Vada von Belikoff, BH*, TOG**

* Begleithund (Schutzhund title for traffic-ready dog)
**Tough Old Girl


T.O.G... "green eye" corrected by Photoshop Larry



Vada was very sick two weeks ago.  She had diahrrea that wouldn't quit no matter how much Pepto we pumped into her or how much rice she ate...then she stopped eating.  Vada never stops eating, so we knew she was very sick.  A sick dog and we are away from Dr. Suzanne!  What to do?  Fortunately, I knew where there was a vet.   Since we've been at Bella Terra, we've had to buy prescription food for Vada that is only available at a vet's office.  Luckily, I happened to pass a place just outside of Foley that looked like a good prospect...lots of cars in the middle of the day.  So, I stopped there twice for food. The staff was very nice and the patients and their owners looked happy. 

I decided to try there for an emergency appointment for Vada, hoping that this busy, probably good vet, could fit her in.  And they did fit us in!  By the time we got there, Vada was very lethargic and we were very worried.  She's 12 and a half years old and has a few problems including degenerative spinal disease and some kidney failure.  Our vet was a young guy, Dr.Adam Langston, who examined her thoroughly and strongly suggested that  Vada stay overnight for tests, Xrays, and IV infusions.  He suspected kidney failure.  Vada was so sick that she left me willingly to go with the Vet Tech.  I cried all the way home.

The following afternoon, Dr. Langston called to say that Vada was fine and could come home.  The tests showed that she was suffering from an irritation and infection of the stomach and intestinal tract probably caused by the anti- inflammatory medication she takes for arthritis.  When we picked her up she was her old perky self and we came home with many medications and different food. 



Vada fully outfitted with "handles."



On the way out of Dr. Langston's office, she took a drink out of the decorative waterfall...that should have been a clue to what happened next.  She drank water constantly for the next couple of days and the overflow leaked all over the coach...wherever she rested.  We tucked puppy training pads under her, thinking it would stop after 48 hours...sometimes she drinks a lot after a kennel visit.  But, it didn't stop!  So, we went back to the vet.   Dr. Langston repeated the tests, thinking that she had had some sort of declline, but he pronounced her "fit as a 2-year old" on the inside! The diagnosis:  PSYCHOGENIC EXCESSIVE THIRST.  It is Vada's latest manifestation of her obsessive-compulsive disease.  She was treated for compulsive licking and a few years ago, almost had her tail amputated from the infections it caused.  Now,  her water has to be rationed and she has a new pill to prevent "leakage"!



Vada is back!  She's her old self except for back legs that don't always work.  Dr. Langston said the xrays showed severe degeneration of her spinal nerves...he was surprised that she walks as well as she does.  But we are determined to keep her going so, she now has handles!  We can help her whenever she has to go up or down steps of just to cross a slippery floor.  Tripping, even falling down, doesn't stop her.  She's a tough old girl and we expect to enjoy her company for as long as we can.  Every day with her is a gift!   KB