u/FL_pharmer

A maple blew down onto a couple of small pines and another maple. Today I cleaned it up, bucked, split, and stacked. Not a bad start.

I posted an update a bit ago, but evidently not here somehow.

Grimm was diagnosed with active Lyme disease. He was having pretty bad Lyme arthritis which was preventing him from sitting or lying down. He had been diagnosed with Lyme many months ago, but our vet advised us to wait to treat until he developed symptoms. Every time we had to take him to the vet I asked if any of his issues could be Lyme related, and every time I was assured it wasn’t. I can’t imagine how long he has been suffering. I feel like I failed him by not demanding further testing.

Anyway, when we finally got the diagnosis we started Grimm on a month of doxycycline. He showed great improvement after just a few days of treatment. Now, after a couple of weeks he seems to be back to his old self most of the time. He still sleeps more than he used to, and doesn’t like to lie on the hard floor as long, but I’m optimistic he will make a full recovery. Lesson learned. Advocate for your pets. Vets are not always right.

Grimm has always been special, but this latest challenge has got us at our wits end. A few days ago Grimm decided he doesn’t sit or lie down. At first we thought he was injured. Three trips to the vet later and he’s got a clean bill of health, full and pain free range of motion in all his joints, and no physical reason for not sitting. And I don’t just mean ignoring our sit and lie down commands, but even when he’s tired or wants to chew his bone he will not go down.

The result has been four days of Grimm standing and pacing until he gets too exhausted to hold his head up. He’ll find any flat raised area to rest his face on. He leans his butt against everything to try and take the weight off. At first we were holding him and lying him down on the floor, but he’s 130lbs and fights it. Now we just wait for him to get so tired he will lean on the couch, fall asleep standing up, then slowly slide down to the floor. Once he’s down he sleeps well until we move around or try to do anything. As soon as he wakes up he stands up and it all starts again.

Has anyone had an experience like this before? We’ve tried multiple different meds the vet suggested; meloxicam, gabapentin, even some sedative I can’t remember the name of. Nothing seems to help. He’s miserable, and we’re sleep deprived and worried for him.

Grimm has graduated from the crate and has run of the house at night. He doesn’t do the stairs, but he makes sure nobody gets down without greeting him in the morning!

Three walks, peanut butter on breakfast and dinner, birthday cookie, and his favorite treat from the garden. It was a rough day!

I take Grimm out for a run around the yard first thing every morning. A few minutes into our outside time he stops, looks at the house, and runs to the door. As soon as I let him inside he takes up his post at the foot of the stairs waiting for my wife. It’s like he’s happy to be inside until he remembers someone is missing.

He discovered kale in our garden. He doesn’t eat it, just likes to crunch it. He’s going away for a week or so of training tomorrow. I’m going to miss him.

He’s not sure he likes it.

Dropped these red maples in February 2025. Drug them out to buck and split today.

Bucking with a big saw is no joke, but it sure is fun!