Welcome Home Ron!

Joey (aka Ron) was release from the puppy hospital yesterday and he has spent a whole 24 hours now back at home with us. Our vet said that he showed great progress each day he stayed with them but his fluid levels were still on the weak side. After speaking with a specialist they decided that what was preventing Ron to fully peak at 100% was that he was still in a strange, unfamiliar place. Keeping him at the hospital was still stressful on Ron and stress brought on episodes that the disease entails. She believed that if he came home to me, Tim and Zoe (not to mention all of the other familiar things he loves around the house...puppy bed, the back yard, his favorite toys) he would fully recuperate and be back to normal like he was just a few days before he got sick. The first few hours home, Zoe and Ron reintroduced themselves to each other. Zoe's face was priceless as she saw Ron jump through the door; I think she was hoping for a little more alone time. But she eventually gave in and they ran around the house, up and down the stairs, Zoe leading, as if she was taking him from room to room letting him take in everything so those happy thoughts and smells of home would trigger his memory and it would all come back to him! After we all appropriately welcomed Ron back home, he and Zoe crashed in the living room for an afternoon nap. 4pm Zoe and Ron were as usual at our feet wating for food as 4pm is their dinner time. Now if that's not "getting back to normal" I'm not sure what is. For now we are to give him a dose of steroids twice a day, one with each meal and he will have to visit the vet's office regularly for shots of cortisol and routine blood work. Many dog's with Addison's Disease live very full, happy, healthy and long lives with the proper treatment and medication. I sometimes joke around that our pugs are invincible and that they will outlive me and Tim. This past week was definitely an eye opener for us that anything can happen to them at any time no matter how prepared you may be. So from now on that's how we are treating not only Ron's condition but many things in our lives in general...take it one day at a time, enjoy today because tomorrow is never certain!