kind of my fault because he was trying to walk on top of a bush so I nudged him with my knee and he fell.

Yes, I felt horrible and yes he looked at me like I was the devil but in my defense, that bush was probably loaded with ticks. I would rather have him fall than get Lyme Disease.

The following night we did the same walk and he didn’t fall but he needed to lay down and take a break before we headed back home.

I’m pretty sure that the walks are giving him his confidence back because I can see his piss and vinegar attitude start to trickle its way back into our lives. He’s been back talking me and giving me his famous side-eye a bit more these days. He’s also been spending more time with us upstairs even though he needs additional support going up and down the stairs. The last every weekes, every Newfie in the house was happier downstairs so we spent a lot of our time down there with them.

I think that whatever infection he had going on is gone. (fingers crossed) I was little concerned that his cough returned a few days after the antibiotics were finished. However, that has since slowly dissipated.

The biggest pain in the arse right now is his pressure sore. Ugh. I hate these ulcers. I won’t gross you out with pictures, it looks the same as this one that he had a few years ago.

While he only has one at this time, having an ulcer like that in the summer is way more of a pain than having one in the winter. It has to constantly be covered, especially when he’s outside because of the flies and other nasty summer bugs. It’s constantly draining so I change the bandage several times a day and it’s just eck.

With cooler weather headed our way for the weekend I’m hoping we’ll be able to build up Leroy’s strength even more and get him back moving. He’s still longing to go for a long walk but he’s not quite there yet.

Our veterinarian has been on vacation so Leroy’s re-check appointment is set for July 20th.

As always, thank you for all your good thoughts and prayers.

All pictures in today’s post are from Friday so they’re current.

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