While Petal appears to have been responding to treatment for leishmania, unfortunately she has other problems to contend with that are related. Her left eyeball has swollen from increased internal pressure and the treatment for that over the last couple of weeks hasn’t been successful, with the cornea now probably damaged beyond repair. Even more problematic has been problems in her spine that are typical in older dogs, but have been exacerbated by her condition. This has led to the loss of use of her back legs, though she still has sensation in the toes and tail.
Hence the photo of the Heath Robinson contraption above – the Petalmobile Mk1. Using tips from some sites online, this is built from uPVC piping, various bits of padding and duct tape. The tape is a temporary thing while we test the design to check it works ok.
So far, so good. Petal has proven to be mobile in it and able to move about. She even navigated her way down a step, though that wasn’t planned. When we’re happy with the design, we’ll remove the tape and glue it together, however, it’s possible we’ll reduce the height so that her feet are on the ground in the hope if may force her to exercise her legs a bit.
She has to see the vet tomorrow morning and so we’re now deciding whether to take the Petalmobile with us then. We probably will as they may be able to offer advice, though I can just imagine the faces!