JerseyGirlInOz
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Hailey Jane
September 28, 2004 – January 18, 2013
Never just an ordinary girl…
(Painting by Xan Blackburn)
I have always been a mad-keen animal tragic, but when my children were babies, I was not keen on having a pet. We had recently moved to Australia from the US, and the demands of parenting young children while adjusting to living in a new country were challenging enough---I just couldn’t get on board with the idea of having another living being in my house that eats and poops.
That all changed one day in March of 2006 when DS was 4 and DD was 6. DH and I took the kids to the Red Hill Agricultural Show, and GAP Victoria was doing a Meet & Greet with several gorgeous greyhounds. I found myself going back several times that day and getting completely sucked in. By the end of the day I knew that it was time. I realized that DS was at the age where he no longer thought I walked on water, and I needed something in my house that loved me unconditionally.
I fully intended to find an older, more settled greyhound---and was partial to brindles---so I contacted Greyhound Safety Net (GSN) about a pretty fawn brindle they had on their website. After giving the Adoption Coordinator my details, she informed me that she had another greyhound available that she felt would be better suited to my family. She emailed me a photo of Hailey, a sleek young black girl staring lovingly up at her handler, and I was instantly smitten.
I agreed to bring my family to meet with her foster carers and see her in person. Instead of the calm, elegant, settled older greyhound I had in mind, we were greeted by an explosion of 19-month-old puppy enthusiasm and zoomies that were so filled with reckless abandon that she rearranged an entire room of furniture in a matter of seconds. But it was too late. Her toothy grin and irrepressible exuberance won us over instantly. We were in love, and there was no turning back.
We did have one significant obstacle: DD was terrified of dogs. She had been bitten on two separate occasions as a toddler and had become almost phobic. DH was quite concerned about traumatizing her further by bringing such a large dog into our home. We needn’t have worried however: within 24 hours of bringing Hailey home, my daughter’s fears had disappeared and the 2 of them became the best of buddies.
The other adjustment I quickly found we had to make was that we would have to teach Hailey that 4-year-old DS was in fact a human, not her littermate. There were several occasions where I had to “rescue” DS from atop a boulder in the back yard, while Hailey whirled wildly, play-bowing, nipping and barking at him in a bid to keep the game going. DS and Hailey have essentially “grown up” together, and shared what could only be described as relationship of siblings. They absolutely adored each other.
And don’t even get me started on her relationship with DH. Some of you may remember my “I Think DH is Cheating On Me” thread, featuring this damning piece of evidence:
Hailey looked at DH like she was looking into the sun: an equal mix of complete adulation and sheer terror, like she was afraid she was not worthy to be in his presence. She idolized him, and the feeling was completely mutual.
Hailey greeted everyone like she was running for office, and teaching her to greet people at the door without torpedoing them with her nose or flattening them with a zoomie was an ongoing battle. Even so, there were certain people she just couldn’t contain herself around, like the GSN’s Adoption Coordinator. Once I brought her to a GSN Meet & Greet, and when she heard Julie say, “Hello, Hailey!” she launched herself onto Julie’s lap like she’s been shot from a cannon, nearly flipping her over the back of her chair. And God forbid you didn’t love her back, you’d get “The Look”:
Hailey shared the house with lots of fosters, but by far her first (and favourite) was “Perma-Foster” Jorgia:
There wasn’t a bed made that she couldn’t shred, a stuffy she couldn’t de-squeak:
And right up until the final weeks of her life, she could still rearrange the furniture with her daily zoomies:
Hailey, you and I shared a connection so strong that even complete strangers would comment on it. You came to me at a time when I really needed a best friend, a confidante and a partner in crime, and were everything I needed and so much more. You loved me ferociously, and I adored you right back. I don’t even know who I am without you, nor does Mokkah. Where you led, he followed:
In my heart, I always knew you wouldn’t live to a ripe old age---your light burned too brightly to be able to be sustained for long. But I always imagined you would be struck by lightning, or explode in a shower of fireworks---not succumb to something so pedestrian as renal failure, which not only robbed you of your life, but robbed you of the physical beauty that always had all the old racing guys at the greyhound vet falling all over themselves to ogle you. Wasting away seemed so beneath you. But you were always beautiful to me, inside and out, and neither of us was ready for the story to end. After being sent home to die by 3 different vets in September, you and I (with the help of some wonderful GTers whose greys were suffering similar conditions) put together a plan to kick some kidney a$$, if only for a short time. The vet confided in me last week that back when you were first diagnosed she thought you had 2 weeks tops, yet you had a miraculous rebound and gave us 4 more amazing months that stunned everyone. But in the end, the disease took you away from us---and way too soon.
You were our spark, our comedian, our Cuckoo-Dog, our good girl… and we miss you so, SO much.
Sweet dreams, Baby Girl. Until we meet again…
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The vet mentioned this to me. I will definitley look into it in the future. I had no real indication anything was wrong until the day I took her in. I wonder how long the virus was in her system and if there was any way I could have saved her if I took her in earlier. Everything seemed so normal until the day she stopped eating and became lethargic.
