Back to normal

Well, only a few days after Rusty joined the Prozac nation, I quickly had to exile him from it.

During his first day on Prozac, Rusty was absent from his life. That's the best way I can describe the doped out mode in which he operated (or not, since he spent the day conked out, sleeping). That was his first foray into Prozac, which is touted as a miracle cure for anxious and depressed dogs.

The few times he awoke, no amount of cajoling him would convince him to come outside to pee (something very odd since outside is his very favorite place to be, and peeing his most favored endeavor). He even started looking at me as if wondering who I was!

I called his veterinarian and she reduced the dose and while he was back in the land of the awake, he started acting quite oddly. Along with refusing to go outside, he lost all his normally ravenous appetite. That became painfully obvious not only when he refused his breakfast every morning but also when he showed absolutely no interest in any of his varied vegetarian treats, the ones he normally would eat by the pound daily, if we let him.

Second, he started shaking, as if terrified, anytime we approached him, and flinching whenever we touched him. Third, he stopped doing his pupu during normal times, especially during our morning and evening walks. And fourth, he looked dazed and unsure and even more anxious than before we tried the medication.

Thus, I took him off the pills yesterday and today he's back to his usual, anxious-but-awake, ornery-but-present-in-his-life, mistrustful-but-not-terrified dog. He's eating normally, craving his treats, and eager to go outside at any and every opportunity.

I know people sometimes don't react well to certain medications for anxiety and/or depression and that they have to try and try again until they find something that works. But with Rusty, this was it. We tried, it failed, and now, for the remainder of his time on this Earth, he gets to be what he is: an anxious dog.

Now, it's back to normal, which isn't normal, but it's way better than the alternative, it turns out.