Oh my lord. It's been a rough couple of days. @__@

Nearly 48 hours ago, I came downstairs to let my dog outside. Firstly, I noticed that she wasn't on her favorite love seat... I found her in her bed, and she looked at me with a tilted head. When she got out of her bed and walked to me, she was off balance and veering to a specific side; her eyes were slightly flicking in their sockets.

For those who don't know me personally, let me tell you this: my dog has been my best friend and family member since I was 8 years old, so, for 14 years now. Needless to say, I panicked. About an hour later, we were driving to the emergency clinic, since all normal vet clinics were closed for the day.

The emergency vet clinic didn't do squat for me. Duchess (my dog) was acting complete normally aside from her balance and headtilt, but the vet wasn't giving me any answers, and advised that I leave her at the clinic for 72 hours so they could hook her up to some fluids and start treating her for motion sickness, although she wasn't exhibiting any signs of motion sickness. Eventually, I told the vet that I didn't want to do that, because it didn't seem right. I told her I would take Duchess to my normal (and beloved) vet clinic in the morning and see what they had to say.

Last night was probably one of the worst nights of my life. Luckily, I had several of my wonderful friends keeping me company and cheering me up yesterday, but otherwise, I was a mess. I can't believe how much I cried. I stayed up until 8am to call my vet as soon as they opened, and they made me an appointment for 10am, which I also stayed up for.

We (my boyfriend and I) took Duchess to the clinic early, but they were eager to see her and make sure she was alright... They did an exam, and told me that Duchess had most likely suffered a stroke, (which is basically what I had already guessed,) but told me that in the event that it WAS a stroke, Duchess would be making a full recovery within a week, and go back to normal. There is a slight chance that it's a brain tumor, but they told me not to worry too much about it, considering my dog is still acting like her old self, is eating a drinking, and doesn't seem confused or lethargic in any way. But all signs point to it being a canine stroke, which means within the week, she'll recover completely.

So, I really feel like I'm floating on air right now. I'm watching her carefully, of course, but for the most part, I couldn't be happier.
I'm just glad I can rest easy a little bit. ^__^