Not sure if anyone remembers, but I posted just under two weeks ago, about my dog Axl being rushed to the emergency vets for having a focal seizure being told he has neuro issues and we were to spoil him and that nothing can be done, he maybe had a few weeks to go. I wasn’t set on this diagnosis, it felt off, and the vet who told us really focused on not doing further investigation because he’s 12 and a half, his sister passed from a stroke in July, and we should just cherish what time we have left with him. I scheduled an appointment with his regular vet anyway to follow up, if he had a little time left, I wanted to know how to keep him comfortable. That appointment was today, and while his regular vet agrees that he has some neuro issues (which we knew already, he’s been having sporadic seizures since he was 4/5, luckily very rarely so we’re able to keep him unmedicated) she believes it’s a possible narrowing at the end of spine, we had some tests ran, as well as a full check up. The only thing we didn’t do was an MRI which he’d have to be referred to a different vet for, but as far as she can tell? Axl is okay. His issues are contained to his back legs (hence her opinion of the spine) which he already has knee dysplasia and arthritis. However they’re very well managed, he can still run, play, jump and do everything he normally does. His quality of life is still great, and he’s very healthy for a dog of his age and size. His weight is perfect, his teeth are good, his heart, lungs and blood work are all good. She doesn’t believe he has ‘only a few weeks left’, and is happy to continue to monitor his symptoms. The only thing she was able to say really, is that he will probably need to be started on gabapentin further down the line, but as far as she can tell, he’s still full of life and is a happy, handsome boy. Now while an MRI will give us an exact picture of what’s going on, the felt it wasn’t a needed procedure, especially since he would have to be sedated. I agree, if he doesn’t need to go through it, I would rather not put him through it. I trust his vet.
All of this to say, Axl’s going to be okay, but also, if something doesn’t feel right, please don’t be afraid to question your vet or ask for a second opinion. Sometimes vets make mistakes too. I don’t think the emergency vet was intentionally catastrophizing Axl’s condition, I believe she was working with what information she could see, without taking into account he was post ictal and anxious. He’s a dog that freezes when scared. When she was doing a check over, he was slow to react and I believe she based her information on this. While he was still slower than normal to react when the vet ran the same tests today, he reacted a lot quicker than he was post ictal, which, obviously. We’ve been through emotional turmoil thinking we were sharing his last days with him, while he acted completely normal. So always be willing to fight for your pups if something feels off!