Copper

My poor poor puppy Copper. Well he isn't really a puppy anymore he is 7. He means so much to me. He is a beagle and the cutest one I have ever seen. Todd and I got him the week after we got engaged in 2005 from a flea market in Gastonia. He was the smallest and saddest puppy of the litter. The mother was there and she looked worn out and small. It was between Copper and a larger puppy. Well Coppers tail had a hook in the end that he was born with. Not an actually hook but a deformity  just to be clear. Well we went with him because we thought nobody wants this sad, deformed tail, little beagle. I named him Copper from Fox and the Hound. The name of the fox was Todd so I figured it would be very fitting for this beagle to be named Copper.  We took him to the vet and he was just eat up with worms. We got him dewormed and his first round of puppy shots. Well somewhere in between the series of puppy shots Copper got Parvo and was in the emergency vet for a week from Christmas to New Years. I didn't think his little body could fight it off but he did.. He wasn't giving up and neither were we if he was willing to fight. After he got out of the vet he was very weak but improving. The next 7 years went by very quickly it seemed and nothing else to note about health wise.  That was until about a month ago. I noticed Copper started falling. We have a very high bed and wood floor and he would jump off the bed like he was superman and land just fine. Well I noticed he was missing not everytime but enough to make me start wondering. Todd said it's because he is getting older. Then I noticed he was tripping when he would walk or trot or run. Sometimes he would fall over on his side and get up and keep going like nothing happen. He kept getting clumsier. About 2 weeks ago I noticed Copper developed a small cough nothing serious just like clearing his throat followed by a burp. I was used to the burping he always burps after he eats. Well I googled and was scared he had heart worms so I asked my parents that instead of money if they would just help out with the vet bill. I took Copper to the vet and they did a complete blood work up, urinalysis, prostate exam, fecal. The whole nine yards. The vet was more concerned with his drunken wobble than his cough. She said his ears were a little dirty but not so much that they would cause his inner ear to cause him to wobble. She cleaned them and gave me some cleaner none the less. She was just as puzzled as I was about his swaying and tripping. It's like he doesn't know where his feet are. Other than the swaying he is still eating and drinking and pooping and peeing. He is sleeping a little bit more but then again he always likes to snuggle under the covers and take a nap. She checked him over making sure it wasn't a slipped disc or pulled muscle that was pinching a nerve and nothing no sign of pain at all. Copper is such a gentleman when he is at the vet. So she started saying it could be some sort of tick disease. Now I can say with 100% he has never had a tick on him. Then she starting listing other things it could be cancer, blood clot, distemper, inflammation of the brain or spinal cord and other ailments I can't remember now. In my head I am saying woman shut up quit making me worry even more than I am. This dog is like a child to me especially now since I have miscarried. Well today we got back the blood results and everything came back normal. Great but if something was abnormal that would point us in the direction of finding a solution. So she said bring in him and let us test for distemper. And I will also give you an antibiotic in case it is a tick disease that also can help if he does have distemper. Fine great it won't hurt him if it isn't either one of those options. I won't get the results from that test till next week so I am hoping for an improvement with this trial run of antibiotics. If not it's time to try steroids for possible inflammation  of his brain. Fingers crossed people that we get this figured out. I love this dog so much.