An Answer to Prayer

The Mighty Hunting Hound a couple of weeks ago


The last part of our week was trying, indeed. The Mighty Hunting Hound, as you know, holds celebrity status in this house. She is doted on, spoiled and, well, almost human. Imagine our concern when, on Wednesday, she started getting very wobbly in all four legs! About a year ago, she had a spinal injury and had to be on steriods and be crated for weeks. Thinking that this was the same, only worse, I called the vet and asked him to prescribe some Prednizone. We fixed up a crate and put her in it. Thursday night when we got home from the track and field, she could no longer get up. We rushed her to a therapist who worked on her and seemed to help. We were encouraged, and put the kids to bed with a little hope in her recovery. (They had been in tears and had prayed many, many prayers. I was worried that their prayers wouldn't be answered.)

Before The Wood Artist and I retired, however, she took a turn for the worse. She couldn't lift up her head. I was worried sick. Normally, she sleeps in our bed, but, thinking she was injured, we kept her in the crate. At about 4:00 a.m., I awoke and checked on her. She had made a mess, but couldn't get up, so I awoke The Wood Artist to help me clean her up. She had also tried to get to her water dish, but had fallen into it and her ear lay in it, without her being able to lift it.

The Wood Artist took care of her for a while and I went to bed. I soon heard him calling. He said that she was struggling for breath. I assumed that this time the spinal injury was so severe that it was affecting her breathing. I felt helpless. I went to bed again. I lay there praying that God would let her die before morning. I was heartbroken and had to give my children's faith to Him as well. I was worried that their faith would be devastated.

Then I heard him call again. Fearing the worst, I hurried to him. "Its a tick!!!!!!!!!!," he yelled. He had it removed in short order. (By the way, did you know that the best way to remove a tick is to turn it counter clockwise?) Only then did we remember that ticks can cause paralysis. At this point, we didn't know if tick paralysis victims recover. We stroked her limp body and started to snuggle her without fear of hurting her now that we knew it wasn't her back. About five minutes later, I thought she looked a little better. Then I thought it was just my sleepy, grieving brain. The thought no sooner entered my head, then The Wood Artist said, "Does she look better already?" Indeed, her breathing was stabilizing. A few more minutes and she was pushing a little on her front legs.

Now that we were not afraid of hurting her, we tucked her in bed with us. At about 8:30, she walked across the room, albeit very shakily. Minutes later, she was getting up on her own. She has now made a full recovery. The tick, by the way, was on the ear that was in the water. We likely wouldn't have found it it her ear had not been wet. I KNOW it was a God thing!

This is the picture of her Friday night. She has fully recovered and is racing around like a puppy. The vet confirmed that she would have died if we hadn't caught it. The ticks are bad this year because we didn't get a killing freeze this winter. I learned that this can happen to people, too.

Enjoy your outdoor summer, but do check yourself for the little friendly (or not so much) critters. - Nanette