Limping Along

Boo has been hurt for several months, which has severely reduced our neighborhood walks.

We don’t know what is wrong with Boo; his only symptom is a significant lameness in his left front leg. He first started limping over Labor Day weekend—but it was a slight, intermittent limp. I thought perhaps he twisted or landed funny catching balls in the yard. By October the limp was worse and present almost all of the time. His walking had slowed down dramatically too. We went to the vet, and since x-rays were clear, we treated it as a muscle pull. That didn’t work. In November I wondered if perhaps he had Lyme disease—which would not be surprising considering the ticks he is exposed to (and that I pull off him, despite Frontline) in Bridgehampton. The test was negative. Next up, in December, was a consultation with a veterinary orthopedist. A series of x-rays showed a not-perfect elbow joint, but no clear indication of arthritis, dysplasia, etc. We tried prednisone and rest—which worked, until the prednisone dose was completed, and then the limp came back. The vet suspected a nerve or spinal disc problem, so in January, we were off to a veterinary neurologist. The neurologist diagnosed a compressed disc, and Boo was put on 4 weeks of strict rest and pain killers—they wanted “crate rest” –ha ha ha. I put the mattress on the floor (no jumping on/off the bed), confined him to a small room, and walks were for business purposes only. And still, the limp persisted.

I started to get worried that perhaps Boo had serious disc damage that would not improve without surgery, so I agreed to an MRI. The MRI was clear—in fact, his spine looked perfect. The only diagnostic test that came up with anything was an electro-something which showed elevated nerve activity in his left front leg. This led to a bunch of maybes: maybe it’s a nerve sheath tumor (not good), maybe it’s an orthopedic problem that we just can’t see, maybe it will get better, maybe not, and maybe we will never know. And still, the limp persists.

It’s hard to say if Boo is in pain, or if the leg just feels funny. He doesn’t flinch or cry out if you manipulate the leg. Is it just a case of permanent pins-and-needles? Anti-inflammatory medications have no effect; the limp doesn’t improve with rest. He walks slowly, and gets tired after a long walk, and sometimes when he is tired the limp is even worse. But in the woods or in the parks, Boo runs around as if there was no limp—or at least as if he has decided temporarily to ignore it. I wish I could.

I’m hoping that when summer comes, the warm weather will bring some improvement and Boo’s limp will go away. But I think that’s optimistic. I never realized how much being out with Boo, on all of our walks, had become such an important part of my life. I think I actually would have said the opposite—“Time to take the dog for a walk, again?? What a drag!” Now I just miss the old Boo. And I miss our walks.