Political & Elections

Ohhhhhhh thanks for that post - you make me feel *normal*!! For weeks I looked for her in the front window - just waking in the house made me sad.
My kids are in and out all the time. My 22 year old came home the end of May, opened the door and stepped out of the way (for Katie to run out) - it took a minute for it to sink in.

Sadly, my cat has gotten quite sick. Not sure how much longer he will last - he is over 16 years. We got him from the shelter as a stray and he "adopted" us and our whole street. The neighbors call him the King of the neighborhood! He has a thyroid tumor and serious arthritis in his back. He is on prednisone all the time now. He's a big guy and used to weigh about 13-14 lbs and now he is down to 9 lbs.

Artemis - I am rather late but I want to offer you my deepest condolences. I am so sorry for your loss.
I guess it's been a few weeks and I suspect you are still reeling. This takes time - beside losing a family member your whole daily routine has changed. I am finally to the point where I can talk about Katie without crying - grief takes a while but acceptance will come. Many {{{{{ hugs}}}}} to you and your family.

I was thnking the other day - I got my pets when my kids were small. I am an empty nester - my dog has died and my cat is over 16. This timing was all wrong.

so sorry for your loss. 

This is a very hard post to make, and I've been putting it off since last week, but we had to have our dear sweet dog put to sleep last Wednesday. What a horrible day it was. He woke up cheerfully and raring to go, as usual when he's well. He bounced around in the yard and bounced into the house. When he was especially chipper, he bounced sort of like a rabbit and wore a smile on his face. He ran to his food dish, but his feet gave out from under him. At first I thought he had just lost his balance for a second or slid on the hardwood floor, but that wasn't it. He couldn't stand on his own, and when he laid down, he wound himself up into a position we've never seen before. It was almost a C like dogs like to lay, but he looked very tense. It's really hard to describe. We stayed with him all day, and he got worse rather than better. We debated waiting him out a day, but with his age, 17 1/2, and his off and on breathing issues, and the fact that these episodes were coming closer together, with this one being the worse, we tearfully decided we had to let him go. My older son couldn't be with us because it was mid week, and he was on a business trip (he lives about two hours away), but my husband, younger son (19) and I all were with him in the end. We'll get his ashes this week, and we're going to spread them in the mountains where we have our cabin. He loved it there. He was such an inside dog. Even when he was a puppy, the people who sold him to us warned us that he was the only puppy in the litter who never wanted to stay outside, but when we were at the cabin, he'd have a blast running around sniffing all the strange scents. Thankfully, we took him there the weekend before he fell ill. Our vet's best guess is that he had a brain tumor that was growing and causing these ongoing issues. He was in every way one of our family, and we'll always miss him.

Pud hid under the bed. The vet was right.

There ought to be a way...

One could use a small hyperbaric chamber but that gets into some real money.

 

 

 

Glad to hear good news about your pooch!

I am going to consider the doggy oxygen thing at lenght.

Here Pud! Let's try on the nice mask.

Note: Pud is our terripoo. He is game for anything if he gets a treat before and after.

 

 

 

 

 

justamom, that's the perfect way to describe where we're at right now...the gray area. After having his seizure like episode yesterday, he's been 100% back to normal today. Eating voraciously, acting chipper, etc. I can understand how the stress of what you were going through might have led to feeling like you had a stomach bug. We all love him, but I've been a stay at home mom all the years my boys were growing up, and now we're empty nesters, so he's been my constant companion since he was a puppy. I really can't imagine not having him. I have sort of thought or hoped he'd give us a sign to let us know he was ready to go. It's comforting to know your little sweetie gave that to you.

That's a good question BigG. He never mentioned that there's one, but I'll ask.

We're trying to decide what's best to do for our sweet dog who is 17 1/2. The problem is when he's well, which is 90% of the time, he's really well, and you would never guess his age. He's very agile and alert for a dog his age. We help him down our steps, but he can bound right back up them. He's been on liver and thyroid meds for the last few years, and a daily pain pill. He has experienced two rather scary problems though. His trachea contracts which causes him to not be able to breath properly, which causes panic, which causes the breathing to deteriorate even more. These episodes of heavy panting and pacing can go on from ten mins to an hour. However, they seem to come in a cycle of happening for a few days, then it disappears for several weeks. He has had three strokes/seizures/or canine vestibular syndrome which mimics stroke or seizure. He just had one this morning. But after sleeping, he fully recovers. To 100% pinpoint the cause, we'd have to have several tests, and that would unnecessarily stress him because at his age, he's past the point of treatment. We've had xrays and blood work to rule out anything that might be easily treatable by medication. His heart is strong, though slightly enlarged, his lungs are amazingly clear for his age, his thyroid meds are keeping that problem under control, and his liver levels are only slightly elevated.

My husband and I (and our vet) have discussed having him put to sleep, but, unless we ran him in when he's in the middle of an attack, we'd be taking in a happy, healthy dog, and having him put down. My hope has been he'd pass in his sleep, but I honestly don't see that happening anytime soon because other than those horrible episodes, his overall health is good. On the other hand, I feel very guilty, helpless, and selfish when I see him having a breathing attack, and especially the seizure-like episodes, although, thankfully, those are extremely rare.

