Not out of the woods yet

If you read Ken's blog, you know that Callie suffered some kind of injury on Saturday that left her hind legs paralyzed. We took her to an emergency veterinarian that evening. The vet didn't think it was a stroke (which was our first thought) but maybe something spinal, so he loaded her up on cortisone and gave us many pills for her. We've had her lying downstairs since then and carry her outside to do her business, using a bath towel as a sling. Ken has slept downstairs with her while I stay upstairs with Tasha.

Callie heading into her favorite woods on Friday morning.

Callie is alert, hungry and thirsty, and seems reasonably comfortable. She just can't stand up. We will call her regular vet this morning for an appointment. If it is a disk problem, there may be a surgical solution. We just don't know yet. It's been a difficult thirty-six hours for us, emotionally. The new puppy has been very good; she seems to know there's something going on.

We don't know, of course, what caused this. While lying awake last night, it occurred to me that Callie has been running around a lot with Tasha, making fast, tight turns as sheepdogs do. She may be too old for that kind of rough play and something slipped. It didn't happen suddenly; there was no yelp or anything. Callie just came into the downstairs entry and sat down normally, but then couldn't get up again at walk time.

So now it's just the wait for another vet visit. We're hopeful he will be able to see us this morning (UPDATE: we have an appointment at 11h45). Ken and I certainly appreciate all of your comments, suggestions, and well-wishes, even if we can't respond to them all.