MP_the4pack

I did it with Pearl. She had one good day about a week after surgery. Then the tumors took over her liver. Growing at one centimeter a day. she was gone 3 weeks after surgery. Brindle went in for surgery, but when they opened her up, she was loaded with cancer and let her go on the table. I would do it over only if there were absolutely no signs that the tumor of the spleen ruptured. Otherwise, it's just a heartbreaker. By the way, Pearl's splenectomy was done at OSU. So she had the bestest oncology care.

I am so sorry!

She looked like she was enjoying life to the fullest. I've lost two to cancer of the spleen, and it sucks. But she had joy to the end, you can see it in her face.

Oh Nancy, I'm so sorry to hear the dx. I don't think there's hardly anyone left on GT that hasn't been hit by this horrid disease. You and Albi are in my thoughts and prayers. Good luck.

Pearl was sent to the Bridge Feb '10 from home. I wanted the others to come sniff her to know that she was gone, but no one wanted to come anywhere near her. But, I didn't notice any particularly difficult grieving on their part. Surviving were her littermate Diamond, an older girl Onyx, and the youngster, Opal. I lost Diamond 2 months later but she was done at the hospital. I had no clue that OS was rearing it's ugly head on one of Diamond remaining 3 legs. I figured behing a tripod she just overdid it. She was let go on the xray table. But a year after Pearl, Feb of this year, Onyx loss the use of her back legs due to the ice. She was over 15. She went to the Bridge from home. Again no one came near her body and I didn't notice any particularly difficult time with Jade and Opal grieving. But Onyx really didn't play with them due to the age difference. But I'm glad I did it at home. It was so much more peaceful for them to go on their own beds in their own home.

Oh Robin, I'm so sorry to hear the bad news.

I lost two to cancer of the spleen. It sucks. I'm so sorry you're going thru this.

Oh Nancy, I'm so sorry to hear that. Any update yet? (still hoping for a miracle)

If he freaks out with anything on his neck, you can vet wrap the whole chest (putting softer gauze over the sutures), then a T shirt over that. He can lick to his heart's content but shouldn't get to the wound. This is for when you're not around to supervise, because the wound really should get some air to help heal.

Now that they are safe, can the people contact lab rescue to see if there are any long term fosters available to help out? I guess I'm just thinking of the greyhound community that comes to the rescue whenever a grey's in trouble including long term fostering or babysitting, whatever you want to call it. That way, you can have your alone time with Twistie and the labs remain safe.

Oh Jane, I'm so sorry. It's so hard to lose any of our furbabies, but when it's a hearthound, it's almost inconsolable. My thoughts and prayers are with you. (and you know I mean it having been there a little over a year ago)

Awwww, she sounds like she's doing GREAT!! By the way, is she your foster or yours?

I put a relatively long answer in the last LP thread. Here's a notebook version. My 11 yr old Onyx had the tieback and did GREAT until she passed this past winter at age 15.5 not related to her LP.

Lindsay, each day she is there, she will get more comfortable. The first day or so would have been the worst. And since it looks like she's doing well, I think she would just improve. And I'm talking about her being not home, not about her treatment. I'll still keep the little old lady in my thoughts.

Yeah, me too. I want to know.

You really have been hit hard. Care Credit is a Godsend. But like most of the posts have said, make sure you pay off by the end of the promotional period or you will get hammered with a high interest rate on the whole loan, not just the balance left. Good luck with everything. I hope things work out.

Oh Lindsay, I'm so sorry to hear the news. I sure hope the antibiotic works without having any side effects. Send something of yours with her, so that she can sleep on it. A sweatshirt or something. And give her a hug from me.

Unfortunately Jen, there are too many of us here on this board that have been in your shoes. We can cry with you, support you and tell you what we've done. The agonizingly difficult decision however is only yours. But, I will tell you what I went thru. My 12 yr old Diamond started limping and I knew almost immediately it was cancer because it was a different kind of pain. It was confirmed and I drove all the way from NJ to OSU so that Dr. Couto would see her. Since he's worked with more greyhounds than any other hospital I wanted his opinion on if my 12 yr old could live as a tripod. We spent the whole day there and she got prodded and poked and examined from top to bottom. The conclusion was that yes, she could be a tripod, but her recovery might take a little longer. The next day, we amputated her right front leg (OS of the shoulder). This was Friday. Sat I visited her and while I was prepared to see her without a leg, I wasn't prepared for her reaction, and it bothered me immensely how upset she was. By Sunday, she had accepted what had happened was motoring on 3 legs and the staff said they had a hard time keeping up with her. Everyone was surprised at how fast she was recovering. She was discharge Tuesday morning and we drove back to NJ that day. She was doing so well that I had to hold her back because I think she forgot that the leg was gone sometimes. The only big change I did for her was build her a ramp to go outside. But, she always had trouble with stairs to begin with. Dima only had 6 months with me before OS took another leg. But, she was VERY happy and pain free. Even chasing deer. I had a hard time keeping up with her. It took about 2 weeks before my Dima was herself after the surgery. The pain meds made her anxious. But when I took her off her meds, and saw how happy she was, that was when I realized I made the right decision. I agonized 1 whole month about that decision, to the point I was making myself sick and lost about 5 lbs. I think all of us go thru the same thing whether they opted for the surgery or not. But just remember whatever decision you make, you are making it out of love for him. It's not the wrong decision. Good luck and keep us posted.

I've used it a lot, in fact I have a balance on it now for Onyx's $3000 dental she had (just a month before she died) I figure out how much per month I need to pay in order to pay it off by term end. I usually up it a little to give myself a 1 month leeway. Don't follow their "minimum payment" requirement. That just keeps the "unpaid for 30, 60, or 90 month" clock from triggering. If you have a $3000 bill to pay off in 12 months, plan on paying $300/month. If you have a difficult month, then you have the leeway to just pay the "minimum required" and not miss the term of the 0%. If you end up not paying minimum requirements or going over the term time limit, you will be socked with high interest and past interest for the year. If you can handle the monthly payments, it is very well worth it. The negative thing about getting any new credit card if you already have Care Credit is that all new cards hit your credit score. You can reuse Care Credit everytime you have a big bill and get 0% for a certain amount of time. If you've never had Care Credit, your score will still take the same hit, but if you need it again, you won't have to apply for another card. Also, if you need to pay your vet "now", they pretty much have Care Credit ready to go. No 30 wait for a new card.

Recovery time was very short. She came home the same day. The surgery was done thru the side of the neck as opposed to going thru the mouth. It was over 4 yrs ago and I don't remember anything with her recovery, which means it was very uneventful and short. Basically the recovery is for the sutures in the neck as all they did was tie back the larynx. Aspirate pneumonia is a threat to any dog with LP with or without the surgery. And it pretty much is anytime after you notice the changes. But, as long as you keep things moist, and nothing crunchy that could break into small piece easy to inhale, you should be fine. (I also stayed away from rice and substituted macaroni instead whenever she needed a bland diet). Any future surgery in which the dog is intubated, the vets need to be advised about the tieback. They keep the tube down their throat until the very last minute as they're waking up. (longer than usual). Also, whenever I suspected something, she threw up or coughed a little more than usual, I went to the vets to have her lungs checked and they usually put her on preventive antibiotics. Oh....they will cough a bit more after surgery than before, since the passageway is permanently open.

It is so obvious from the pictures that he knew he was a very loved hound and he enjoyed life to the fullest. I'm sorry his time had come. Sleep sweet Stuey.

She was way too young. I'm so sorry.

My cost 4 yrs ago was $1400. I hope it hasn't gone up that much since then.