MP_the4pack

Oh Jane, I'm so sorry. Give Twistie a hug and kiss from her Auntie M. I'm sure Pearl and Dima will go out of their way to greet her since she was so good to them.

There are actually 2 articles on LP in the magazine. One from the owner's viewpoint of having an older dog with LP (the star of the article was Onyx who had the tieback surgery at age 11 and lived to 15.5) The other article is written by a vet and goes into medical detail. By the way, both authors are GT members. If you don't get the magazine, simply go to the Greyhound Project website and request one. Since it just came out they should have plenty left. I don't know individual sale value or if you need to do a yearly subscription. But if he does have LP, keep his exercise light, especially in the heat. They have trouble panting with LP. And panting is what cools their body. Also, no hard crunchy stuff like milkbones. With or without the tieback, there is still the possibility of aspirate pneumonia. And switch to a harness from a collar. A surgeon can tell you if your boy is a good surgical candidate for the tieback.

First, take a deep breath. Ok, how many cookies? White chocolate doesn't have much if any of the chemical that is dangerous to dogs. Dark chocolate is the real dangerous type. If you really don't want what's in his tummy to stay there, use hydrogen perioxide (I don't like using salt, the body does absorb the sodium). couple of tablespoons. Outside! Some dogs vomit right away, other's let you get really really worried first before it comes up. But I'd call your vet first. I don't think it's necessary, but I'm not a vet. Also.....how's he reacting? Is he sick?

A year to make a decision? She doesn't have a year if it's left untreated. I hope your Dad will realize the importance of speed. I had less than a month between symptoms and amp. Dima made it 6 months.

I'm sorry to hear this Nancy. I lost two of my babies to spleenic cancer. Brindle to hemangio and Pearl to fibro. I took Pearl out to see Dr. Couto because he said that there are greyhounds with enlarged spleens that are not cancerous and once removed do well. But it sounds like she's not a candidate for surgery. Having lost three in a year, I know what you're feeling. It sucks.

Oh Jane, you have no idea how much I wish I were closer. I'd be there in a heartbeat. Even half the distance (4 1/2 hrs) I would come out and help. But I just can't do 9 hrs in a weekend.

What about stopping the chemo? (if you haven't already). Are there any meds that the vet can give to help with the diarrhea? (Immodium comes to mind)

Jane, is Joe really a YEAR already?!! That's wonderful! How's he doing? And how is your sweet Twisty? Lastly, how are you doing?

Pam, I noticed you're in Northern, NJ. I'm in Hunterdon County. I just wanted to let you know that I took the trip to OSU when my Diamond was diagnosed. She was 2 weeks shy of 12. So I wanted Dr. Couto's advice if he thought she could handle being a tripod at her age. It took 9 hrs. I drove out on Wed. A greyhound person out there (Joejoesmom) put me up for the duration. Diamond spent Thursday being checked out inside and out. It was determined she could handle amputation. She was done Friday and released late Mon afternoon. We drove home Tues. One thing I am very thankful for, they kept her in the hospital for recovery. It was not an abnormally long time, in fact it was a day short of their average amputation stay. Many vets discharge the dogs the day after surgery, and for me something this traumatic needs hospital time. It may or may not be feasible for you, but I did want to let you know it's an option. My local vets had no problem with it either. I ended up making the trip to Ohio twice that year (the other time for Dimaond's sister Pearl). It's not bad at all. In fact if cancer hits any of my crew, I will not hesitate to do that drive. Where in north jersey are you? If I can be of assistance at any time I'm here.

I can't advise regarding the vaccines, but have a sling available to help steady her during the first few days. Especially when she thinks she's got this tripod thing down and tries to do things she's not ready for. It'll be most helpful for her peeing and pooping the first few days. I had a front leg amp. So there were no concerns there. But I recently had a girl who's back end gave out. She needed the sling for support during her 'duties'. Good luck. This is a rough decision no matter what. But you are doing it out of love for her. By the way, my baby was 12 when she had her amp and she adjusted very well and had a happy painfree 6 months.

It breaks my heart when a young one gets it. It was hard enough when my 12 yr had it, but 7 is just a baby. I have a 7 yr old. I got her at 20 months and to me she'll always be my puppy. But I see something like this and it petrifies me. You'll get a lot of good info here. If you have amp questions I can answer some. I went to OSU from NJ for my 12 yr old. PS, she's quite beautiful!

