News on Nikki

The upside is that Nikki hasn't had any more days like she did two weeks ago, where she's basically immobilized by whatever's ailing her. The downside is that she's still not herself.

I haven't had to refill either her food or water bowl, except to give her fresh water, this whole week. Although her energy level isn't in the toilet, she's not running up and down the stairs like she did a month ago, and she seems unfocused when I give her commands, as though they're not processing.

Also, she's picked up a kind of cough that starts out as wheezing and ends with a little hack. She coughs like this off and on throughout the day, but more often after she's done something physical. From talking with the vet, this is sometimes a sign of congestive heart failure. Add that to the list.

She still hasn't stopped trembling, either. That fits with the anemia, but it's still troubling to see.

In many ways she's "back to her old self," but I've known her long enough that I can tell there are things that are not right yet. I talk with Dr. Kjelland at choir and keep him informed, so that if there's anything we need to address, we can catch it earlier rather than later.

Nikki's an elderly dog, so it doesn't surprise me that she might have any of these various health issues. But it's odd how they just suddenly set in. Although it's possible that until I was aware that she was sick I wasn't really noticing the symptoms she was showing.

Anyhow, that's the story for now. I'm not anticipating any emergency trips to the vet in the immediate future, but I think she does need to be watched.