AngelWhispers

Definitely looks like ascites(abdominal fluid) most likely from liver disease. I wouldn't wait...that much fluid build-up makes breathing difficult and if it contains any kind of bacteria or infection, it can cause more problems. The fluid needs to be drained sooner rather than later, and sent out for testing, and if nothing else just to make her comfortable. If your vet can't take her, then definitely get her to an e-vet. Blackberry is in my prayers.

Thanks everyone! Hatter is doing good and being a goof-ball today! I've been keeping a close eye on him when he pees....poor guy gets no privacy. Today his urine looks normal to me....it's not brown!! Hatter has been on Denosyl and Marin for about 10 days and if his urine color is any indication, then the supplements are helping. I'll be taking Hatter to Dr. P on Sat. The results of the tests will help me decided if I need to take him to OSU for further evaluation. I'll be switching to a new vet no matter what. I need one that'll work with me, and not get angry when I mention consults and second opinions.

Awww, Ember start eating. Please don't second guess yourself, you've done everything right so far. Keep up the good work!

I'm sending lots of prayers and good thoughts for Bobbi!

Please never leave a seizure dog out with other dogs when you're not there to supervise. Judy is right, the foster could be attacked and injured or killed during a seizure. Also lots and lots of exercise is helpful when dealing with SA. A tired dog is a good dog! It sounds like your foster was bored and found things to entertain himself. He doesn't know he's doing anything wrong and was just finding ways to fix his boredom. True SA usually manifests itself within seconds or minutes of being left alone.

I'm so sorry. Run with the Angels, Mama Rollo. Old age doesn't exist at the Rainbow Bridge.

I live out in a rural area on almost 2 acres, so there's no chance of Hatter being exposed to any chemicals. All my puppers stay in a large fenced yard and are never out unsupervised. I also have my house baby(dog) proofed. After years of being owned by greys and fostering for many years, I know those needle-noses can get into just about anything. Thank you for the suggestions. It's a reminder to all of us that we need to be mindful of the things our houndies can get into.

This is a greyt link and full of information I didn't know....Thank You! I'm leaning towards his liver is acting up because of the hypothyroidism. I don't think he has cancer, just something with the liver. I want to find the cause and fix it.

I'm so happy to hear Sierra is doing better. You, Go Girl!!!

There are snakes here, but the only kind I've seen in the yard are "corn snakes" and believe me I did my research when I saw it. It turns out that corn snakes are very sweet snakes and are sold in pet stores because they make good pets. I think that if he did get bit by something I would have known or found some type of wound.

Hatter finishes his 6th week of doxy today. The TBD results came back negative 5 weeks ago, but the vet says even though the tests were neg, he thinks it's a TBD. He was on cephalexin for 2 weeks back in Aug.-Sept. after the 1st visit. If you only knew what I went thru with this same vet, with Brooke. Big ego, little mind.

The vet has her taking 3 mg. Isn't that too much? How often is she taking the 3mg. Brooke was on DES for several years. My vet had her take it every day for 5 days to start, and then she took it once every 4 days and eventually she didn't need it at all. Brooke NEVER lost her appetite.

