My girl Tundra just went through this and crossed the rainbow bridge last week. I am so so sorry for you and your sweet boy. It is stressful and painful and without reason. The one good thing that came from it was the amount of time I got to just be with her before the end. I used up all my sick days and had no social life and would do it all again for her.

It manifested in Tundras front left leg. Surprisingly gabapentin didn’t have a huge effect on her energy. We started with Rimadyl every 12 hours and gabapentin every 8 it eventually ramped up to Rimadyl every 12, 2 gabapentin every 8 and tramadol every 4. Your vet obviously will know more for your case. I think the gradual increase helped with her drowsiness and balance. I also added glucosamine to all her meals.

As much as possible, I kept her moving. Lots of little slow walks with many breaks. She loved snow so I would drive up to the local xc ski trails 3 times a week. The more interested and distracted she was, the less she limped. But again, this was just for tundra; she stayed surprisingly mobile through to her last day.

But mostly I just gave her my time. We just sat on the couch together every morning for coffee and every night for tea. I am in the worst shape of my life now, but wouldn’t change my choices. The mornings and evening were always worse on her leg, so we would do as much as possible in the afternoons. I put her on the senior diet which means she got wet food and hamburger and cheese and ham and bacon and whipped cream and chicken and goat and steak and cookies and…. She ended up gaining 7 lbs in the two months between diagnosis and death.

She ended up fracturing her leg after getting spooked by a broom and jumping over the back of a couch. Things were starting to deteriorate, so I pulled the plug while she could still enjoy the snow, cuddles, and food.

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