I took Gypsy to the vet today for a check-up – you may recall she began having mobility difficulty this summer and I was afraid for a while that I was going to have to put her down.
Well.... today x-rays showed that her spine is in pretty good shape -- little to no sign of arthritis!, her blood work came back great -- slightly elevated glucose, but she had just eaten, liver numbers lower than the summer, etc. Just very healthy blood.
What he's thinking she has is Canine Degenerative Myelopathy, which is not treatable, though vitamin supplements can help, but it is also not painful {except to watch} and she will slowly lose more and more control over her hind section until she is finally unable to walk. She is progressing more slowly than he would have expected -- not much change in the last six months -- and so I am hopeful that we have several good months left in the ol' gal.
The main thing is, she is in great health overall, NOT in pain, in good spirits, and doing okay!