Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween Everyone!!! Riley decided to be a WATCH DOG for Halloween just in case you couldn't tell. It's not a very nice day out so far but hopefully that will improve. We have ALOT of candy to give out so I hope the skies clear and the kids come.

PS Doesn't he looked thrilled???

Happy Birthday Riley

Riley turns 3 years old today!!!! I am trying to stay very positive under the circumstances especially today! Unfortunately today is one of the worst days he has had since being on the medicine. Riley woke up around 7 am and started scratching uncontrollably for a few minutes which is a long time. then he stopped and tried to lie back down and started scratching again. Finally he stopped and went back to sleep. He got up at 7:45 am and started the scratching again. There is really nothing I can do for him when he is doing this. He can't be distracted or stopped. I gave him a pain pill this morning after these two episodes and he is fast asleep.

I bought him several new toys for his Birthday hoping that he might actually want to play with 1 of them but he doesn't play at all anymore. He really just eats and sleeps and goes out occasionally. I do think the weather plays a large part in Riley's discomfort. This is the second straight day of rain so maybe that is the reason for his pain right now. We go back to the Dr. in another 10 days but will call him before if this continues.

We will celebrate Riley's day today. I am so thankful that he is my puppy and that he is here with me.

How Do I Look?

We had places to go and people to meet so Riley wanted to dress up a little. Actually he wanted to wear his Halloween costume but I told him it was too early for that.

We went to Greystone for our pet therapy visit. Dr. Glass said he could continue as long as he was having a "good day". He managed to get all the way down to the room where we visit but then the bow tie had to come off, more for his safety than anything. We had a really good visit and he made alot of people very happy today. It is always so overwhelming to see what effect a little dog can have on people. Riley has really taken a liking to a male patient and just wants to be with him the whole time. I have to be careful as the other patients can get quite jealous but it is very interesting to watch Riley and this man. It is a mutual love affair and the man is just beaming by the time he leaves. Many patients make sure they give Riley big hugs and kisses before they leave. It is very touching. I feel so fortunate to be able to do this.

It has been just 3 weeks since Riley was diagnosed. I have spent hours trying to learn all that I can about syringomyelia. I also have spent alot of time watching Riley. He has responded very well to the medication although he has had a few rough days along the way. It seems the weather has a definite effect on him. We had the cold rainy spell for a few days and Riley was in some pain for that time. I can and did give him pain medication for that time which does help. It seems like he is stating to scratch again but not nearly like he was doing before he was put on the medication. He has had more good days than bad so I am very thankful for that. He still sleeps most of the time and has all but stopped any running. He will walk fast but he will not run. I am not sure why but it is a change for him. I am keeping a daily diary of his activity or lack of , to bring to Dr. Glass in 2 weeks.. His appetite is almost insatiable. I am trying to give him more veggies and such to fill him up but he is still VERY hungry. His latest thing is to eat the maple seeds that are all over the ground. They are those little whirly bird things with a little seed at the bottom. He goes crazy for them on our walks and it is hard to keep him away from them . I am hoping that they are not harmful.

Riley is still very lethargic and spends most of his time sleeping. He has no desire to play at all. I have spent a fortune buying new toys hoping to get him interested in something but he has no interest at all. He still loves his bully sticks though.

Hard to believe we already had snow and it is only Oct. 15th. Way too cold, way too soon.

Riley is doing ok. His symptoms seem to be gone for the most part. I bought him a new toy and gave it to him tonight. He played with it for about 2 minutes and stopped. He jumped up on the chair and went back to sleep. I feel so bad that he can't/won't play. He sleeps most of the day and night. He has developed a "steroid appetite". Dr. Glass had warned me about it, but I hadn't noticed until the past few days. He licks everything to see if there are any crumbs, and lets me know when it is dinner time. Yesterday I took him to Summit Hospital for a pet therapy visit, and he spent most of the time licking God knows what off the floors. I am now mixing in raw carrots and cut up green beans hoping to fill his tummy without having him gain weight. He loves the new veggies so that is helping. All in all, Riley is doing well. It is a little stressful watching him so closely for any signs of pain or symptoms returning. I guess this will just get to be a way of life.

Riley plays ball

This may not seem like a big deal but Riley NEVER plays anymore. Tonight, Ryan got him to play ball for about 5 minutes. Not much, but really good to see. Riley had a good day today. I took him for a long walk and he had a little more energy .

