Sorcha

Tuna I miss you so very much, baby girl. My condolences to everyone.

One week ago this evening ... Last photos taken of Tuna I will never know what happened in the end, to cause her to not be able to get up ever again.

I am sorry for the loss of your beloved Red.

Thank you, one and all. Such a feeling of emptiness without her here, but your words of sympathy help to ease the grief. Tuna's ashes came home today.

Tuna (formerly known as "Zealya") November 20, 1995 - August 13, 2010 It started in the summer of 1998. During a trip to the animal hospital with my English setter, I saw a poster on the bulletin board about a greyhound “rescue” group (not my choice of words).A few weeks later I was on my way to pick up a 2 and ½ year old greyhound, sight unseen. She went by the name of Tuna and had flunked out of racing school. Driving home (alone) I remember thinking “What have I gotten myself into?!”. I was going through a difficult time in my life, and Tuna helped me through it. Together we learned a lot about one another, and figured it all out. During the next 3 years I moved four times and even with the addition of a saluki sister and a kitten during those years, Tuna never had a problem adjusting to changes. Her reward for the final move was a large, fenced yard with her very own sandbox. She loved being in that sandbox. Over the next few years greyhound fosters came and went, an Italian greyhound moved in, her saluki sister lost a brave battle with cancer, and a borzoi-saluki puppy arrived. She always handled the changes with ease but let each new arrival know she was queen. Eventually time caught up with her and hind-end weakness made it a challenge to get around like she used to. A ramp was put up to help her get in and out of the house. The prance in her step began to disappear, the sparkle in her eyes dimmed. Symptoms attributed to laryngeal paralysis eventually led her to not being able to eat her dog food without choking it up, so I became creative with her meals and everything went into the blender to make it easier for her to swallow, and baby food became a new favorite food. Home cooked meals became the norm, and much to her delight, canned dog food and a whole array of “human foods” were offered to her. Despite my best efforts, between LP and not being able to stand up long enough to finish a meal she started losing weight. She eventually gave in and took to eating while lying down, but was still not eating enough to maintain a good weight. I started giving her store-brand Ensure to get calories in her, she loved that (and it was the last thing she had). I struggled for many months with “the decision”. I realized that her quality of life had declined, but she was not in pain. I was waiting for that “sign” that everyone, including the vet, told me she would give me. On August 13, 2010 at 8:24 p.m., Tuna was given her angel wings. One of the things I told Tuna in our final moments together was to look for Ailish, that she would be waiting to show her the way and they would be together again. Rest in peace my beloved Tuna, I will love you forever and cherish your memory.

Tuna received her angel wings at 8:24 p.m. I will post a proper memorial in Remembrance once I am able to gather my thoughts. Tuna on Greyhound-Data.com

Vet and pet cremation guy will be here in about one hour...

I made a call to Rob at Delaware Pet Cremations. He is going to try and contact a mobile vet in the area and have her call me. If that does not work out, will figure out something else. I would rather have a vet come here at this point.

PhillyPups, thanks for the talk. I called 5blackgreys who suggested I call Delaware Pet Cremations who can send out a vet to my home, have Tuna put down, then she will go off to be cremated. Going to spend a few moments with her to try one last time if she will get up before I make that call. Thank you, one and all.

Wilmington, DE. I tried calling my regular sitter at home and on her cell (not the one that comes on lunch) and no answer. The sitters that come out on lunch are from a company, so it's different sitters different days. My regular sitter I trust and would want her help if she were available, but seems she is not.

No, don't really know neighbors, they are elderly anyways.

I arrived home to find Tuna laying on her side the kitchen floor up against the box fan (which had slid up against the fridge). I keep her contained to the kitchen when I am not home, because of her hind end weakness and not wanting her to get herself worn out walking around the house, but she has a soft bed to lay on so she must have gotten up, fallen, and could not get herself back up. The dog sitter was here at 12 noon, her note makes no mention of Tuna being weak or out of sorts, she noted that Tuna went outside to pee & poop and only ate 1/4 of her lunch. I tried to assist Tuna, she snapped at me and whacked her mouth against the fridge causing gushing blood to come out. I put a muzzle on her, slid a towel under her body, slid her over to her bed and then slid her onto it. I have a bad back, made worse by the fact I took a fall down the steps the other morning (on my back), I cannot carry her. Once on her bed, I tried again to help her get upright, she couldn't or wouldn't do it. I took off the muzzle, cleaned up the blood, gave her a can of nutritional supplement in her bowl which she lapped up (while still laying on her side, I had to tilt the bowl). I tried calling my vet, no answer, left a message. I have no one to help me, I don't know what to do. I feel this could be her "sign", that it's time to let her go. I don't want some vet I do not know to be the one to put her down if it is time, and I cannot get her up and in the car anyways. Help, anyone, what do I do?

Photos taken today (keep in mind she is laying down when I took the photos):

I left a message for my vet yesterday, he's been away on vacation, to discuss this further. Her weight is way down and the sore does sit on a bone in an area that hits the ground with her hind-end weakness, so am thinking more a pressure sore type of wound. It's scabbed over again, I will discuss with vet the ideas given here about things to use on it (animax cream, neopredef, Gentamicin spray, etc.). I hope to avoid oral antibiotics because Tuna just does not do well on them, but will see what the vet says. Thanks.

