Our Bed Feels Empty

A week ago Homer slipped when he jumped off the bed.  Our bed is a rather high affair and his paws have little traction on the wood floor in the bedroom.  Ever since the poor guy has been gimpy, gimpier than he usually is, that is.  He doesn't wince when you touch him but you can tell he's sore.  I suspect he pulled or sprained something during his slip up ... maybe his back.

He takes a while to stand up, he doesn't play with his ball as much, and, to top it off, he will not jump up on the bed.  For a few nights I lifted him up onto the bed but, frankly, it's not easy to lift an 85lb dog and after a few days of this my back was starting to ache and I was getting a little gimpy myself.

Yesterday I went and bought him a big pillow to sleep on.  We put it on the floor near the bed where he could see me.  He was a little hesitant.  He looked at me with a "why aren't you picking me up" look on his face.  You can tell he want to be close to us on our bed.  He's been sleeping on our bed for 10 - 11 years.  He eventually acquiesced and slept the rest of the night on the pillow.

If this continues then it's off to the veterinarian next week.  I did see him stretch his back yesterday, something he hadn't done for several days.  I hope this is a sign he's getting better.  Today he's still gimpy as ever though.

Homer, in better days.