Little dog, big platelets

We had to postpone Week 3 of Couch-to-5K because one of my "personal trainers" came down with pneumonia Monday night.  Poor little guy was feeling really lousy Monday night and we were very worried about him.  He rested most of the day on Tuesday but was back to himself by Tuesday night so we were very relieved!  He will still be on medicine for a few weeks then have follow-up x-rays but he's doing great.

Here he is resting in his crate on Tuesday:

There are a few crates in our home with cozy blankies and we leave the doors open.  Hayley is a big fan of taking naps in them and has always loved her crate but Walker normally likes to be sitting right next to me.  I knew he must feel awful since he chose to be in the crate much of the day, but I just made it as comfortable as possible for him and he got the rest he needed to feel back to himself and start to recover.

Something came up with his blood work that I thought I should share since I'm sure there are Cavalier owners who aren't aware of this issue.  When they first did blood work by machine Walker's blood platelet count was REALLY low which normally is a huge cause for alarm.  BUT Cavalier King Charles Spaniels can have abnormally large blood platelets and/or abnormally low blood platelet count without experiencing health problems due to the condition.  Fortunately I knew this, as did the vet but not every vet knows this about Cavaliers.  It's important that Cavalier owners know about the possibility that their Cavalier has this condition so that they can advocate for their dog and avoid potentially harmful incorrect diagnoses and treatment.  A manual recount of Walker's platelets revealed a much higher number and that he has large platelets but no resulting health problems.  If you have a Cavalier, read this handout: Cavalier Platelet Issues.  You also may want to print it out and keep it in your dog's file and/or give a copy to your veterinarian.

Walker was cleared for "normal" exercise by the veterinarian at his follow-up appointment on Wednesday morning.  He was very happy to go on long walks (though we cut it shorter than usual just to be safe) on Friday and today.