Red went to see Dr. Fariello this morning for a thorough check-up and some acupuncture treatment. Dr. Fariello was delighted with Red’s progress and said he was in no pain at all. She said he was back to normal, and was moving well and seemed completely comfortable.

We are not going back to things as usual, this was surely a wake-up call. But no need of a ramp, she said!

With this kind of spinal injury, she said, a spinal “bridge,” made up of arthritic growth, can fracture and cause the kind of paralyzing pain Red endured last week.

Left alone, the spine will fuse and heal. But the arthritis doesn’t go away.

It can always recur, she said, and he should give up long-distance running and intense forms of sheep herding.

But she said there was no reason now to use a ramp to get Red in and out of cars unless Red was showing a pronounced reluctance to jump up into the car.

It’s good for him to come out into the pasture and be calm, she said,  and do some limited work, it is good for him to move around and feel useful.

Red showed only the slightest and typically slight hesitation about jumping up today, we think it has more to do with his cataract than his spine. He has always hesitated for a second before jumping up anywhere. Red was born on a farm in Northern Ireland and lived in a barn.

I was happy to hear this news, Red jumped up easily into the car this morning, and I will continue our ramp training just in case it is  necessary again.

We have stopped all medications – for inflammation and for pain – and will continue alternative treatments – acupuncture, massage and some regular X-rays.

I am, as always, impressed with Dr. Fariello’s caution and care. She treats problems aggressively, but doesn’t go over the top. Sometimes, less is more, and she seems to know the line. She thinks strategically and she listens carefully, to us, to the dog.

Like country doctors, country vets don’t retreat into specialties. They see everything, and diagnose everything. They hone their instincts.

I don’t completely underestimate what happened to Red – his collapse and paralysis was one of the most wrenching things I’ve seen in my life with dogs. This experience affirms my healing philosophy with dogs: trust the vet, first and foremost, and if you don’t trust the vet totally, talk to another vet. They train for eight years and see medical issues every day.

Dr. Fariello’s confidence and diagnostic savvy has gotten Red through some tough scrapes, and because he is so stoic, it takes a skilled diagnostician to figure out what is wrong with him.

Once again, I appreciate the well-wishers online, but I see no reason to abandon Dr. Fariello’s expertise and accept medical or diagnostic advice from strangers.

She understands my strong ethical concerns about letting dogs suffer and also about subjecting them to complex invasive surgeries and procedures that dogs couldn’t possible understand, and can never consent to.

I also have moral concerns about spending thousands of dollars to prolong the life of a dog unnaturally, while so many human beings suffer so greatly. For me, love is something about letting go, not hanging on.

But luckily, I don’t have to face those issues and decisions with Red now.

We are all different and all of our dogs are different, what happened to my dog does not necessarily have any relevance to what happened to your dog, and your treatment has no relevance to his  treatment.

I was struck once more at the widespread realization out in the ether that total strangers feel responsible for saving Red and managing his care. They are not. It is my job and Dr. Fariello’s job. That is the boundary. Very little, if any, of the advice, experience and diagnoses of amateurs online was useful or relevant to me or to Red and his condition.

I do honestly appreciate the many good thoughts and wishes. They ran into the thousands. People care about Red. And he is worthy of it, what a great-hearted creature he is.

Your thoughts and good wishes were very important to me, and to Maria, and I believe Red soaked up some of that good energy. I think I saw the impact good energy can have, on an animal, on a human.

I want Red (and me) to return to as normal a life as is possible.

He can go out and stare at the sheep in the pasture he can do as much therapy work as he wants (he usually tires after a half-hour or so), and can get up and down steps and onto seats whenever he wants to.

He can still ride around with me, and keep up contact with his many girlfriends, in almost every corner of the town.

It was a good vet visit. This is good and surprising news, Red has rebounded again. I would not have thought it possible just a week-and-a-half ago.

I’ll keep people posted.