Miracles DO happen!
Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for all your thoughts and prayers.
Cookie visited the neurologist on Tuesday. He was very nice, and shared with me that he grew up with Boxers (never less than 3 at a time!), his parents grew up with Boxers, and his GRANDPARENTS grew up with Boxers! I knew she was in good hands. Before I left her with him, he told me he suspected either a tumor in her brainstem, or one under her tongue somewhere. She was anesthetized for a thorough oral exam and CT scan. After the CT scan, the doctor called me and said, "Sometimes I enjoy being wrong. This is one of those times."
On Cookie's CT, they found no tumors anywhere between her nose and her shoulders, no evidence of stroke, and no inner ear disease. What they DID find was extensive scarring of her temporomandibular joints that was restricting her jaw movement enough that they had a hard time getting her endotracheal tube in. So, while she was still anesthetized, they worked her mouth open and closed until the scar tissue broke down and they could get it all the way open. At this point the neurologist is calling her facial nerve paralysis idiopathic, which can occasionally happen in old dogs.
So, my miracle dog does it again, with the help of LOTS of thoughts and prayers.