Salty Dog Blues: My Dog Had a Stroke Days 1-3

Three weeks ago my littlest guy, Salty Dog, suffered a cardiac arrest. At first we didn't know what happened but after resuscitation (doggie CPR) and through his recovery, we were able to piece together that he suffered a cerebral vascular accident, CVA, more commonly known as a stroke. I posted updates on Facebook with pictures of his recovery but my friends said I should blog his story so others might learn from it. I broke the story into parts so it wouldn't be overwhelming. Throughout his recovery I found little on the web about dogs recovering from stroke or what to do so everything we did was by the seat of our pants. I hope it helps someone. 
By the way, we love our vet. We get lots of good advice and care but sometimes things happen after hours or on the weekend....and we live in the country, a bit of a distance from the big city so not everything is easily accessible.

Sorry I have been away for a while but the last month has been a bit crazy. Between Salty having a stroke the day before having surgery for cancer removal (not a big cancer but the C word scares me) sort of had me a bit preoccupied. 

Day One:

The morning before the surgery I was a little on edge so I thought I would walk my dogs...at least 2 of them. Sammie, the boxer, and Fred, my bigger male poodle (he's not that big, 15 pounds but he thinks he is big) walk while Salty, the little toy poodle of the pack..7 pounds after he eats, runs to the garage to hang with the hubby in the man cave. That day was no different, Salty ran out of the yard as fast as he could to be with the hubby while I circled the drive with the other two. 

When I got back to the house my hubby called me sounding a bit off. "Babe, could you come here a minute?" he said. 

"What's up?" I said really thinking now what. "Salty's dead. He just died." 

I thought of the little guy running so happily from the yard. "What happened? Did something fall on him?" 

He just fell over dead. He's not breathing," was my hubby's response.

My husband was carrying Salty, cradling him in his arms. He had tears in his eyes and he sat on the ground next to a big oak. "Come on little guy. Come on Bud Bud. Don't leave me," he said. 

The next thing I knew I saw my husband start mouth to snout CPR, resuscitation, on Salty. I assisted with compressions. 

I wondered what could have caused a sudden cardiac arrest and thought it could have been one of two things, a heart attack with a fatal arrhythmia or a CVA, stroke. In Salty's case I didn't know what it could be. He had no signs or symptoms of major health problems that I was aware of. He'd been to the vet and had a clean bill of health. 

After a few breaths and compressions Salty started to open his eyes. He didn't focus and his head flopped back. He couldn't move the left side of his body. His left legs stiffened and he couldn't control his head movement.  It looked like he had a massive stroke.

While supporting his head I carried him into the house. I gently bathed him at the kitchen sink talking to him and singing soft to him while supporting his head. I didn't know if those were his last moments and, if they were, I wanted him to hear a loving voice. I thought about taking him to the vet but thought there wasn't a whole lot they would offer a little old dog other than watch him. I also examined him while I bathed him. I noticed his pupils were equal, not blown, so I didn't think he had a hemorrhage. I also noticed it didn't seem like he could see if someone was on his left side, left-sided neglect. I noticed he couldn't bark or wag his tail and his tongue hung out of the left side of his mouth, like facial droop. 

My husband and I talked about taking him to the vet. He was afraid he would need to be put down and he said he couldn't do it. To tell the truth, I couldn't either. 

"I'm not taking him to the vet," I told my husband. "What will they tell us? Put him down? Leave him with us and we'll watch him? I'm not leaving him in a strange kennel with strangers. He won't know what's going on and he'll be scared. We can watch him here. If this is his last day on earth he's going to spend it with family." There was no way I would leave my little dog with strangers during his last hours on earth. Thankfully my husband agreed. 

My husband and I held Salty for hours moving his legs and supporting his head while talking to him. We made sure to stand on his right side so he could see us...and we supported his head. 
 I made a place for him on the pillow on the floor with a towel on it. He couldn't control his bladder. He just laid there and went to sleep. 

I remembered from stroke care that the sooner physical therapy is started on the affected limbs the better the recovery. It was then I started moving his legs, range of motion. My husband watched me and took turns doing it, too.

I don't know how many times the hubby got up during the night to check Salty but I know I got up at least four times, each time expecting to find him gone. He amazed me, though. Even more, Sammie, the boxer, stood guard at his side watching him during the night. She laid down next to him and slept. 

Day 2
Salty was still there. He was able to lift his head but nothing else yet. I went for my skin cancer removal and straight home when it was through. When we arrived home Salty was still there and seemed to lift his head a little. 
Salty recognized us, me particularly, and would turn his head to my voice. He still couldn't drink or eat anything which worried my husband. I explained to him it was pretty dangerous to give him water by eye dropper especially since he couldn't bark yet. I was afraid of aspiration, water getting into the lungs, and thought we still had time to address it. 
The rest of the day was filled with holding, range of motion, and worry. 

The hubby holding Salty so his head wouldn't flop around.

Day 3

Day 3 brought me a big surprise. Salty tried to get up for breakfast. I thought I should take him out like I usually do and he walked under his own power to pee. He walked in the yard about 10 feet then rested. He was pretty wobbly but he did it himself. A while later I made him walk again and he walked to the water bowl for a drink. It seemed like he was making up for all the water he couldn't drink over the last few days. Still not ready to eat, though. He wasn't ready to quit so we wouldn't, either. Hourly physical therapy that included walking, massages, lots of hugging, holding...and doggie dose aspirin.

 I thought about how to treat Salty. In the hospital setting we use clot busters, like TPA, to restore blood flow after a CT scan to make sure there is no hemorrhage but we were home and I was treating by instinct.  Since we didn't have a CT scan or TPA I thought about what other blood thinners could be used and remembered dogs can take aspirin. Aspirin is used commonly treat cardiac patients to decrease platelet aggregation, or clumping.  I thought why not try it for Salty. I looked up "doggy dose aspirin" and found 5 mg per pound of body weight. Salty weighed 7 pounds. I split an enteric coated baby aspirin (81 mg)  in half and gave him a half tablet. I started him on a half tablet twice a day, or every twelve hours. 

The hubby holding Salty and Sammie, Salty's nurse, sitting close by.

To learn more about Doggie CPR there are several YouTube videos that demonstrate the technique. Here's one:

Dog Dose Aspirin:

"Most veterinarians recommend from 5 mg to 10 mg per pound of the dog's weight during a 12 hour period. (That is about 10-20 mg per kg weight). Going on the safe side, a recommended dosage of aspirin of about 5 mg/lb (10 mg/kg) seems to work well for most dogs." Giving Your Dog Aspirin by Ron Kurtus, November 11, 2008. http://www.school-for-champions.com/animalhealth/aspirin.htm#.Vwsb62N2fzI

Remember, do not use ibuprofen (Motrin) or acetaminophen (Tylenol) on dogs. Ever. And never use aspirin on cats. Never. 


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Nursing people and dogs.