Riley Turns 4 Today 10/28/10

Today is Riley's 4th Birthday. He doesn't seem to excited about it and was even less excited when I tried his pumpkin costume on him. We are going to Greystone today so I thought it would be good if he went with his costume on.
Hard to believe that Riley is already 4. Last year at this time we didn't know where we would be a year later. Riley is doing ok right now, not great, but not too bad. He has had some very good days in the past few weeks. On those days I was able to take him for some nice walks which we both really enjoy. The cooler weather really does help him. Of course we have had unusually warm weather the past few days. I am not complaining about that though.
Riley has also had some bad days recently. It appears as though his back legs are getting weak. He is reluctant to jump and is having difficulty getting up the stairs. I am not really sure why as it is a symptom of both the SM and hip displaysia which we know he has. I am just going day by day to see if this progresses at all. He doesn't appear to be in any pain and I have enough medication to give him if I do see any symptoms of pain. I would really like to know the cause of the marked weakness to know which road we are going down here. I think we will just have to go day by day.
Riley is getting dressed in his Halloween costume for our visit to Greystone today. I know the patients will really enjoy it. I don't think Riley likes the whole idea but I will take it off after everyone has seen him. I think they are having a costume parade today so maybe they will let Riley join in.
I will be wearing my Witch's hat, how appropriate :)

Before and After

The picture on the left was taken this morning before Riley's bath and haircut. The pictuure on the right was taken after. He looks like a different dog and not very much like a Cavalier right now. I decided to have him trimmed short becuase his coat is thinning out alot and he doesn't like to be brushed anymore. So rather than having to brush him so much, I decided to get him trimmed short. He really looks like a different dog. I am not crazy about his new look but I know it is better for him.

It was 1 year ago today that Riley was diagnosed with SM. Looking back I had no idea where would be 1 year later. The disease is definitely taking it's toll on Riley. We are managing his pain quite good right now but I do see signs that it is progressing. How fast and how much it will continue to progress is anybody's guess. Riley is still holding his own and still maintains his wonderful loving temperament. He is not able to do some things he could a year ago but he is not in any way suffering. It's just so tough to watch him want to do things but he just can't. With all that being said, Riley is still my best pal. He's gotten me through alot of tough times this past year. I am praying that he will have many more days with me.