Thank you all for your kind and caring thoughts and condolences. Eventhough she did not survive the sickness, I still belive that all the prayers helped her to be happy and affectionate to an extent when we were with her. The vet even mentioned that she was more emotionally alert than others in her level of condition. So our time together was real quality time.
Please don't beat yourself up. My Hailey was diagnosed with Stage 4 renal failure in September and I was absolutely blindsided by the diagnosis, but I have been told by every vet she's seen that often they don't become symptomatic until the disease is quite advanced.
I am so sorry she had to leave you
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From the time I first joined GT, I have always pictured Jilly Bean as a Drill Sergeant in Greyhound Boot Camp. I can't even imagine "Jilly's Full House"---or GT---without Jilly
.I am so, so sorry she had to leave you.
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Pepcid (brand)= famotidine (generic)
Zantac(brand)=ranitidine (generic)
Prilosec(brand)=omeprazole(generic)
this may help you find something locally
Also, I can confirm, Manuka honey (about a spoonful) helps with digestive issues and no long term problems. My IBD dog gets it with every meal. It comes from New Zealand, so I should think it would be pretty easy for you to find Maybe in a health food store?What strength of Manuka do you use? She's not falling for the "tablets hidden in ground beef" trick anymore, so this might actually be helpful in getting her supplements into her. Jennifer do you know if Manuka is on the "OK" list for CKD?
I found Zantac in the pharmacy---and it's in a round pill rather than the odd shape the US one comes in---but it is 150mg. I bought a pill splitter and was able to split it into 4 equal pieces. Would this suffice?
Yes, that should be fine.
Thanks for that
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Lori, Brian and Em, I am in shock. My heart is shattered for you all
Tru
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The most common over-the-counter H2 blockers here are Pepcid and Zantac. Not sure what else you'd have available in Australia. Have you tried asking your vet about what other options there are?
I found Zantac in the pharmacy---and it's in a round pill rather than the odd shape the US one comes in---but it is 150mg. I bought a pill splitter and was able to split it into 4 equal pieces. Would this suffice?
And to be honest, I haven't asked the vet because she really don't seem very interested in offering any treatments outside of what they have recommended. Any time I've consulted them with options for alternatives, they've taken a "Well, I don't know much about that, but I supposed it couldn't hurt to try" approach. And don't get me wrong---they've been very kind and supportive, just not particularly helpful.
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Here's Truman's raccoon tail.
Awww, beautiful stripey boy!
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What mg size does it come in? In the US, OTC Zantac comes in 75 mg. Typical dose is 1-2 mg/kg twice daily, so a 57 lb dog would get 1/2 of the 75 mg tablet. The brand name Zantac here comes in an odd pentagon shaped pill that is hard to split evenly, which is why I don't typically recommend it.
I'll take a look today.
Are there other brands that would be suitable?
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Several of you mentioned Pepcid for CKD dogs, so I'm wondering if it would work as well and be less expensive. I will need to order it from the US since it's not available here, but I need to know what type (AC or Complete?) and what dosage she would need.
Do you not have any H2 blocker antacids available at all? The active ingredient in Pepcid is famotidine. There are also other drugs in the same class that work similarly (like Zantac, or ranitidine). Pepcid is just the easiest one to dose for dogs here in the U.S. Maybe you can find something similar without having to order from the U.S.?
Zantac is available here over the counter. How much should I give her? She's around 57lbs.
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Hailey continues to do really well since I first posted about her being diagnosed with kidney disease. The homemade diet, supplements and Chinese herbs have worked wonders and she looks better and has more energy than she has in months. She has even managed to put a few pounds back on!
She still has issues occasionally with a very rumbly tummy though. I've just put her back on daily dose of Omepral (a stomach protectant) but it is super-pricey (nearly $100 a month). Several of you mentioned Pepcid for CKD dogs, so I'm wondering if it would work as well and be less expensive. I will need to order it from the US since it's not available here, but I need to know what type (AC or Complete?) and what dosage she would need.
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This thread requires photos!!!
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MJ, I am so shattered by this news
Sending huge sI F&%#ING HATE CANCER!!!
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I agree with the above---make sure the diagnosis is correct, and get a baseline of his levels so you know if there is CKD and how advanced it is.
My Hailey was diagnosed with late stage CKD in early October (it was confirmed by an internal specialist who did a battery of bloodwork, cultures and an ultrasound). There is lots of good advice in the thread I posted back then. I had originally had her on prescription food and she was not a fan, so I put her a combination of homemade food, supplements and Chinese herbs, and it has made a HUGE difference.
PM me if you want more info.
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I would also recommend you get bloodwork done to rule out any kidney issues.
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Add me to the list of people sending loads of good thoughts for Spudz. You know he's one of my favorite GT boys
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Such a beautiful boy, Rita. I am so sorry you had to let him go
's to you and your family. -
Jack
in Remembrance
Melissa, I am just in shock. My heart is broken for you
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Cruz
in Remembrance
Cynthia, I am so grateful to you and Cruz for sharing your CRF journey with me, and am heartbroken right along with you.
