The Best Dog in the World

My older beagle, Molly, is 5. When she was 6 months old, she woke up from a nap on the couch just screeching. I ran in to see what was wrong, and she screamed for a few minutes, then calmed back down. That was her first "attack." I had no idea what it was, or what to do for her. I called the vet, and was told she probably had a nightmare.

Through the years she had more attacks, and they worsened. I was never able to catch one early enough to take her to the vet when it happened. I can't pick up a dog in that much misery. They will bite even their owners if the pain is bad enough. I would end up sitting on the floor, crooning to a terrified dog. She would drop her head, put her tail between her legs, shake constantly, hide under the bed, and crawl in and out of my lap. All I could do was pet her and tell her she is the best dog in the world until the attacks passed. They ranged from 20 minutes up to an hour. I supplied her regular vet with the symptoms several times, but she had no idea either.

Finally one Sunday night (do emergencies ever happen during the day, during the week?) about 10 pm she woke up crying. So I bundled her up immediately, threw both dogs in the car, and tried to get to the emergency vet office before she died. She was a mess in the car, breathing hard, clearly in distress. I was truly afraid she was dying, but had no idea from what.

The emergency vet told me he thought he knew what it was, so he took X-rays and found she has a damaged disk in her neck. While she was lying on her side on the floor, crying, and shaking, he was telling me what was wrong. I asked him to treat her first. He gave her a shot of Valium and some Robaxin, both muscle relaxants, and sent her home with me. At least he ruled out epilepsy or any neural damage. He said beagles are not stoic about pain.

Molly will usually tell me when she wants a Robaxin. She will see me walk by the counter where her pills are, and then she sits and wags her tail. I will give her one when that happens, and we haven't had an attack in over a year. I figure she knows when the pain starts.

Late last night, I let Baby out and went to look for Molly. She was under the dining room table. I ranright for her Rx, but it was too late. She had a full attack last night, lasting an hour and a half. That is with the Rx. The attacks are getting longer. I do not want to have to get bones in her spine fused. She really is the best dog in the world.