BluegrassGrey

We buy it when we travel to MI. Sterling Heights and a few other SE MI stores carry it. Protein level is good- Perry loves it and has had no digestive problems. When we ran out of the Costco brand, we tried TOTW Pacific Stream, and his gas pains and bloating were so bad, I had to get the Costco brand ASAP! I'm glad to hear it is in Cinci! We may have to drive up there, if we run out again. I cannot say enough good things about this food

Your girl sounds just like one of my boys- Sidney. He is an anxious dog, and has peed or marked in our home for the last 7 years. He has been medically checked out for UTI's amongst other things, and even treated (as Batmom suggested) for a UTI, even though his test was negative. It is a behavioral issue. The only solution we've found is crating him at night, and lots of exercise. He is 9 years old this year too, but has a ton of energy- he can power walk 2 miles and still not be tired (some may be anxious energy!). But if he gets a fast, long walk right before bed, he will sleep through the night and not wake me up at his usual times of waking-2, 3, 4, 5am. No amount of running in the yard or playing with our other greys will do it- it has to be a brisk walk to tire him out! Have you tried walking your girl in the evening?

I just wanted to thank you for "speaking up" about palliative care. I've read it in many of your posts, and that is the road Perry and I have been going down the last 3 months.

Perry was also diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his right front shoulder on 11-19. He is about 80# has been taking 75mg of Rimadyl 2x per day, and Tramadol 50mg 2x per day as well, and then a pepcid at night. Both of his vets agreed with this, and said the tramadol could be increased if needed. They also said to of course keep vigil of his appetite and activity. He has maintained a tremendous appetite and still runs daily in the yard. BUT now you all have me worrying that I should be giving him more tramadol? His osteo was diagnosed about as early as one could diagnose it, so maybe he will need the upped doses as this progresses? Hugs to everyone else going through this right now.

I've been using the method (I think was) suggested by TheDogFather- put the pill in the back of their throat, the hold the snout closed and blow on the nostrils, and like magic they swallow the pill right down. I've never had one of mine able to spit it out yet! I alternate this method with putting it in their food, or in a treat- because like your Greys, mine figure out there are pills in there. Most recently put pills in a cooked tortilini- my boy slurped that right down!

I second this suggestion. While the cost may seem steep there is nothing sweeter then looking at that beautiful piece of artwork and knowing it's almost as beautiful as the baby who once walked this earth. Yes, this is very true. I've already talked with Sarah, she said she hopes to fire more boxes after XMas, so make sure to check back on her site......... This is s tough time of year to be dealing with loss, I hope you find exactly what you are looking for....

Denise- just thinking of you and Warlock..........

Just thinking of you, Warlock and the other houndies........

Just wondering at what age did your pups really start having problems with the LS or hind end weakness? Pistol has some slumping, but no pain or real problems (yet), so we have not had to have any treatment (except his supplements).

Mjp's Jackie, June 12, 1997- June 20, 2008 You weren't just my foster....... you were home...... you were loved.

Hey there- stranger!!!! Yes, definitely need some new pictures!

I'm so sorry for your loss..... Argos was absolutely beautiful. I've had your picture of him and your DS on my desktop for the last few weeks- as something very sweet to look at every day (I wish I had captured the same kind of moments with my DD and Greys).

I just wanted to thank all of you for your support. I have been reading all the posts over the last week, but it was just difficult for me to get back and post. Thank you as well for your gratitude- I don't think I did anything special for Jackie, but I do feel special because I got to share Jackie's last week with her. For those of you coming to the Greyhound Festival of the Bluegrass, July 18-20,- please make sure to check out the memorial silent auction. There will be a small basket in memory of Jackie.

