Coonhound Paralysis

Our German shepherd mutt, Bippy has two jobs: bark at intruders, and eat garbage. She's always done these jobs well.
Last week we let her spend the night indoors for a change, and one of our chickens was killed and eaten, probably by one of the many raccoons that populate our neighborhood. No more indoors for Bippy! A couple of nights later she got into a fight with something -- presumably a raccoon. She's 11 years old, and the coons here can weigh 40 pounds, and the fight wore her out. She was a bit beat up, with cuts and scratches on her face and forelegs. We disinfected her. She's up on her rabies shots, so we figured after a couple of days of stiffness, she'd improve. And so it seemed.
Then, yesterday, about 7 days after the initial fight, she found herself unable to stand. All four legs were pathetically weak and unresponsive. She couldn't even shake her hind leg when her belly is scratched. The head and neck move a little.
I'm not the kind of guy who spends a lot of money on pets. Sometimes they die, and you replace them. I figure I'm always going to have one dog, so if one dies, I get to save the life of a different one at the pound. That said, I took her to the vet. I figured we'd either put her down or give her fluids and antibiotics.
Turns out she seems to have something called coonhound paralysis . For the next several weeks, she basically can't move her legs and body. She can't even twist her neck well, so she has to eat and drink sideways. Miserable! Mira and Lyra are eager to keep her alive, so they've agreed to wipe her butt and feed, water, and exercise her.
Normally the prognosis is pretty good for a recovery, but she's so old and skinny to start with that I worry that this'll be too much for her.
Wish us luck.

Filed Fri - August 24, 2007, 04:54 AM in

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