I'm at loss on what to do next. I'll give you some background and maybe some of you have some suggestions. The weekend of Aug 23rd Hatter's left eye was dialated, the next morning both eyes were dialated, then nothing the next day but I decided to make an appt. with the vet because I was sure he was having petite seizures during the night even though I wasn't witnessing them. He was also dripping urine in the mornings. The appt. was on Wed. the 27th and on the morning of the 26th, dialated eyes again. He always ate good but was very quiet and reserved, and of course going outside hurt his eyes. He seemed to take hours to get back to almost normal, and by evening he seemed to feel a little better, but he was still "off". Wed. Aug 27th he sees Dr. P and he runs bloodwork and draws urine....his urine is brown...the color of strong coffee brown!! I lost Wanda to cancer of the liver 2 years ago...that's the only time I've seen urine that color. His biliruben is elevated, and there's protein, blood and bacteria in the urine. He has a temp of 103 and all of a sudden his eyes dialate...no shaking to indicate a seizure, just sudden eye dialation. Dr. P did ultra-sounds and x-rays of his liver, kidneys, spleen and abdomin...he says he sees nothing there to cause Hatter's symptoms and there are no signs of tumors. He gives him an antibiotic for a UTI and he adjusts his thyroid meds, and wants him back in 2 weeks. So after I got back from my trip to WA I take him back and the bacterial infection is gone, but the urine is still dark brown and he still has elevated biliruben and protein. I asked Dr. P to test him for TBD's because I got Lyme's disease right after we moved to TN and thought maybe Hatter got it also. We started him on doxy at my insistance while we waited for the tests....they all came back negative. I've been taking Hatter into Memphis every week for 2 months now for a urine draw and blood tests, and nothing has changed. He's been on doxy for 6 weeks and nothing had changed when I had him tested last Tues. I've asked Dr. P about Hatter's liver and he argues with me about it. He says he didn't see any tumors on the liver or spleen and the kidneys look good, so it's probably not cancer. My mommy radar says there's definitely something wrong with his liver. Hatter hasn't had any more seizures since his thyroid med adjustment, but now he's lost 4 lbs in one week. This week I started Hatter on Marin and Denosyl for liver support...but I'm at a loss right now. I'm probably being paranoid because of what I just went thru with Brooke. Hatter is being his goofy self and doesn't seem to feel bad. He's eating good and all systems seem to be in working order. I've spent thousands the last 2 months on Hatter, and I still don't have a diagnosis. I just don't know what to do anymore. Anyone else experience anything like this. Hatter is 8 years old, had a very short racing career in WI, and has been on lose dose thyroid meds since he was 2 1/2. I've just about reached my melt down point. Thanks

I'm so sorry for your loss. She sure left a legacy that will live on. Run with the Angels little girl.

What a sweet "fuzzy face". I'm so sorry for your loss.

Awww Linus, you're beautiful! I'm so sorry Robin.

Lucy, I'm sending lots of prayers for you and Riley. Waiting for test results is so nerve wracking!

It's so hard to get old! Hugs to you and sweet Mama Rollo.

Robin, Polli looks so good...so do you. Get some rest ladies!

