Good morning everyone,

I hope you are all still in good spirits.

I don’t know if you remember Ruby my German Shepard. In 2013 when we got her I posted every Tuesday about her. I called it Ruby Tuesdays…

Well Ruby is 7 years old now and up to a few months ago she still loved playing ball then in February she just stopped. We were working in the garden taking out a Cactus and we thought maybe she had a thorn in her back foot. I tried looking but she made it very difficult. Then after a few weeks she started playing ball again and I was relieved….

As suddenly as she started again she stopped. You throw the ball she walks to it pick it up and go lie down with the ball between her front legs… She also started to loose a lot of weight and my first thought was worms… So we dewormed her 2 months earlier than usual. Still she keeps losing weight and don’t want to play.

On Saturday evening she started crying like mad and Armand came to me and ask if I can see what is going on. So I let Ruby in to see but her front leg was not right. She did not want to put any weight on it. I thought maybe she dug a hole again.Ruby has her spot under the braai and she did not want to stay in the house so we let her out again.

On Sunday morning I went out to see if there was new holes but nothing. Then Ruby came out and her front paw flopped around like a ragdoll…. I thought it was broken…. I panicked and yelled at everybody to get bandages…. I could not stomach the fact that my child is in pain… So we put a bandaged around her leg to help keep it in place…. It seem to be working because she stopped moaning….

Due to the fact that I do not earn a cent during lockdown I can’t afford going to the Animal hospital with her on a Sunday. I am still paying off Shadow our cat’s week stay at the Vet in January… But I can’t let her suffer so tried to keep her comfortable till I can take her to the doctor on Monday…

Monday morning I took her to the Animal Hospital. She thought it was Christmas as she came in the door there was treats for Africa and it was there just for her. It wasn’t even covered by anything just there for her to take one and eat….

We had to weigh Ruby before her examination and she decided that she is staying just there… She was in too much pain to walk any further. Ruby has lost a lot of weight over the past few months and that in it self is very troublesome.

The doctor took a look at her and started doing tests. First she wanted to know if Ruby maybe diabetic because of the amount of water she drinks but her levels was 100%. Her blood pressure and temperature was also 100%. She draw some blood and clipped her nails. She hoped the blood tests will reveal what is wrong.

Then she looked at Ruby’s legs and said nothing was broken and ligaments was not torn. But it can be a lot of different things. Inflammation, Arthritis or it could be neurological…. But she said she thinks that we must wait for the blood results…. She did say that if it is neurological Ruby must go for a MRI and CT scan…. She gave Ruby an injection for pain and and Anti inflammatory. She also gave me some pills to give to Ruby till the blood tests came back.

On Thursday morning another doctor phoned me in connection with Ruby’s results….

She told me that she would like to see Ruby for herself and ask me some more questions…. She told me that Ruby’s protein levels is elevated and her red blood-cells are abnormal….

Yesterday we went back to the Animal Hospital to meet up with the other doctor. She explained to me that the high protein levels can be Cancer or caused by inflammation over a long period of time….

Ruby is scheduled for a Sonar of her Liver, Stomach and bladder on Tuesday. They are also going to do x rays of her legs to see what is going on there.

I am trying very hard to be positive. I tell myself it is just inflammation. She has so much life in her still. Yesterday she started chasing the birds in the garden again and her paw don’t flop anymore….

I would appreciate it if you can all keep Ruby in your prayers. I don’t want to loose my four legged child, but I am not going to let her suffer either….

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