I am very sad today!  Toby is still not doing good and I don’t think he will make it!  I can’t stand to see him in pain!  I don’t know what to do.  Toby is such a great dog and he has been a great friend to me and I will be so lost without him.  I think I am nuts because he’s “just a dog”, but he is so much more than a dog to me!

Why does this have to happen?  He’s only 4 years old, he’s too young to die!  Please pray for Toby and me,  I am week and I need to be strong for Toby!  Dear Lord, please guide me and give me strength to take care of Toby.   I am so scared right now, all I can do is write here about how I feel.  Thank you, if your reading this!

After doing a little resurch on-line I think it could be Canine hip dysplasia (CHD).

The following are signs that your dog may have Canine hip dysplasia (CHD).

• Rear limb lameness, particularly after exercise.
• Difficulty or stiffness upon rising or climbing uphill.
• A “bunny hop” gait (moving both rear legs together).
• Rising using front legs only and dragging rear end.
• Waddling rear limb gait.
• A painful reaction to extension of the rear legs resulting in a characteristic short stride.
• A side-to-side sway of the croup (area of the back above the hind legs and in front of tail.)
• Tendency to tilt hips down when pressure applied to rump.
• Reluctance to jump, exercise or climb stairs.

As I have said Toby does not like to jump or climb the stairs like he once did. And he does not like to get up after he’s been sitting down.   When I first noticed something was different was about 4 week ago when I took Toby for a walk.  Most of the time when we would go for a walk, Toby would lead and run out front of me.  This time, Toby would stay behind me and some times not want to walk at all.  I didn’t know it at the time but he was in pain and his CHD was just starting.  We  haven’t gone for any walks since and I miss going for walks with my buddy!  I don’t know if we will ever have walks again.

Right now, Toby is lying on the floor and trying to rest, I can tell he is in pain but he is stating to go to sleep.  I wish you could see him now, he’s so sweet.  He does not want to put his head down to sleep, he’s got it resting on a container that’s next to him.  I tried to give him his Prednisone pill and 1/4 of an adult aspirin, but Toby didn’t want to eat the food that I put then in!