Needed ~ The Intercession of St. Francis!

I just * knew * this would happen.

There's something wrong with my greyhound...he's limping. Initially I thought it was his toe, because last weekend he was seeming to favor his left rear paw. When I investigated further, and found a tender spot at his knee, he let me know with a loud bark and a long, low, growl, and a snap of his teeth in my general direction, while staring at me balefully.

There's no swelling, but I have been carefully checking every day....ther's heat in the area, and for now, I'm treating it as a sprain. He's going outside only to do his business, no regular walks until this clears up.

I've noticed it's worse in the morning, which is logical, but now it seems to be getting worse. Today he's barely putting weight on his left rear leg. All week, he's not even tried to climb onto the couch or the fouton I "gave" the dogs, just hanging out on his dogbed on the floor, or in his kennel.

I do NOT want to take him to the vet if I can avoid it...because of course they'll want to do X-Rays, which makes sense, but the cost of this is just not something I can afford right now. It's going on the plastic and since I just put a $500.00 brake job on my plastic, well, let's just say NOW is NOT the time to be building up debt or digging into my savings, which aren't, shall we say, "built to last" as it is.

If we must go, we must go. As a rule, I hold off if it seems to be a sprain only because of the simple fact that sprains clear up with simple treatment. This vet isn't one to dispense a lot of medications, and I can't give my greyhound aspirin, not even doggie aspirin. Greyhounds do not process meds like other dogs - what works for other breeds can go so far as to kill a grey. And, it could be arthritis or just a flareup of an old injury. He is an ex-racing dog, came to me after nearly a three year career.

So I'm praying to St. Francis for some help here. Last night was a cool night and I had the fan running. I noticed my hound was a little chilled this morning so I suspect he may just be working out some stiffness, but if it's really just a worsening condition, well...then at some point I will have to make the decision to take him to a pro.

I'm so completely unsurprised this is happening. When I discerned religious life, and worked to try to pay off my debt load, my dogs were both hit with amazing and strange (and some repetetive) illnesses requiring vet visits. I won't even TELL you how much I had to spend on them that year. The reality is that every time I am facing some major financial issue, the dogs get sick and the car breaks down or a necessary appliance in the house goes kuputz. Why should I be surprised that the dog broke down again?

And no, keeping the job isn't the answer...it's already been posted and my replacement is being primed.

St. Francis, Pray for us!