juliemac

I'm so sorry for your loss, and for the accident that preceded it. Your princess, though, has no pain now, and her back end works perfectly, and she got to be surrounded by your love for the past 11 years.

Try to enjoy your vacation! Happy tail can get worse quickly if the tail isn't wrapped or the wrapping doesn't protect the wound. The injury itself isn't particularly hard to heal, but banging a healing wound will not help it heal. And of course, ointments will make it more difficult for the bandaging to stick, so I'm betting the kennel has already figured out that they have to be careful to keep the ointment only on top of the injury and nowhere near the end of the vetwrapping. If the wound is bandaged & wrapped, a little bit of a stronger adhestive near the top edge of the taping will help the entire 'tube' of vetwrap to stay in place. (note that the stronger tape will also be difficult / painful to remove since it will probably pull hair out, so use as little as possible). If a vet visit is warranted (because of lingering/excessive bleeding), they'll probably use a syringe to give the wound more protection (and to ensure lots of banging in his crate). Be aware that I am not a vet nor do I play one on t.v., so other folks may have more current experience with the dreaded happy tail.

Olewo carrots (or beets) can also help fill her up ... Riley won't touch any vegetable that has a recognizable shape, so I also shop sales in the baby food aisle.

What a wonderful gift to Honor, his previous family, and your own. Thank you for sharing, and I'm so glad to hear that you've got a new pup in your home.

how lovely ... thank you for posting! You go, Tanzi!!

good luck with your boy. Deramax works well in my household, so I've only used Metacam successfully on my bitty angel Paige (who was in-between easy dosing for Deramax).

Fenway made a difference in all of our lives, and his passing will leave a hole that none of us will be able to fill. I'm so sorry for your loss.

definitely a Thanksgiving-worthy picture - congratulations to all of you!!

I'm hoping Tanzi is home ... how are you both doing?

lovely update ... Saturday can't get here fast enough!

while I don't mean to hijack ... Twiggy looked AWESOME at Greyhounds Only event this past weekend ... who needs that spare leg? I'm sorry to hear about Tanzi, and pray for a quick recovery!

mgodwin ... good luck with your pup's condition, and we look forward to seeing your progress on this thread! In case you didn't follow the responses above, greyhound blood levels don't always fall within standard "normal" ranges. Thyroid values are one of those special cases, so help your vet confirm that the values you're receiving are really indication of hypothyroidism (greysinitiative is a great source of reliable data ... see above message for the link since I'm not good at posting links). I might suggest that you print off the normal blood values for greyhounds and bring it with you (I also make sure a copy of those values are included in my vet's records to make sure they're available when needed). And sorry for the post if I was just missed Halloween in my Captain Obvious costume! Welcome to Greytalk!

welcome to Greytalk! Consider spending time over in the Cute & Funny threads rather than Health & Medical for some brighter stories about our lovely hounds. And if you'd like to participate in Secret Santa (maybe as an Elf since you don't yet have a hound to spoil?), start posting (you need 50 posts to send PM messages and/or join in Secret Santa). Looking forward to seeing your first pictures and hearing about your first days with your new greyhound once s/he arrives!!

I just saw your posting ... my heart hurts for your loss.

if possible, try bringing a friend with you to the vet ... someone who could drive your car while you sat in back with Lola. And yes, with my seniors, I try to reduce their trips by consolidating (logical) appointments where possible. i never stack up innoculations, though! My greyhound savvy (and least expensive) vet is an hour away, so I've been lucky to have good friends who live near the vet's office and we add a playdate before/after our visits (it reduces the overall stress and we get a 'reward' for the stress). good luck! and perhaps a gratuitous picture of Lola is warranted on this thread (hint hint)?

beautiful girl ... I'm sorry for the struggles you're both going through. Gentle hugs. ​Riley doesn't react well to Tramadol (well, it may help his pain, but I can't tell because of the panting and pacing, so I only use it immediately after an acute injury, until other pain meds kick in). In addition, at 13yo, your sweetheart may have some back end weakness, which would make it even hard to adjust to problems with a front leg. I think you already know that you can't make a bad decision here, but if there isn't any evidence of cancer, I would TRY to treat this like an injury and watch for signs of healing.

have you tried it? Is it difficult to hook on /remove for potty walks?

Great info about the Amicar access .. thank you! Just wanted to let you know that the Oily Vet (http://www.animaleo.info/) recommends Cistus oil to reduce bleeding risks and Copaiba as an anti-inflammatory oil. I use both oils before & after any procedures for my pups, along with Thieves oil (Young Living) on their feet, which I use prior to any vet visit to protect from picking up infection from other patients. ​

the oily products (esp. peanut butter) will be perfect to get the wrap off, but getting the oil off the fur to apply a new bandage will be nearly impossible, so use sparingly!

I'm hugging my own senior Riley right now, with tears in my eyes for your loss. Your Riley is pain free, and I hope your memories quickly fill the huge hole in your heart.

what a great update ... I'm so glad everything went well!!

glad to hear the progress ... baby steps will be worth every bit of patience that you have to apply.

Congratulations -- and greyt job!

Thank you for supporting Mercer to have a chance to live a happy, comfortable life, and also for finding Wayne and clearly finding a perfect fit for your family! We look forward to hearing more stories about you and Wayne!

big hugs for your pup ... and an adult beverage for you. Prayers all around since they can only help ... hoping for fast healing!!