Nala is very thankful for all the well wishes (Nala can’t read so I simply give her a dog biscuit every time someone posts a get well wish, she seems thankful).

I took Nala to the Vet again Tuesday morning (our normal vet, not the emergency vet) and the doctor gave me a little more information.

Her condition isn’t uncommon, especially in older dogs.  We should expect her to recover almost entirely.  Nala has essentially lost the user of her inner ear for balance (temporarily or permanently wasn’t clear).  Animals (dogs and humans alike) use multiple inputs to establish balance: inner ear, visual queues and muscle position.  Take away one of the inputs and things will be wonky at first, but the animal will learn to cope.

It will be a few days before she’s able to get around well on her own (she’s already managing pretty well, but does tend to go bump in the night).  The doctor said to expect her to be unsteady for a few weeks or longer… especially since Nala is shy one leg.  Many dogs never get back to 100 percent and will have some minor symptoms.  The most common vestigial symptoms being a tendency to fall down when shaking dry and perpetual head tilt (which is actually kind of cute).

For now we’re continuing to baby her, more for our own sake than hers.