I feel a bit like I’m stuck in a time warp.  Three and a half years ago we lost our Dalmatian Shiner after a long battle with various aging issues.  He stopped chasing the ball. He creaked and groaned and grumbled and was in constant pain from arthritis in his spine and hips.  He began pooping everywhere, even in his sleep, unable to control the most basic of body functions.  We treated him with a range of medications, from homeopathic to traditional, but finally his quality of his life (and ours), not to mention the cleanliness of our home, brought us to the difficult decision to say goodbye.  He was twelve, and we loved him very much.  Still do.

Now our yellow lab puppy Bella is at the beginning of her life, but she is acting as if she is 17 years old instead of 7 months old.  Last night she began having issues with bladder incontinence.  I suspect the prednisone she’s taking for puppy strangles is a factor, but I am concerned because she seems to be unable to control her bladder — even in sleep.  As I was preparing lunch this afternoon she peed all over the kitchen floor without squatting or doing her usual “potty stance.”  She dribbles when she walks.  She leaks when she sleeps.  When my husband took her outside FIVE MINUTES after I took her, she had to go so bad and so copiously that she didn’t even make it to the grass.  This isn’t normal.  It’s also not normal that the puppy who used to be known as Dogzilla for her extremely active personality is no longer interested in anything except sleeping and eating (and chasing the stray bunny, which she is about to do in this picture, taken five days ago before the Pee Odyssey began:)

Of course the vet office closed today at noon.  Now I don’t know if this bladder issue is important enough to warrant a call to the emergency vet or if we can wait until Monday. I guess I’ll just have to see how she does.  And maybe go buy a package of these:

in order to prevent our house from turning into Avenue Pee!