Yesterday morning Shane was not in a good condition; his eyes had a confused look and he didn’t want to move. Only by putting a small sauce dish of water right by his mouth and moistening his lips was I able to get him to drink a little.

The night before at the vet’s, he hadn’t indicated that he was in any obvious pain, even when we lifted him onto the table. But, after talking with the vet on the phone, we decided to give him pain medicine and Alison and I went over to the office and got both pills and a syringe of pain medicine. Alison injected Shane and within a half hour, his eyes had taken on a warmth and his eyes started pricking up at noises and voices around him.

When Der Bingle got home, Shane actually sat up and followed him into the living room. He lay at his feet for most of the time, covered with what we have come to call the designated healing blanket. (You know how I can’t just lets a thing be a thing – most always there’s some history and or magic to it.) This morning we will start the pain pills and if they aren’t effective, I will be on the phone to the vet again.

The blood tests should be back soon, but they may not tell us anything and could indicate by negative results a neurological problem. So the response to the pain medicine is actually encouraging. We have discovered that although he walks without a limp, albeit carefully, Shane does not want anyone moving one of his paws.

I suspect we will eventually have X-rays of his leg. Right now we are going to attempt to give him one of the pain pills the vet assured me were “really tasty” and dogs liked them. Somehow, I think I will be calling and paying for him to meet me at the clinic for another syringe.

We appreciate all the good thoughts you can muster.