My Dog Had a Stroke The Salty Dog Blues Part 2 Recovery

I promised an update of Salty's recovery. I originally journaled it on Facebook so please pardon the format. Here it is:

March 19, 2016

Salty Dog update: A long, tiring day with Dad. Walked 10-15 feet four times today and drank water. Even had time for a short 4-wheeler ride. Still no appetite but rice gruel and chicken is on the menu for tomorrow. Hopefully he will be able to lap some up. He's not giving up so we won't either.

Salty in the hubby's hands. 

March 20, 2016 Salty Dog update: He's eating, really eating on his own....and pork chop, not rice gruel. He walked earlier today and not interested in walking with me tonight but tomorrow is another day. Another step on the road to recovery.

Dan started Salty on rice gruel (over-cooked rice in too much water until it becomes mush) mixed with a can of Mighty Dog dog food. He started eating one morsel at a time.

March 21, 2016  Salty Dog update. He is eating a bit better, in fact we need to cook more rice for him. He only walks and eats for Dan, though. Lots of massages to keep his legs from stiffening up. And there's Sammie checking on him. Maybe she's a little jealous. Just a little.

March 22, 2016 Salty Dog update: Fall precautions.

Today Salty spent the day with Dan. He ate breakfast, walked, drank, watched Dan work on the bedroom wall and work in the garage. Dan sat him up in a chair and it was there Salty decided to get up and jump from the chair. Dan wasn't fast enough and Salty fell. He doesn't look worse for wear but Dan is. Shook him up a bit. All I could think of is putting his bed on the floor and little yellow socks for his four little poodle feet. Four little yellow socks. And a "Fall Precautions" sign.

March 23, 2016 Salty Dog update

Salty got a bit of therapy in the form of petting and hugs from the grandkids. He was barely moving this morning until he saw them and heard them call his name. When he heard "Bud Bud" his tail started wagging more than it has since the stroke. The little guy who would hide under the table stayed alongside the girls just taking in every bit of love he could. He even joined us for supper eating some of Dan's then walking to the water bowl on his own.

A slow recovery but a recovery none the less. I am amazed at the difference love can make and awed by the magic that exists in a child's voice.

Salty riding the four wheeler with Dan. He loves the wind blowing his ears back.

March 25, 2016 Salty Dog update

Today is the 9th day since Salty had his stroke and the first time since then that he got to ride the four wheeler. A milestone but it is overshadowed by him climbing the porch steps by himself.

We celebrated by dressing up with a bow tie and having a picture taken. It's a little hard to see the red bow tie but he knows it's on. Sam was a little jealous and had to have a ribbon, too.

Thanks to all the get well wishes from everyone.

April 1, 2016

Salty Dog update....He got his bark back!

After suffering a big stroke Salty suffered a cardiac arrest. After resuscitation he was unable to move his left side. Recovery has been slow but he can move. He's running again. His bark was still missing until today. His tongue still hangs out, though. Scruffy little fellow. ‪#‎SaltyDogBlues ‪#‎ToughLittleDog

I tried looking on the internet about the loss of bark from a stroke and found nothing. The symptoms of strokes in dogs weren't like Salty's and involved walking in circles. I spoke to a neurologist from UF about Salty's loss of bark after his stroke and if it was equivalent to human aphasia  and he believes it is. The vocal cords in humans are much more developed than in dogs but the loss of bark is like the loss of speech. I am glad I followed my intuition and didn't give him water before he was ready. Not barking could have meant the inability to swallow as well which meant he had a high risk of aspiration.

If a patient,  a human patient, suffers a stroke, one of the first things done is a speech and swallow evaluation to avoid aspiration. The food provided is soft, sometime ground or pureed until a person is able to swallow safely. In extreme cases the person may have to have a tube placed into his stomach for nutrition. Each case is treated on an individual basis.

April 18, 2016
Salty is still recovering and doing well. He is a little slower than he was prior to the stroke but his recovery is remarkable none the less. He eats outside in the morning with everyone else and lets us know when he has to go out. He's still not steady enough to climb and watch for cars. He likes to stay on the porch and wait for the hubby to come in the yard. Once he's in the yard Salty doesn't leave his side. He tires out faster and sleeps more than he used to. He still loves to go to the garage and hang with the guys. The hubby is his favorite person and he's happy just being next to him. He lets me brush him, something he never did before....at least not without a battle.

We don't keep Salty on any special food or do anything special.  He is no longer on the aspirin. The aspirin was for 10 days, no longer, to avoid risk of stomach upset. The recovery is no longer as dramatic as earlier. We see improvement but it is much slower.

We are grateful for everyday we have with him. We love him and he loves us. It's all about quality of life and the little guy is happy just being with us.

Post by Eileen Patterson whose dog, Salty Dog, had a stroke and recovered. A four legged miracle that has his bark back.