I had to take Charlie to the vet. He seemed to be in a lot of discomfort and couldn’t sit still very well. And occasionally he would whimper when he went from lying flat out on his left side to lying with his head up, resting on his left elbow. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially since he was feeling great the day before.  And he still had his appetite.

I mentioned to the vet that Charlie might have swallowed part of a bone that he had eaten the night before, but I couldn’t be sure.  Charlie gets a beef bone once a week, but we usually only give him the round, cut-up leg bones so that he can just eat the marrow out of them. We had gotten this bone from his grandmother (my mother-in-law), however, and I didn’t inspect it well enough before I gave it to him. Completely my fault.

So, his doctor, Dr. Hoch, took an x-Ray of his abdomen to make sure that wasn’t the problem.  And the image showed what looked like a lot of gas, but no other new problems. Too much gas would definitely explain the uncomfortableness. He gave Charlie some pain medication and food supplements, and I brought him home. He ate his dinner and took his medication, but still wasn’t doing very well this morning.

After observing him more last night, it appears that he might have pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in his neck or left shoulder.  So, after speaking with Dr. Hoch again this morning, I am going to continue his medication and keep him resting. He’s going to be disappointed with no walk or rides in the car, but he needs to rest.

In thinking back to Sunday when he felt really good, there was a point when we were visiting my husband’s family, and Charlie leaped down the short flight of two stairs to go outside, rather than stepping down each one at a time.  He used to do that quite a bit when he was younger and was excited about something. I guess two and three steps are just too much of a hassle for a young dog. Unfortunately, he’s not a young dog any more, and he’s paying for it today. I hope the meds and rest work. I’m not ready for him to be acting so old.