Thanks for the info. I have been keeping it clean, but the dang thing just won't heal once and for all. Just when it scabs over and I think it's healed, I come home from work and find the scab is off and it starts all over again.

Yes, it is on a bone and she has DM so hind end weakness is an issue. I don't know what happens when the lunch time dogsitter is here, but that's when it first appeared (one day I went to work, she was fine, I come home and she has bloody wound) and whenever the scab has come off it's been during their visit. Maybe she is scraping it on the concrete outside on her way to or from the yard? She hasn't when I have taken her out, but I am not here to see what goes on with the daytime sitter. Tuna does not seem bothered by it in the least, she does not mess with it at all (no licking at it, etc.). I thought about anal gland, but it's on a bone and she is not having any poop issues. I dread putting her on antibiotics because they completely zap her appetite and she already is barely eating enough. I will take a photo but can't get one of her standing up so it have to be laying down. Here are photos, not for the squeamish: (The black looking bits are what's left of the scab)

Tuna developed a sore on her rump, to one side of her tail, a couple weeks ago. I thought it was perhaps a pressure sore, although all of the dog beds are super comfy (either double stacked or has a layer of foam egg crate padding and folded comforters on top of that). I kept it clean and put first aid ointment on it (I use Bacitracin). It scabbed over, but then the scab came off and the sore was oozing blood. It did not appear infected (no odd color, no puss, no odor) so I cleaned it up again, put ointment on and once again the scab healed over. Then the scab came off and same thing (oozing blood). This time I called the vet and knowing it's traumatic for Tuna to go to the vet, he advised me to continue to keep the area clean and continue with the ointment. Well, it's happened again and it just won't heal. Maybe it's an abscess of some sort? But it's not swollen and there is no smelly pus. Any ideas?

Adding my condolences on Ryan's passing.

The bite marks on my arms have turned into lovely bruises and one of the people where I volunteer today was asking me how I got the marks on my arms.

Tuna is doing fine today. This morning I removed the bandage that was covering the cuts on her paw, but it's still angry looking and bloody so I cleaned it up again, put some more ointment on and re-bandaged it. The cuts and scrapes on her head look like they are going to heal just fine. I did go to one of my volunteer jobs this morning and left her for 4 hours, she had one little accident when I arrived home but she did not step in it this time thank goodness!

Yeah, I could use a hug! Another negative of living alone haha. Now if I could only get the poo smell out of the kitchen, yuck. It took three cleanings to get it all off the floor, she really ground it in there well. Windows open, fan running, bedding in the laundry, poo trash outside in the garbage but it still smells pooey in the house.

I never said I cleaned with peroxide, I do not use it. I clean cuts and scrapes with a topical antiseptic, dry it, then apply a first aid antibiotic ointment and then bandage. Thanks to everyone for their input and advice.

So I left Tuna alone today for an entire 2 hours (the car needed an oil change and then ran to the library and grocery store), and what a mistake that was. I arrived home and opened the door to a horrible odor of poop and found the kitchen floor was covered in stepped-on poo, and Tuna's paws and legs also covered in poo as well as her bedding. (I keep her in the kitchen when I run out, good thing or that mess could have been all over the house). I took her outside to the back yard and once in the grass she peed and then I tried cleaning her up and she went ballistic. I had a hold on her by her harness and was attempting to get her in a position where she could lean against me while I cleaned off the poo from her legs and paws. No, she would have none of that and she snapped at me and bit my arm. She was bucking around, still snapping and got my other arm. I was astounded that she did that (she has never bitten at me before), and when I released the hold on her harness to prevent getting bit again she lost her balance and tumbled over, somersault style, landing with her face against the neighbor's adjoining rusty chain-link fence. I helped her up and then ran inside real fast for her muzzle (back yard is fenced with a gate). Ran back outside, struggled to get the muzzle on her (she crocodile-snapped at me), finally got it on and got her to lay down in the grass. I assessed the damage through the muzzle, there was a cut over her eye, another cut on her head, and scrapes here and there on her head and a bloody mouth caused by a cut to her gums over her front teeth. She also managed to cut up a rear paw somehow, so now she was poo covered and bloody. So, again I left her in the yard and ran back inside for the first aid kit. I returned in a flash and thankfully she remained laying down in the grass. I first tended to the cuts and scrapes on her head (through her muzzle), then I went about cleaning the poo off her legs and paws (no objection from her now) and then tended to her bloody paw. What the heck, Tuna! She's just having a bad day, I suppose, and did not understand I was trying to help her which is how this all started. So at any rate, this is leading to a question: since the cuts and scrapes on her head were caused by a rusty fence, do I need to be concerned about tetanus or anything like that??

Awww precious Quilty, you will be dearly missed. Heather & Ken, my deepest condolences on your loss, you gave Quilty so much love and care during her time with you. I am sure those were the best months of her life.

Wishing gentle, healing thought and all the best for Marx. My thoughts are with you during this difficult time.