gracegirl

Yep, pumpkin gives Fenway the runs. I'd go back to basics, rice and protein (either boiled chicken or ground beef). Hope it clears up soon.

I had the same thing with Fenway about two years ago. I finally sprung for the ultrasound and discovered "minor kidney damage of an unspecified origin". Nothing showed up on bloodworm because its not severe enough to affect his kidney function yet, but it's something I'm mindful of as he gets older. He just needs access to outside with a dog door now.

You keep getting better, Violet.

Yay. Hope everyone sleeps well tonight.

Oh no. This is not the update I expected to read. I'm so very sorry for your loss.

Don't forget that if you are looking to insure your hounds, you must factor in the deductible and the amount not covered by insurance in addition to your monthly cost. This could still add up quickly. For many people, it's not only about the money but also the recovery and quality of life concerns. When Grace was at the e-vet and we had spent $1,000+ on diagnostic tests with no conclusions, the only option left was exploratory surgery. This was estimated in the $7,000 to $10,000 range with no guarantees at fixing or even diagnosing her problem. It was not about the cost of the surgery, but about her age (10) combined with the fact that we both work full time, she's not great coming out of anesthesia and she gets incredibly stressed out at the vet's office. The most kind thing to do for her was to let her go. The cut off age for me in pursuing major surgeries is around 7-8 years old. My Fenny will turn 7 this fall, but he has a few health problems that would prevent me from choosing certain procedures with him. He already has kidney damage and cannot reliably go longer than 4-5 hours without needing to go to the bathroom. I can't insure him now anyhow given his age and medical history. Jackson, on the other hand, has a plan through Banfield. His doc is a colleague of a friend (they went to vet school together) and another college friend practices at a Banfield a bit further away. Jackson has always gone to Banfield (I met DBF when Jackson was 4) and we are happy with the health coverage plan Jackson is on and the care he receives there.

We have pre-orded Tiles that will go on the two dogs collars. We will be tracking them for a while when the dog walker has them out each day, just to test how they are working. http://www.thetileapp.com/ If they work reliably and if they get more popular, the network will be amazing. All of the folks I work with who are "early adopters" are excited about these.

This is so great to know! We live about an hour and a half from CSU so I'm thrilled we have a nearby option should either pup need it.

We have the dog door for Fenway who learned it in a few days. We still had Grace when we moved into the rental with the dog door and she knew how to use it from previous places she stayed while I was on vacation. He learned from watching her. With Jackson, our 6 year old Airedale, we figured he'd never use it on his own. He once came in from the yard when I was cooking bacon and we used to try to get him out the dog door with cheese, his favorite. We figured he'd never use it on his own. After living here for 14 months he started using the dog door. It was after we had to let Grace go, I think he was just mad that Fen could chase the squirrels so out he went one day. Now he uses it all the time. ***just a side note, we only keep the dog door open when we are home. It's mostly for Fen needing to pee in the middle of the night.

And what a Treasure she was! She will be missed fiercely. Godspeed, girly. I'm so terribly sorry for your loss.

My jerk dogs broke a perfectly good bottle of wine on the tile floor and licked it up. I got one loaf of high fiber whole wheat bread and gave each about 3 slices that night, followed by a 1 or 2 more in the morning. I hope they were hungover and learned their lesson. Don't mess with the momma's wine!

I'm so sorry for your loss. You both fought so hard and I wish the outcome could have been different.

You were both lucky to have each other. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry for your loss so very, very sorry. It's simply not fair, but you did your best by your boy. I'm just so sorry he had to go far too soon.

Keeping you and Neko in my thoughts and prayers tonight. Hang in there, we're all pulling for you!

Thinking of you guys tonight. I'm glad your mom is on her way, moms have a way of making things better if even only for a moment.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Hugs.

For any new dog I might get in the future, I will absolutely get pet insurance. Fenway is 6.5 yrs old now so I don't know if I'll ever get it for him. He has kidney damage so there will be a slew of things already excluded as pre-existing. Jackson has some sort of coverage with the vets office at Petsmart (drawing a blank on the name right now). DBF handles Jackson's care and I handle Fenway's since we each had them before we met. Jackson's coverage seems great (don't know the specifics) but you do have to go to a Petsmart vet and the closest for 24 hour coverage is 45 minutes away.

Hurry for Bullitt and his wonderful family who, no doubt, nursed him back to health!

Grace had a positive babesia titer just after I got her. She was new to me so I was having a hard time determining if she was symptomatic or just a lazy grey with stomach/bowel issues. I didn't know enough to run a PCR to look for organisms so I treated her. She did just fine, aside from her lingering fear of any vets office after that. If I had known then what I know now, I would have run another test before treating.

Is Tempo at Angell? Have you decided if he's coming home today? Sounds like he's doing great!

I'm sorry for your friend and her family. How brave of her to do this alone, as we all know its just devastating. Her other hound might just be okay. I was sure that Fenway would be terribly lost without Grace but it turned out that he's just fine. I told him what happened when I got home from the e-vet and while he was mopey, he had hand eked her loss much better than I expected he would.

I'm so sorry, sounds like a stressful time for you both. What does Dewey especially love doing? For Fenway it's long walks, riding in the car, and going to the dog park. After Grace passed away, I did a lot more of the stuff he loves for about a month until we found our new normal. I'd suggest a bit more of the things Dewey loves, especially walks. Also, when I returned home from the e-vet without Grace I sat on the floor with Fenway and told him what happened. I told him Grace wasn't coming back, that he'd see her again someday, and that it was okay to be sad for a while. He seemed to adjust to her passing very well. I had that conversation for me, because it made me feel better. Maybe think about doing the same for your situation. Can't hurt, might help.

I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like she was a very special girl.

Have you/they looked into using amacar before this procedure? Can't hurt, might help. Keep us posted!