On 6/7/2007, Shamrock Greyhound Placement was notified that a Greyhound had been picked up as a stray in a nearby County. The dog – we discovered – had been turned over to the county Humane Society. After some investigation, I contacted the shelter on Monday morning (everything was closed up for the weekend until Monday) & inquired about the dog. Indeed they had a Greyhound & they confirmed she had tattoos. From the numbers they gave us she was 11yo. We offered to take the dog, but they said they had to hold her until Thursday, as she was a stray. The shelter director told us she had 2 “masses’ – one on her head & one on her side, that her nails were way overgrown, and she was very underweight. Since they first obtained her, no one had called, or dropped by, about a missing Greyhound in the time the dog had been there. (and the person that originally found her wandering the streets in a nice neighborhood in 95F degree KY heat, said they had went door to door in that neighborhood looking for the owner, and no one recognized the dog) Because of their concern for the dog they agreed to release her to us on Wednesday. I went to the shelter that Wednesday morning (6/11/2008) to collect the dog & get her to the Shamrock Greyhound Placement vet. I called Jennifer with the girl’s tattoos. Jennifer looked her up & she was: MJPs Jackie born 6.12.97. I tried some different names in the car while we drove 2 hours together to the vet, but her head turned and ears perked up to only one name- Jackie. I dropped her at the vet to be examined. The vet called Jennifer that afternoon & confirmed what we suspected. Jackie has Osteosarcoma in her ribcage. The xray shows it has already spread to her lungs. (above background edited as originally written by ripley488 (Jennifer- Shamrock Director) Everyone knew Jackie did not have very long, but I brought her home with me so she could have a few good last days or weeks- ultimately she only had one week with us- and passed on 6.20.2008. Her breathing had just been very labored the whole week, she was panting most of the time, and her heart rate was nearly twice the normal rate. It was time. My local vet after hearing her story, had offered to come to our home to help Jackie on. We all felt that a 1 hour car ride to the Shamrock vet was not the way we wanted Jackie to leave us. Jackie passed away very peacefully, resting on our couch (where she had spent most of the week with us). She was surrounded by myself, my husband, and the 3 boys: Perry, Sidney, and Pistol. I sat right by Jackie’s side the whole time, stroking her fuzzy little neck, and Pistol stood next to me with his head in my lap. It was extremely upsetting for me...... The vet even asked, so “How long have you had her?” My response, “Only 1 week, and I am already so attached to her.” I was upset, and I am still upset at a lot of things. I just can’t believe that her owner had set her loose in the heat, in her condition. How cruel! Then she had to stay in the shelter for 4 days- they were good to her, but she needed to be on a couch. But I was determined to try to make up for all of this…….. and below is more about Jackie's week with us........ Jackie ate her first dinner home with us while resting on the couch Jackie taking a dip in the pool Jackie did not know what to do with the treats from the local dog bakery. These were for a belated celebration of her 11th birthday. But she finally figured it out, and I think they were the best dog treats she had in her whole life. Jackie had 3 boyfriends- here she is with her senior boys- Perry and Pistol. When she had first walked into the house and saw the Greys, she was so excited, as if she had not seen another Greyhound in 10 years (which she probably did not- there are not a lot of Greyhounds in the area she was found in) Jackie was able to go on two last walks with the boys- thanks to a very good friend of mine who helps me walk the dogs. It was that Wednesday when I had arranged for the vet to come over on Friday. That evening, unusually cool for KY Summer weather, there were severe thunderstorm threats, but the rain held off- there was just a light sprinkle coming down. At the end of the walk, we saw a rainbow come out. I knew it was the right decision, even though I did not want to be right. I don’t think I have seen one rainbow in the 6 years I have lived in KY, and I would’ve thought I was delirious, if my friend had not been the one to point it out to me. I remember, and smile at these little bursts of excitement that my husband and I got to share with her- I wasn’t go to bring her on that last walk (wasn’t sure she wanted to, and was afraid to), but as I was leashing the boys and getting them out the door, Jackie burst up off the couch, and nearly got loose out the front door! She made it pretty clear she was going on that walk, and she did, trying to push in front of the boys most of the time. Another time, my husband (who works 2nd shift and so was Jackie’s caretaker during the days) saw her trot around in the back yard with the boys. Jackie also sprung off the couch at midnight to greet him at the door when he came home from work one night. And it is true- I miss her, I want her back, it wasn’t enough time with her, and, yes, it was only a week, and she was just my foster- but it was not long enough together, and it doesn't matter.

Thinking about you and Black Jack.......... As you know, Dr. Goranflo is fantastic. He is worth every second of our 1.5 hour drive to see him every year. Give Black Jack some extra cookies from us!

I just ordered some for Sidney! Can't wait to try it!

Thank you all so much! This information is very interesting and informative. I tried the PB on the nose yesterday afternoon- that worked better. I also had DH help hold and scratch her while I gave the drops- that helped. With Kippy- exercise will be key too. She is a bouncy and happy girl- she does settle down quickly with a walk or running in the yard. Today I am going to try the calming, more hands off approaches you all suggested. I am going to print this off and give it to her new family Saturday, so please keep the suggestions coming!

Hi, I know there are lots of you out there with greys that are receiving eye drops for Pannus. Well, Kippy is my second foster to have this, so I am not new at giving eye drops, but she is a spit fire wild girl. She is young and very easily excitable. She bounces and runs around- I can't get her to hold still. I have tried: 1. Holding her head, collar and body, but she gets more excited and jerks her head. 2. Giving them while she is laying down- same thing- she jerks away. 3. Giving them while she is sleeping- this works best for now. 4. Today I tiried smearing peanut butter on the counter and let her lick it off while I did the eye drops. It worked for the first set, but then she figured out what I was doing and ran off to find something better to do. Please help me. It is very upsetting to me (which I know she picks up on), and I feel like crying because I am failing her. She is supposed to be going to her new home on Saturday, but I have got to figure out something for this family- who has never given eye drops as far as I know. Please help me!

Wow! Coco is beautiful!!! Her picture on Shamrock's site does not do her justice! She has such a pretty face. And Mel, well, I got to meet him in person when he came off the hauler, so I know how gorgeous he is in person. Looking forward to seeing you all soon Thanks for posting the pictures. Congratulations!

