Katie's One Week Anniversary

Just a quick update to report that Katie is doing great! The anxious panting of the first few days has decreased, with lots more tail wags. Last night she was jumping around and doing the "play bow" with Lucky, trying to get him to play with her. And she and Lucy, while not exactly friends yet, have made peace with each other's presence in the house. The most remarkable transformation of this past week, however, has been in her physical appearance and vigor.

Katie looked so old when she first arrived. She appeared years older than Lucky, walking with a stiff arthritic gait that after a day or two had me worrying that something was really wrong. A large tumor in her abdomen? I pressed and prodded, and imagined I felt unusual masses. It didn't help that in those first four days she also had several 'accidents' in the house. The first couple weren't cause for concern, as it's not unusual for stress/anxiety to cause problems at first. But once she was into the daily routine, and continued to have accidents, then the worry light began to flash.  

Fast forward a week. A thorough check up, ultrasound of her bladder (donated by the vet, bless his heart), blood panel, and urinalysis shows she is a healthy senior dog! At least that's the most likely conclusion. A couple of the tests were very slightly off, but the vet assured me that the results were basically normal for a dog her age. And now after 8 days, she is a different dog! I thought I was seeing things yesterday when she came running into the house from the side yard, actually leaping over the threshold. 

Last night she did the entire 3 mile walk with us - without any problem whatsoever. I am astonished, and have no explanation other than perhaps several days of being in confined quarters at the rescue center made her stiff. We're watching her closely and being careful not  to let her get carried away and do too much - but she really seems fine. Considering that a week ago I thought we'd taken in an almost crippled older dog, the transformation has been remarkable. 

And just a couple of weeks ago, I was telling Jenner I'd never had dogs or cats that liked to sleep together. She is always posting hilarious photos of her pets all dogpiled together (just click on the link above and check out her blog header, lol!) Well that has changed. Katie likes to get cozy. Lady and Lucky aren't quite sure what to make of this, but they're accommodating her. It's been pretty entertaining to watch. :)