Sending loads and loads of
's from Hailey and me. -
many hugs and good thoughts heading your way.
Our Duke's Kidneys are not good either. but in a different way.
he has very high blood pressure. and his kindeys will fail. it is just a matter of time
His kidneys never "grew" with him so they ae the size of a puppy's
so we are giving him BP meds to help keep the blood pressure down to ward of the failure a bit to give us
time with him
he is only 4
we did have a dalmation years ago that died of Kidney failure. she was 9
we always try to do what is best for our babies. good luck and hope for the best.
Tammy
Oh, no, I'm so sorry about Duke
:grouphug -
I'm so sorry about Cooper's dx. It's such a difficult thing, especially for kids.
I hate cancer
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I cannot tell you how happy I am to see this update! And I think I know just how you feel.
And she's definitely back to her old self---I've never been so happy to come home to a living room littered with stuffy guts and chewed-up ballpoint pens
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Mo...
:grouphug I'm so sorry you are going through this. Let me know if I can ship you meds.Thanks, Shannon
. My sister mailed out 2 bottles of Detoxifier (the last 2 on the shelf at her local store) on Friday, and I was able to get Rhemannia 6 locally. But I will take you up on that if I need more.And to update, I took her to the vet on Friday evening for the vomiting. The good news is, she hasn't lost any weight since being diagnosed and isn't showing signs of dehydration, so the vet gave her a shot of anti-nausea meds to get her through. She is now back on the anti-nausea tablets and hasn't vomited at all over the weekend.
The bad news is, she has not moved from her bed, except to eat and go for walks. I am grateful that she is still eating and still interested in going for walks, but seeing her so flat the rest of the time (and Mokkah glued to her side keeping vigil) makes my heart hurt
.You had mentioned you were going to discuss the possibility of sub-Q fluids with your vet. Was there a reason she/you decided not to start her on them? Obviously I am not a vet, but I suspect based on what you said in your last post that she's still feeling really crappy. My understanding is that that feeling crappy is usually from the build up of toxins because the kidneys can't do their job anymore. The whole reason kidney dogs drink so much is because that helps aid the kidneys in removing the toxins, but often times they physically won't/can't drink enough for that to happen, which is where the subQ fluids come in. If Hailey will tolerate them, which most dogs do, I don't see what harm it would cause to try them for a little bit and see if she perks up.
In the meantime, one great suggestion I got from the cat kidney board (which I may or may not have already shared, I can't even remember I'm so wordy
) is to make sure she has very easy access to multiple water bowls to encourage her to drink more. Since she's not leaving her bed much, I would put a large bowl of fresh water right by her bed within reach without her having to get up and change the water 2x/day, as well as put bowls (in raised feeders or just on a stack of books or something similar if you don't have the feeders) in her path where she'd walk from her bed to go outside to potty, to where she sleeps at night, etc.The funny thing is I used to only have the one bowl of water in the raised feeder outside of my kitchen (in a very central area for my tiny place) for the dogs, but since putting water around in various spots for the cat, I find the dogs drink out of those bowls more often than the existing one. They seem to really like the one that automatically refills that I put in the LR and the bowl I put on the inside of the crate they all use off and on in the bedroom. For what that's worth.
I hope she's feeling better with the anti-nausea meds.
When I took her to the vet on Thursday night I asked the vet about subQ's. This particular vet isn't a big fan of subQ's (she feels they are too traumatic and not as effective in dogs as they are in cats) and since Hailey wasn't dehydrated she advised against it. I decided to go with that advice for now since 1) the anti-nausea injection was quite painful, and 2) because I really felt that if she could hold down the supps long enough to start working she wouldn't need the additional fluids since she was still eating and drinking. She tends to be so traumatized by the vet visits---and it seems to take her days to recover from them---that I don't want to subject her to any more than is absolutely necessary.
I did take your advice about putting extra water bowls out. The one by her bed was crucial since she really wasn't getting up much at all last week.
I am so grateful to all of you who have offered advice, support and good thoughts. It means more than you can possibly imagine
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Also, I can confirm, Manuka honey (about a spoonful) helps with digestive issues and no long term problems. My IBD dog gets it with every meal. It comes from New Zealand, so I should think it would be pretty easy for you to find 
) is to make sure she has very easy access to multiple water bowls to encourage her to drink more. Since she's not leaving her bed much, I would put a large bowl of fresh water right by her bed within reach without her having to get up and change the water 2x/day, as well as put bowls (in raised feeders or just on a stack of books or something similar if you don't have the feeders) in her path where she'd walk from her bed to go outside to potty, to where she sleeps at night, etc.
Rembering Ember 12-8-97..1-14-09
in Remembrance
Posted
She was an unforgettable girl. I remember her journey so well, but mostly I remember your love for her. So moving
Sending
's