Late Friday afternoon we had a real scare: Amber Ale, our almost-17-year-old Vizsla, suffered a pretty major stoke. Although he had feeling, he had no control over his back legs. He couldn't stand. He had a difficult time getting his head and neck comfortable. His tongue was lolling to the side. He wouldn't eat or drink.
We stayed with him through the evening, loving on him, relaxing him as much as we could, letting him know he was loved and okay. He finally was able to relax a bit and settle into a peaceful sleep. We fully expected either he would pass in the night or that our first stop Saturday morning would be the vet's.
What we didn't expect was a dog who stood on the bed and then stepped down, almost as if nothing had happened! He was shaky, a little wobbly, and still weak. He needed to go out of course so the first time I carried him down the steps. He managed to walk around the yard to do his business. I carried him back upstairs but he climbed up on the bed on his own.
As the day went on, he got stronger and stronger, getting on and off the bed and up and down the stairs on his own. By mid-afternoon he was restless and bored and ready for a walk. I took him for a short walk - not all the way to the beach, just down the road, and he did fine.
He is an amazing resilient soul! In 24 hours we went from not making it through the night to "hey, what's the problem?" What an incredible best moment.
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