MP_the4pack

He was a very handsome boy.

I'm so sorry Mighty left. It's never easy. There's another thread that contains an article on the death of a pet. It's a good read. Here's the link: Death of a pet

What a wonderful picture of him. He looks like he was a very special boy. I'm sorry he's gone. Farewell Master yet not farewell Where I go, ye too shall dwell. I am gone before your face A moment's time, a little space When ye come where I have stepped Ye will wonder why ye wept.

I've been a VPI customer for over a decade. But they aren't going to insure my new girl because she's 11. Trupanion will insure her. So....guess what? I'm getting Trupanion for her. But as far as general insurance......to date, I am sure that the insurance company has paid me way more than I've paid them even with dogs that haven't needed much care and have claims. Doing the "savings plan" method would not have worked for me.

A year after I got insurance on my Bridge girl Pearl, she was diagnosed with heart disease. A year later hypertension. We maxed out on our insurance claims for 4 yrs. I'm betting the insurance company wished they hadn't insured her. They ended up paying thousands towards her bills over the years.

Just WOW! A good vet has no problem with you going for a second opinion. Too bad you're tied to him. Best of luck whatever decision you make. And please remember, no decision you make is a wrong one. You are making the decision with love in your heart for him. One thing that I think haunts many of us is 2nd guessing ourselves. Did we make the right decision? Did we wait too long? Do it too soon? Was the diagnosis right? There are no wrong answers here.

So young and handsome. He sounds like quite a character. Someone who will be greatly missed.

My Diamond almost died of it before I adopted her. She was transferred from the kennel to a foster home where she was nursed for several months. I didn't see her or know much other than that when I adopted her. I do know the insurance company refused to insure her because they said she was prone to neurological disorders and cancers because of the disease. Well..............yeah, she got cancer at age 12! Osteo. Look how many greys have OS. She was the healthiest of my 4 pack until the cancer hit. So, the insurance company goofed big time on that. Anyway....once she recovered from Ehrlichia she had no health issues for most of her life.

Jonathan, I'm sorry you're joining the OS club. But I wanted to share that I chose AMP for a 12 yr old. I drove all the way to OSU from NJ specifically because Dr. Couto has probably seen more greyhounds than anyone else. He could tell me straightforward if Diamond was an amp candidate. She was. He said she's a very young 12 yr old. I was told that she would probably have a longer recovery than the 'youngsters' but should adapt. Well she showed them all and recovered faster than most youngsters. She had a very happy painfree 6 months before OS hit another leg. And....I didn't have to fear coming home from work one day to find she had broken the OS leg early in the day and suffered all day with that. That's a huge fear of mine. The driving force for me to do the amp. The only thing I did for her with her handicap was create a ramp in place of the 6 steps she had to use. She could do steps, but it was easier on her with a ramp. I put it together by myself in a weekend. (I'm a single middle age woman)

Will still keep Willie in my prayers.

I've checked the thyroid of my hounds that seemed to keep weight on more than I anticipated (meaning after I've cut their food). I did the full panel, and they all were hypothyroid.(3 of the 9 I've had to date) Weigh gain can be one of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. Maybe check his.

Actually, yes. But it was caused by a collision between two dogs. There was spinal injury. If she wasn't in an accident, she just might need a good chiropractor.

Did the vet do a liver function test?(not the standard liver enzyme test that comes with a chemistry panel). My Topaz ended up diagnosed with liver disease with PLE. And we just lost another dog here on GT that had PLE that had liver disease.

My Little Old Lady Onyx who made it to 15 1/2 didn't get "old" until about 12. My sisters were 'young' until the day they died. Both were 12 and succumbed to cancer. In fact, Diamond was such a young 12 yr old, the doctors at OSU believed she could do well as a tripod. And she was for 6 months until the cancer took over another leg.

She sounds like she was a spry old lady. I'm sorry she lost her battle with kidney disease.

My general physician ended up adopting a greyhound because she fell in love with mine (they go everywhere with me if temperature is ok). I told her I never take them off leash. Her adoption group told her not to take her off leash. After just a few months, they were hiking in the woods, away from traffic and thought it would be safe to let her off leash. She bolted after a deer and her body was found about a mile away next to a road. Hit by a car.

I found a picture of him when he was being brought in for medical treatment. He was just weeks old here. Still had his bad leg.

I'm a 50+ yr old single woman. I'm rural and live alone. I already made a ramp years ago for my dogs to use to get in and out of the car. It's smooth wood that anything can slide up. I have a small plastic pool that I've cut away the sides on half of it. This allows me to get the dog onto the pool bottom. I use the half that I did not remove the sides on to pull the dog. The plastic slides easily over almost anything. If you need extra help for sliding simply put down bath towels where you need to drag the pool. If they can handle the small lift onto a dolly (still in the pool) that's a plus. It goes up the ramp more easily. My car is a 4Runner. Sits very high. SO the dog must be able to be slid up. So I would try to get the pool and dog onto the furniture dolly. You can add slits around the entire pool and get wide nylon straps if you think you'll need to secure him.

I feel your pain. Very nice video.

Just don't give him any left legs. (and if you're going to give him chili.....don't let him sleep in the room with you! )

Oh poor Bill. He's one of my favorite GT boys. I'm glad though that there're all minor injuries.

Barbara, I'm sorry you're going thru this. Unfortunately I think most people on this board have gone thru at least one loss. So even if there is nothing to do but spoil him rotten for his time left, we, here all can sympathize with you. We have been there. I've lost 5 to date. One lived to be only 5, another to 15.5. I had one that was fine in the morning, gone that night, another went thru 6 months of amp and chemo. (her 6 months was a happy time though, she was pain free). There is no easy way to say goodbye. The only positive thing about knowing a little in advance is that you can say goodbye. I didn't get that with my first girl Brindle. MY heart is with you.

Jane.....I lost three in one year.(you met both Pearl and Diamond) And it sucks big time. {{{{{{{{{HUGS to you}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}