I'm so sorry to hear about Peter. I never got a chance to meet Peter, but he sounded like the most easy going, gentle greyhound. Just checked some pedigrees, and I fostered his half littermate for over a year- System BC Ertle. Edited to add: I did the home visit for Peter's family years ago- and they are an absolutely wonderful family. A great home and family for any greyhound.

Just wanted to clarify, Peter's dad is now on the board, and he has posted in this thread as Greydad. I don't think he can received PMs yet, so please post any suggestions in this thread. I will be away from the computer for awhile, and I don't want to not be able to pass along anything in the urgent matter. This is from a PM a person sent me: "Not to be a broken record, but they might ask about adding a Coombs test to the battery of tests. That is what happened to my girl when she had Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia. She was pooping blood, peeing blood and throwiing up blood. She went from fine to dead in less than 48 hours." Come on Peter, I know you can pull threw this!!!!

This is the update I just got from Peter's family: We just heard back from Peter's vet. Peter is on liver support medication, potassium, sugar (he had low glucose), and antibiotics. They did do blood tests, an found that his red blood cells are normal. I asked about the Babesiosis, and she said that it was not indicated because usually the red blood cells are anemic, and his look very healthy (she seemed to have some experience with that). The vet said that they did a basic ultrasound of his abdomen and found an enlargement of part his liver, and an enlargement of one of his kidneys. She has laid out the following: 1.) Severe infection of some sort, and they are treating him with broad-spectrum antibiotics. She said that they should see some improvement in 24-48 hours if the infection recedes. 2.) Toxicity of some sort that is specifically attacking the liver. I asked about the Cerenia drug, since it is new, and if it is a possibility. She said that it's possible, but not likely at all. She said the liver support medication should help him clean the toxins out, if that's what it is, and the liver can repair itself, but it depends on the extent of the damage done. We've been trying to think if anything has changed recently in the past few days - cleaners, anything, and we can't come up with anything. We don't fertilize or treat the back yard, which is his domain, and nothing that we can think of has changed around the house... 3.) "Neoplasm" (a.k.a. cancer) of the liver, which she said is a sort of distant 3rd, since the onset was so fast. She said that if that is case, the prognosis is very poor. She said the generic term, regardless of what caused it, is "acute hepatitis" or liver failure, and that his survival chance is probably 50% at this point, maybe less. We have told her to make him comfortable and to keep us updated of his condition as much as possible. They are contacting a board-certified ultrasound specialist to try to get them to look at him today to see if they can rule anything in or out. The vet also said that exploratory surgery is an option, but she said that in his condition, the anesthesia alone could put him down - he's not really stable enough for that to be a viable option. Thank you for your help and support in this very excruciating time - if there is anything that you can think of that might help to pass along to the vet, we would be grateful...

Thanks everyone. Burpdog- why do you think he needs a different antibiotic? because the current one is apparently not working? Also, I just heard from the family that he has had no blood or urine tests to their knowledge. This really concerns me! They think he is going to have some this morning. I also suggested using a muzzle when he is better so he cannot get into things and eat them.

I received this information from an adopter in this area (edited to remove names etc). Just wondering if you all could help.: Peter is now at the vet this morning - when I walked him this morning he was peeing blood and his eyes and gums were a yellow tint. If you have any information suggestions, please let me know. History from the adopter: Peter adopted back in 2004. Over the weekend, he was not really himself and threw up twice when we got home from shopping on Saturday. Now, he has a tendency to swallow things like socks and washcloths so we have been very careful about what we leave lying around recently. Usually we dont know he has swallowed anything until he throws it up - his symptoms are not very pronounced. After the weekend, he seemed to be back to his usual self, happy and excited. Then on Tuesday (wednesday morning actually) , he woke me up at 4:00am and needed to go outside (which is not common , he is never up at that time). He had thrown up his dinner on the living room floor. He seemed a little out of it but then on Wednesday he proceeded to throw up several more times (more than 5) while my husband was home. We called our local vet and took him there for a 3:00 appt. They did a physical exam (he was well hydrated and alert but a bit grouchy when the vet did an exam of his abdomen). They took xrays which showed he had nothing in his intestines or stomach. He was actually well cleaned out with nothing impacted or causing a blockage. The only thing they noticed were some pockets of gas. They gave him a shot of Cerenia to keep him from throwing up and gave him Pepcid and 500mg of Metronidazole. I just wanted to check with you to see if you had any knowledge of these medications and if they are OK for Greyhounds. He is pretty solemn today (yesterday 9-6-07), not eating but drinking a ton of water. We are watching him to be sure is he is having bowel movements but not much is going on since he hasnt eaten since yesterday. He doesnt even like cheese!

Yes, she is having diarrhea, and her owner gave her Immodium AD, and another medicine to protect her stomach- forget which one- something that humans take too. I'm not familar with carafate....... Olivia is in Georgetown, KY (right outside Lexington) Olivia's mom is doubtful of accupuncture because she received treatments herself for a year with no results........ What about rimadyl? Or is it not strong enough?