Grand Ol' Moxy

Fips is such a champ. He's been on and off pain all day depending on how well the meds work or perhaps not depending on the meds at all. Most of the afternoon he was quiet and seemed comfortable enough.

A little after four, he wanted to go out and began to make murmur noises (that sounded like pain noises) to that effect. He began to drag himself to the door. It was obvious that he need to pee or poop and he wanted to go outside to do it like a dignified dog.

I stabilized him by holding his tail and walked him to the door. He was determined to step up onto the platform and over the door jam on his own (tail-held) steam. I squealed encouragement and praise and even more so when on the outside ramp he crashed landed on his chin.

He then wanted to walk all over the front yard... so, holding onto his tail, I followed him and was amazed at how well, in a matter of one day, he has been able to coordinate his forward motion with my lateral stabilising. He had very few forward stumbles or backside keel-overs.

After a while my own back started to ache, so I left him under a seat on the grass and ran back to the house for one my long terry cloth towel scarves. This enabled me to support his abdomen without breaking my back.

So equipped, following the loops of his scents, he walked all over the front green and down the slope where he pooped. He walked back up half way and then I carried him up the driveway level the rest of the way. He then made it triumphantly back to the house up the step ramp and over the door hump.

Once inside I left off and his backside slid back down.

It's sad. This is the little doggie that walked 10 miles with Michael to the Golden Gate Bridge, and back; and it is now something that he has a few minutes slow stepping in the fresh air. But his doxy moxy is just as grand now as it ever was.

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