Thank you everyone for all your support, thoughts, prayers and for sharing the journey of Brooke's last 18 days. It means more than I can put into words. I know the vet misdiagnosed Boogers from the beginning and by doing that I doubted what SHE was telling me, but his mistake gave me 18 days to love her, hold her and spoil her, and I am so grateful for those days. I knew when we got up Monday morning that it was our last morning so we took a short walk in the yard and watched the sky turn shades of purple and pink as the sun started to come up. I talked to her the whole 90 minute drive to the office, sang what words I could remember of "The Dance" and climbed into the back of the van in the vet parking lot to love on her some more. When I handed her over to the vet assistant, I kissed her on her nose and told her for the millionth time how much I loved her and whispered in her ear to find her mother, Zack and Soju." I knew in my heart it would be the last time I would see her. The vet came out to talk to me and I told him I still thought she had cancer, he disagreed again and I told him "if you get in there and find there is cancer...please don't wake her up." He called me at 12:30pm and said "there's a tumor in the broken leg, and I xrayed the other leg and the left leg xray looks mottled, and you should let her go." I said, "I know, that's why I told you to not wake her up." Brooke gave me a journey I will never forget. She opened me up to the world of greyhounds and I am so glad that I didn't miss "The Dance". Looking back on the memory of The dance we shared beneath the stars above For a moment all the world was right How could I have known you'd ever say goodbye And now I'm glad I didn't know The way it all would end the way it all would go Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance Brooke adopted me Aug. 31, 2002 and our journey began. It was full of bumps and twists, and tears and laughter. You see Brooke wanted to be an only child....boy, did she pick the wrong family! Brooke's first weeks with me were trying to say the least. Cat friendly - NOT!! Small dog friendly - NOT!! She stalked the cats with a focus not to be undone by squirt guns, the voice of DOG, or commands. She attacked little 5lb Soju with her muzzle on and sent him to the vet with a nasty head wound. She had severe separation anxiety, severe crate anxiety, and severe thunderphobia. Brooke's separation anxiety destroyed the brand new carpeting because she would lose control of her bowels and bladder. I couldn't walk out the door for 2 minutes without returning to a mess. Brooke made me feel like a prisoner in my own home! After two very unhappy weeks for both of us I called the track adoption rep crying and begging her to please take Brooke back...it just wasn't working! The cats were miserable, little Soju was miserable, and Brooke and I were miserable! They wouldn't take her back and I was stuck!! I cried for two solid hours after that phone call, then I counted to 10, prayed for strength and wisdom, and came up with a plan I hoped wouldn't kill both of us. I bought a steam cleaner, a couple baby gates and the training began!! It took a couple weeks and she learned to leave the cats and the little dog alone, and they eventually became best friends. Brooke was a kisser and she would lick the top of Soju and Wildman's heads until they were soaked. I would say, "Brooke is taste tasting to see if they're done yet." Brooke was very smart by greyhound standards. I broke my ankle in Oct. 2002 and to keep us from getting bored I decided to try clicker training with her. So with my foot propped up and armed with a package of hot dogs the training began. I put a quilt down in the middle of the family room and she learned: "go to your spot", "sit", "down", "wave hi", and "take a bow". Her daddy was out of town that day and when he returned the next evening, Brooke had her performance practiced and ready for him. She was invited to company picnics in the park twice a year to keep the kids entertained. The kids loved her and she even added "let's dance" to her performance....and she loved to kiss kids faces until they were laughing and begging her to stop. Brooke had a short fuse and every one of her house mates has a scar as a reminder. No growl, no snap - just full assault that often ended in a trip to the vet for the offender. They all learned to avoid the wraith of Brooke. I was fostering greys before Brooke adopted me, and because she showed herself to be dog aggressive I started taking in spooks and broken leg dogs. A whole new world opened up for me when I started fostering spooks and experienced the joy of watching them come out of their shell, and the broken leg dogs were so rewarding. I loved Brooke in spite of herself and started searching for a litter-mate, in stead I found Brooke's mama and Wanda joined her daughter in Dec. of 2002. In 2007 Brooke's brother, Blake, joined us and it must be genetic because Wanda and Blake also had bad reputations. To say that Brooke was a problem child is an understatement, but she was my first love and we both mellowed with age. I knew Brooke was sent to me to teach me and help me grow as a person. She taught me patience...lots and lots of patience! She taught me to never give up even when the obstacle seemed insurmountable. She taught me that dancing to loud music during a thunderstorm at 2am is a joy. Brooke's name evolved to Boogers about 4 years ago. She loved to run just for the pure joy of running. I would tell her "boogity-boogity-boogity" and she was off like a rocket! She would run and run and come back to me smiling and chattering and then she'd be off running again. So I started saying "boogity-boogity Boogers." Boogers did become the "perfect greyhound" as she aged and the light beginnings of a perfect heart started appearing on her face. I loved that heart shaped face and loved kissing it! In June "06 when Mama Wanda left for the Rainbow Bridge she sent me a sign of a single Christmas cactus bloom. There was 1 single bloom that was out of season for the little plant and I knew it was from Wanda, they don't bloom in June and it never has since then. This morning on Wanda's plant the girls sent me a sign...there are 2 beautiful flowers side by side and I know Boogers and Mama Wanda are together again. Boogers run and run on your new healthy legs! Be nice and no grumps from you, please. I love you and miss you, baby girl.

That is amazing. She looks so good!! I'll say it again...Ember and Polli give me hope for Brooke.

Anne, you give me hope. Brooke is Wanda's (Rowanda)baby and the first grey I adopted.

Brooke's vet said that if I gave Brooke hydrotherapy before her sutures were out, then I was to" take petroleum jelly(vaseline) and really glob it over the sutures. It'll keep the moisture out and then it can be wiped off.

Heather, I so sorry. Know that you gave Elvis everything he needed and a whole lot more than he ever wanted or expected. Run with the angels sweet boy.

I'm going to "tell" the doctor to send her leg out for pathology testing. I need to know if there's a reason for all of this.