ShantisMom

I am so sorry!!! When I saw his name my heart sank. What a wonderful tribute! May the memories make you smile.

She is still the Queen. Her reign continues. May you smile more on her memories these days.

I am so sorry Sheila. You have been such a help with all the VF information you have shared with me. Godspeed Cosmo.

Shantis on 50mg a day. She was up to 100mg 3x a day for a while. She is 60lbs. Her personality is so much better on a low dose. As her VF meds help I was able to back down. Weather changes make her worse and I bump her up a bit.

Sending our prayers.

We use a big bucket. All the dogs use to put there feet in the regular water bowl. Asti flipped and played in it. With the big bucket I have not had any problems.

I agree with Jenn. I suspect the old owner might have known something was not right. I am sorry for all the frustration of the unknown. I wish it was easier.

I would make sure he gets pain meds if not already too. Tramadol is $4 at Walmart. I would send them to Dr. Couto. Just for piece of mind if nothing else. Keep in mind Lucy, you don't know how much exercise he was getting and what he was allowed to do. Stairs, beds, etc. Legs may be getting way more than he has seen in years! Also, I would not let him jump in and out of the car if you can help it. Kona use to and she tore her knee ligament. Most of the nasty stuff that was suspected is ruled out. Take a sigh of relief with that. Believe me, I know how hard not having a answer is! I will take you out for cocktails soon. Hopefully by then we will have more information because I hate the waiting too!!!

Good news is that a lot of the bad stuff is ruled out. Have you looked on the racing site (rosenet?) to see if anything shows up on that? Shanti fell in one race and had "muzzle off, much trouble" in another. That may enlighten to if there is a old race injury. I can't remember if he raced at all. Shanti pedigree site (can't remember the name of that one right now) shows no races, and the rosenet turned up 5. Might be worth a check. This is all the stuff I did when Shanti was a mystery.

Love the pictures! Puzzle and Legs snuggled in bed is awesome!

Keeping my fingers crossed. Any labs back on TBD or VF? VF is very painful too. Call me if you want to talk. Would his blood work be normal with osteo?

Just checking in to see if you got any news yet.

Sorry to hear about James Deanna. Is sucks when they get old and their bodies are not working nicely anymore. Kona's back legs gave out. We gained some time on Deramaxx. We started Tramadol on her last day with us. It was too little, too late. I can tell you she was in a lot of pain! And she was not one who liked help! Bad combo. I would put restrictions on his walking around. They tire out faster and not all are willing to give into that. Shorter spurts, maybe a few extra times. Also make sure his nails are short. They need all the grip they can get.

Asti and Nala take it here. Both had 50mg 2x a day. I was able to wean Asti down then off. Hers was spay incontinence. Someone here mentioned they were able to do that after a little bit on it. Asti does not appear to have issues now. Nala I tried to wean down and we started having accidents. She is back to full dose. On Asti I took her from 50mg 2x a day down to 25mg 2x a day. After a week of no problems I took her down to 25mg a day. Then we went to every other day and then off. I tried milk, apparently Asti is lactose intolerant.

Crud, you get results faster than I do! As much as I don't wish VF on anyone, it does beat the alternatives. Lots of positive thoughts coming your way. Shanti is keeping her paws crossed for her cousin too.

Valley fever is a fungal infection that you get by inhaling a spore. Not sure of the spelling but it is coccidio myosis. Very common in the dirt of Arizona. Mexico and some parts of Southern California are hot beds for it too. It is a royal pain to deal with, but treatable. Most dogs that get it battle it for life.

He is related to Shanti, she has VF. Guessing they were in the same place at some point. She is from Arizona too. He could have inhaled the spore too. If it is VF you will likely see evidence of it on the xrays. It tends to attack joints. It looks just like cancer on xrays though so don't panic if you see that right away. Shantis xrays were ugly! Her joint was bad, but her chest looked awful! All VF.I would run the bloodwork. Not sure how expensive it will be in Hawaii. As I think about it, Shantis back end is off and has been. I do chalk that up to VF. Lucy if it turns out to be VF, let me know. I have tons of info on it. I can bring you some meds shortly too and save the Hawaii shipping.

Does he always walk that crooked? On the video his left rear is crossing over under his body. Something is not right in the back legs. It does look like there might be pain or a strange sensation. Let us know what the vet says.

I am so sorry Michelle. When I saw her locked thread, my heart sank! Godspeed Holly. May she find Bailey and watch over you.

When Shanti had staph, she had blisters, crustys and her fur fell off. She actually shed off all the fur and a lot of skin on her tail. I learned the hard way that it was VERY painful! They did confirm it with a biopsy. Hope they get you answers soon!

My guess is staph too. Lucy got me using that shampoo on Shanti and it cleared up. For us we think the high predisone and imuran knocked her system down so far she got it. The Chlorhexiderm will make your pup so soft!!!

Shanti has raised feeders. I am now looking for a stand for Nala. She is 12 and has a hard time reaching down to eat. It was actually sad to see her so splayed out trying to get her food. Asti still eats from the bowl on the floor. I use plant stands. I have not been able to find another yet.

Shanti got her dew claw stuck in her collar's D ring going out the dog door. You could have heard her scream from 3 states away! She now wears a Chinook break away collar. I ordered it and had it in 2 days. I have boomerang tag on it so nothing is loose or dangles. Scary! Glad your husband was able to free your baby!!!

I think we have supported the new wing at our vet. The treatment is 2 injections 2 weeks apart. Imizol is the drug IIRC. All the meds are blending in my head these days. Shanti had it and was treated. It costs $60 each round as she had to have the other shot with it, can't think of that one either but starts with a "A". Helpful aren't I?!?!?

:grouphug