You're lucky. I'm not far from you and I have the biting gnats. They go after both me and the dogs. My ears and face get hit regularly. I actually wear what I call a gnat hat when I'm gardening. It's a hat with a built in net.

I drove from NJ to OSU just to see Dr. Couto (9hr). I knew he had seen more greyhounds for OS than anyone else. My girl was 2 weeks shy of 12 yrs old. While to me I thought she was a young 12 yr old, I wasn't sure if she could physically handle being a tripod. I let Dr. Couto and his team tell me. We did go thru with the amp and chemo. While I only had 6 more months, they were pain free. And she was very happy. But if you asked me to put Onyx thru that, I would have said no. She could not have handled it. If for nothing else, would a visit to OSU help put either your mind or your DH's mind at ease? Because of the distance. I drove there on a Wed (all by myself, with a 12 yr old SUV that was in the shop until 7:30 the night before!! ) Diamond spent the day THurs being checked over by everyone. The decision was in favor of amp and she was done Fri. They released her Monday late afternoon and we drove home Tues. All aftercare was done by her local vets. Suture removal and antibiotics. They also did the chemo with the free drugs Dr. Couto sent. I'm not trying to convince you to go the amp route, I'm just trying to help get a decision that both you and DH are comfortable with. I hope I did help. It's not easy no matter what happens. I lost 5 lbs just agonizing over the decision. And it wasn't until 3 weeks after surgery that I was convinced I did the right thing. Yes, I doubted myself for over a month. By the way, there are people at OSU that have opened their hearts and homes to people like you and me, traveling long distances to OSU. It'll save on hotel rooms and angst. I wish you the best of luck no matter what you end up doing. And whatever you do is coming from your heart because you love him.

I'm so sorry to hear the news. I can't offer advice with pain management, I went the amp route. But I'm sure you will get plenty of advice and hugs.

Oh Diane, she was beautiful. I'm sorry she had to leave.

My beloved Pearl with both heart disease and hypertension also ended up with GN. She was already on enalapril. However, it wasn't bad enough to do anything more. She was on enalapril for probably....6 yrs. No problem. She lived to 12 and succumbed to cancer of the spleen. Nothing at all to do with her heart, hypertension or kidney. The little girl I babysit is in kidney failure and she gets the aspirin, I think enalapril and fluid once a week. She's a teeny tiny thing and very shy, but she's handling that well. She's been doing that for over a year now and her kidneys are holding on. Slowly getting worse, but still working. She's 14.

Merideth, I'm so so sorry to hear that Turbo left. I've lost some of mine suddenly, and others I knew the time was coming. Either way, it's not easy. With the small exception that when they go fast, they didn't suffer. They enjoyed life to the very end. And what a GREYT picture. I hope I have that when I too go to the Bridge to meet my furkids.

A second opinion never hurts. Can you send the xrays to OSU?

Jane is a little hard to get hold of with her own Joe being a tripod, her Twistmas with lymphoma and two lab guests. You can try, but don't think she's snubbing you if you don't get a reply.

You can actually snail mail the xrays. They can read them as well as digital copies. But what I did do was go to a specialty clinic and get new xrays taken digitally and sent them on disk (the email attachment was too big) If you can afford that, it's a little easier to mail a disc over the large prints.

PS...I'm in NJ. When my Diamond was diagnosed with OS, I drove all the way out to OSU for her amp. It took me 9 hrs and was so worth it. Depending on where in Md you are, it might be worth it for you too. The surgery was also cheaper than elsewhere, so that doubled the trip. And, to add frosting, there are several people around OSU that will put people like me or you up in their homes instead of having to stay at a hotel.

Send the xray to OSU. Dr Couto will review it. It's the number 1 greyhound oncologist. And I don't believe they charge for it.

What a handsome boy he was. His eyes were incredible. He was way too young. I'm so sorry.

Oh Sheila, I'm so sorry to hear about Laci. While it does sound like a seisure, mild strokes can disappear just a quickly. Pearl had an episode where she acted drunk and her eyes were moving very quickly back and forth. I thought it was a vestibular problem, but called her cardiologist 'just in case'. Turns out, it was a stroke caused by her BP. Somewhere along the lines we lost control of it and it was soaring. Luckily we got it back under control and she was check every 6 weeks after that.