Wednesday, May 20, 2026 – From Rainy and Quiet to Emergency Vet Visit

Hey Babe,
Not a good day for Lola. We had thunderstorms come through most of the night, and she was so anxious, even after giving her a Benadryl, she kept climbing up the stairs, then losing her balance and falling off. She must have fallen off half a dozen or more times during the night. I tried to keep her on the bed, but she kept insisting on going down, then back up again. Around 4:30, she fell down so hard she started screaming, obviously having injured herself in some way. I got up, settled her down the best I could in her bed, and gave her two of her Carprofen pills (which I later learned was too much for her, her max. should be 125 mg). I stayed in the recliner next to her, which seemed to help calm her, and I slept fitfully there for the remainder of the night. Got up at 9:00, but she stayed in her bed while I went out to do my chores. She managed to get down to eat breakfast, and seemed to be moving a little better, so we just rested the rest of the morning. I massaged her back and legs a bit, and managed to stretch them out okay, and seemed to feel better, crawling back into her bed. Then, around 3:00, she managed to get out of bed and down the stairs to get out of the trailer, but on the bottom step her back legs collapsed and when she landed, she started screaming again. I was afraid she might have dislocated her leg, or broken something. I managed to pick her up and get her into the truck, and immediately started hunting for a vet. The nearest ones wouldn't take her, but I finally found one called Hillside that was open late and seemed to have emergency services, so I just drove 30 minutes there without calling, figuring they couldn't turn me down if I just showed up. Not fair, I know, but I was desperate by then. As it turned out, they had no problem taking her, rolling out a gurney to the truck so we could get her inside. They examined her, took x-rays, did some lab tests, and eventually concluded that nothing was broken or dislocated, but she had some soft tissue damage, though it was hard to say exactly what. They suspect perhaps a pinched nerve or ligament injury possibly caused or exacerbated by her arthritis, so they gave me another painkiller that would also hopefully help with that, though we will have to adjust the dosage until we figure out what will work. She seemed better when we got her into the truck, having given her one of the heavier painkillers, so on the way home, I detoured to Deam Lake to check out the site I had reserved to make sure the trailer would fit into it. The site is fine, but I'll have to pass it and turn around by the lower barn and come back backward in order to be able to get into it properly. Right next to a water spigot, and it has several good trees for a highline. Got back to camp around 7:30, left Lola in the truck while I got the horses in their paddock (I left in such a hurry, they were still on their anchors, and thankfully, didn't get into any trouble as a result), then helped Lola out of the truck. She seemed to be doing better, took a long pee as well as completed her doody duty, both of which were long overdue. I got her up into the trailer with a little help, and she settled down on the bathroom rug for awhile. I had dinner and tried to relax, but then when she tried to get up once, she started screaming again. I gave her another pill (the dosage is 1-3 pills every 8-12 hours), but she was so twisted up with pain, I didn't know how to help her. Eventually, I helped her get in a more comfortable position, so I'm hoping she'll be okay through the night. Very worried about her, especially when the vet brought up "quality of life" issues to be revisited in a few weeks. I sure hope it doesn't come to that, not for awhile yet. I'll give her another massage tonight, hopefully that will help, and fingers crossed, tomorrow will be better for her. My heart is aching for my sweet girl! Glad there aren't any more storms forecast for tonight, lately they've really been terrifying her. Hope we both get a better night sleep tonight. Good night, my darlin'! Love you!