dog issue

there are 3 dogs in the house: a French bulldog, an English bulldog and a small mutt that looks very much like Rags in Spin City. the first day we were there, they were ever so excited about having new people in the house. luckily, they calmed down after that. but on the 24th, the English bulldog started throwing up. apparently, it got worse so my aunt and L. took her to the animal ER, where she was finally kept for a couple of days. she came home on the 26th, ready for Xmas (that we had moved because of my sister getting in so late). she seemed fine, but had to have a special diet. no problems there. but the next day, while we were watching a movie, she was playing around with her new toy when i noticed she was dragging one of her hind legs. we stopped the movie and called L., who was in another room. we decided to wait an hour and see how the situation evolved, but we ended up going back to the ER. all of us thought it was probably related to whatever she'd had a few days earlier - after all, they hadn't been able to determine the cause of the vomiting. they weren't able to tell us what was wrong then either, but said she should see a neurologist - yes, there are neurologists for dogs, too. so while we were in the Everglades, L. had to drive up to Sarasota to see this woman, who finally explained that the dog had had a stroke, and that she may or may not regain control of her leg in 2 weeks to 6 months. but if she didn't, she'd have to be amputated. i feel so sorry for L. she's had a rough month, what with her father being hospitalised, her breaking up with her boyfriend and the dog getting sick. she will now have to rethink her life in the coming months and cancel her trip to Asia.