Good Report

I took Riley down to RBVH and we met with Dr. Glass. I LOVE this DR. He walked in with his 2 assistants, he's got a huge smile on his face and he got on the floor and calls Riley over and gave him some treats. First thing he said is "Boy he looks GREAT! The whole time on the floor he is giving Riley an exam but Riley had no idea. Dr. Glass asked how he was and how the meds worked. I told him he was totally free of symptoms. He said he is doing really good. He cut the prednisone in half so he only get 2.5 mg 1x day and he said to use the pain meds on an as needed basis. He said he was not going to put him on anything else right now because he wanted to see how he did with just these 2 meds in reduced amount. He said Riley can resume all his activities including Pet Therapy. That really made my day.

I asked about the prognosis and Dr. Glass said "honestly I don't know". He said we were very early into this and it is a progressive disease. But he said there is no way of telling on any dog how fast it will progress or how much it will progress. He said we are just going to treat the symptoms if and when they appear.

We couldn't have had a better visit. Now we don't have to go back for 1 month so it is very good news. Will keep posting so keep checking in.

Breathing Easier

Riley seems to be responding very well to the medicine. Now that I know for sure that Riley has SM, I know what symptoms are directly related and what to watch for. Riley has had only 1 scratching episode, he has not done any of the excessive lip licking during the night, he is able to go up stairs with very little problem and this morning he jumped up on the couch to sit next to me. I really don't want to encourage his jumping but it was really nice to see. I think it is a great sign that he is responding so well, so quickly. He is still sleeping most of the time but that also could be from the medicine. I am hoping that right now things are under control for the time being. I am going to continue to walk him on his good days as I want him to be a dog as much as possible and he does love his walks.

A Very Sad Day for Riley

This is Riley recovering from his ordeal today. He is still groggy from the anesthesia

It is with a very sad heart that I want to tell you that my sweet little Riley has been diagnosed with a very serious, very painful, neurological disease called syringomyelia. It is a found primarily in the cavalier king Charles spaniel. . We just had the diagnosis made today so it is all very confusing at the moment.
It was a very strange way that we got to this point. Riley has had some weird sometimes quirky things going on for a while. These include scratching ALOT. I had taken him to the vet several times and have tried several different things but the scratching only seemed to get worse. Recently he started licking his lips for long periods of time usually at night. He has been sleeping for most of the day and all night for several months now. He always sleeps with his head up on something. Last Thursday Riley couldn't walk up any stairs and couldn't jump. When I picked him up a few times he would yelp in pain. I had been doing research about the varied symptoms all of which , individually could mean nothing but all together led me to a disease called syringomyelia.( SM ) It is caused by an obstruction of the spinal fluid somewhere in the brain or spinal cord. The symptoms can come and go, or worsen, or stay the same, but it usually is a progressive disease. Unfortunately the only way to definitely diagnose this is with an MRI.
I have lived with this knowledge and a real gut feeling that Riley may have it but never wanted to hear that he did. After seeing the pain that he was in last week I finally got the courage to find out. I didn't go my regular vet because I really only wanted to see a neurologist. I did some more research and found that there was a neurologist who was very familiar with this disease and with Cavaliers. His name is Dr. Eric Glass and he practices at Red Bank Vet Hospital. I called on Monday and made an appointment for yesterday.
We met a wonderful caring doctor and were in a state of the art animal hospital. Dr. Glass got on the floor to meet Riley which was so nice to see. We discussed Riley's symptoms and Dr. Glass said that his symptoms were certainly indicative of SM. He also felt that Riley was in substantial pain. He suggested that Riley be admitted and that they do an MRI first thing this morning. I was heartbroken to have to leave him, but knew this was the right thing to do. What a long night last night was. In order to do the MRI, Riley had to go under general anesthesia. They did the MRI at 5:30 this morning. They called at 9:30 am and said Riley had done well with the anesthesia and was doing well. I was asked to come back at 2pm today to discuss the results with Dr. Glass.
I met with Dr. Glass who showed me the MRI and he explained everything to me. Of course he told me my worst fear that Riley did indeed have SM.
After that, my head was spinning. He said we have 2 options right now. One is to do surgery and the other is to try to manage his symptoms with medication. I told him I am not going the surgery route. I did not want to put Riley through what essentially is brain surgery. He said we will work on the medication route. he put Riley on a heavy dose of pain relievers and also prednisone and a 3rd medication for his stomach. I have to go back next week when he will probably add another medication. He said the pain is a neuropathic pain. That is the reason why the dogs scratch so much. It is not because they are itchy but it is due to the pain they feel and they try to relieve it by scratching. Knowing that is so sad because Riley has been scratching excessively for some time now.
So we start a new journey today. I don't know where it will lead or where we will end up. I will give Riley the best care that I possibly can and all the love that he deserves.

I do want to add that SM is a genetically inherited disease. It comes directly from one or both of the parents. I think it is quite obvious that Riley got dealt a pretty awful deal in this life. He will be loved even more for being such a brave little boy.