The Spike Situation

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that one of the reasons for taking Mikaela to the skating party was that she needed a diversion, and that I’d post more about why. Mikaela needed a diversion, because she was upset that Spike didn’t live with us any more.

Well,we took Spike to the vet for a checkup. The vet identified Spike as having a fairly common endocrine system disease called Cushing’s disease. Cushing’s explains a number of the problems we’d observed Spike having – sporadically insatiable thirst and appetite, incontinence, fat deposits. The good news is that Cushing’s is treatable with medication. The bad news is that the care can be quite expensive, and requires that someone be around to administer it regularly. Given our schedules, that is just not possible.

And here’s where we got really lucky. The veterinary assistant that Oxford Animal Clinic really liked Spike. And she gets vet care for her pets at cost. So it looked like a match. I waited to post anything for a few weeks, to make sure that Spike had adjusted well to her new home. We’ve heard that Spike is doing great. She’s getting along with the other dogs in the house (mostly by avoiding them), and adjusting to the house rule that she’s not allowed on the sofa. But she’s getting lots of love and attention and the veterinary care she needs. Mikaela is upset that Spike doesn’t live with us anymore, but understands that when you love a pet, sometimes you have to do what is best for the pet, and not what would make the people happy.