I know nobody can tell us what we should do. I don't want to let him suffer do to our inability to let him go, but on the other hand, it's hard to think about having him put to sleep when we see him hop through the yard like a young dog. But then again, we don't want to wait until his quality of life is gone before making that hard decision.

I had such a hard time reading your posts justamom, because I feel so much like we're walking in your shoes just now.

-- Edited by Artemis on Thursday 7th of April 2011 08:48:34 AM

You are all so sweet. It's been a rough three weeks. Everytime I think of her I *cry*. This has been a very emotional experience for me - each time I come home or leave again, it's unsettling. I really thought I would have a few more years with her. Sometimes in the evening, I get the thought that I should go take her for a walk.
I have been through a lot over the past several years - divorce, youngest kids left home, my mother died. I am kind of ashamed to admit that this has hit me harder than any of those events. i have been in a *funk* - not depressed but really really sad. I haven't looked at this forum or cc for the better part of a month - time to get my groove back.

I want to get a puppy, but not yet. I still miss my Katie. She and I had a good connection and puppies are a lot of work. I work all day and I can't see getting a puppy right now. Plus, I need to recover from the $1200 in vet bills. She is home now for good and sitting on a shelf. My next project is to get a nice little box or urn.

PS - as much as I compained about the vet in my first post - I take it all back. He and his partner were truly wonderful through all of this.
**HUGS** to all of you for your kind understanding.

I'm so sorry, Justamom. ... I lost my beloved Corgi in September, after 15 wonderful years together. Still miss her.  :(

I'm so sorry for your loss, justamom. I know you loved her very much.

I'm so sorry for your loss. You did the very best for her.

She's with my babies at the Rainbow Bridge. They're all waiting for us and happily chasing squirrels and eating doggie biscuits.

Hugs, dear. I hope you take comfort in the fact that she's still with you :).

So sorry for losing your doggy. :sad:

I am very sorry too. I hope the vet is wrong, because they certainly are sometimes. I hope she stays as happy and well as is possible, for as long as she can.

I'm so, so sorry.  What sad news.  But she's surrounded by people who love her, and it doesn't sound like she's in terrible pain, and that has to count for something.

My best to you.

How is our adorable dog doing now?

It's been a roller coaster - for sure.

I picked her up on Tuesday and paid the ($838.00) bill. She was happy to be home. She came home with a liver medication - Denosyl and two antibiotics. Yesterday am I gave her the Denosyl (on an empty stomach) and she threw up. I fed her and she would not eat. I went home at lunch and she had vomited again. I was despondent. Cried all day at work. ugh.
I went home last night and she had not thrown up - I fed her a little food and she ate and kept it down. I fed her small amounts all evening and she did well with it. She ate this am and again when I went home for lunch. I *think* we have turned a corner.

The leptospirosis test came back negative. So, either she has a hepatitis or a mass on her liver. I have decided no more tests - we are treating her symptoms. Since there is no way I am putting her through a biopsy or other surgery - there is no point in an ultrasound.
As long as she is doing ok and not uncomfortable I am good with that. She is weak but not in pain. This is a wait and see.

The vets have been great. I have been calling and they are very accessible and really supportive.

Hindsight is 20-20.

Sometimes one just has to depend on the judgement of professionals.

Glad the pooch is feeling better.

What could be the vector for the disease? Does the vet have any thoughts?

Wolves will eat mice and our dogs eat squirrels and chipmunks (watch out Alvin!) so I suspose even a very civilized dog might enjoy the occasional rodent de jour...

Sending good wishes your way. Doxycycline can cause or exascerbate liver problems. Since your dog is older, did the vet do blood work before giving it?

I'm sorry, too, justamom. ... I lost my beloved Daisy to kidney failure this past September. She's still heavy on my mind and heart; there are still moments when I'm convinced I hear her toenails clacking across the floor in the next room.  ... I hope your sweetie pulls through!

-- Edited by Hindoo on Saturday 19th of February 2011 01:09:44 PM

It's bad. She her liver is failing. She either has hepatitis or is in complete liver failure.
She just kept getting worse and worse. I took her back last night, she could not keep any food down . She did a blood panel and gave her sub-cutaneous fluids. She just looked awful last night, so sad. I was afraid when I woke up this morning she would be dead.

So, the vet called and said her liver numbers were through the roof. Worst she has ever seen. I took her and they hospitalized her to pump her full of IV fluids and antibiotics and tested her for leptospirosis. She took an x-ray and did not see any big mass or tumor.
She will call me Monday with some answers. I am trying to get ambition up to go to the gym. ugh. I just want to lay on the couch all day.

Update....

Her weight went from 33.9 to 31.5 in 6 days. The Dr seems to think the doxycycline ripped up her gut, so she is done with that. He told me to get Pepcid AC and give her 1/2 a pill each day. I am keeping her on small amounts of rice and ground beef and am going to watch her until Friday. She is drinking and peeing well.
If she is still throwing up on Friday, I call and we go back for blood work.
If she gets better he is going to put her on amoxicillin for a month.

She is actually pretty good - not rambuncious but not totally lethargic either. I am keeping my fingers crossed and thinking positively!!