MP_the4pack

I'm so sorry. He was too young. I've lost 4 now and each time I've lost one it hurt so bad I said "no more greys". That how I ended up with a total of 4. I hope when the time is right, he'll show you a new pup to dote on and love, as you've loved him.

I hope it's something simple that a few pain meds can take care of.

Is that a pain med?

Now I'm getting worried. She's eating fine. Her mouth seems to be healing fine, but her back end is giving out. The first time she had trouble walking I thought she slept wrong. But it keeps happening. And this morning she got stuck outside in a snow/ice drift. When I pulled her out, she had trouble with her back legs. I had to carry her back in. I'm worried that we fixed the teeth but now her back end is giving out. She is after all 15.

OMG! Onyx is having the same thing. She had a dental last Friday and her hind end is giving out now. She got stuck in the snow at the far end of my property this morning, I had to carry her back in. Her hind legs just aren't working right. She's 15. I'll definitely be looking forward to Marx's vet visit. And praying hard it's nothing.

Everybody's commented on the sitting thing, so I won't go there. However, Ben might finally be getting comfortable enough with his surroundings that he's starting to push the envelope. And little fuzzy things might be getting interesting instead of him just staring off because he was nervous. My Jade goes after anything small and fuzzy, but small and smooth coat is just fine. No problem there.

I was crushed losing two in two months. I cannot fathom losing 3 within 1 month. My heart breaks for you.

It's so hard when they go sudently like that. YOu don't have a chance to say good-bye. But, she didn't suffer and you weren't put the agonzing choice of "when" to let her go. YOu didn't have to decide whether to go thru a $5000 surgery or just pain management. You didn't have to worry about a day too soon or a day too late. She's a beautiful girl. Enjoy life at the Bridge Elly.

Well I slept on the sofa again last night, but not because Onyx was not improving, but because we have ICE. A raging ice storm. Ice all over the place. So I helped her 'slide' down the stairs and while she was navigating the yard (luckily she broke thru the ice into snow with each step, so didn't slip and fall), I pour salt all over the steps (the pet safe stuff). Luckily it worked because right now the steps are just wet. She just went outside on her own a moment ago, did the stairs without me. And she polished off a big bowl of eggs and meatloaf. She's going to be too spoiled to go back to eating anything else.

Oh she's looking greyt!! Just remember....when they start to feel really good, they still forget they have only 3 legs. So still watch her like a hawk.

Beth, unfortunately I remember it like it was yesterday. I share in your pain.............

Oh Pat, I'm so sorry. I wish there was something I could say to help ease the pain, but you know by now there's nothing. Just time and the comfort of friends, family and other furkids.

Well I've slept the last 3 nights on the sofa. Onyx was VERY wobbly from the tramadol and I did not want her doing the 6 steps it takes to go outside. But since I have a dog door, I had to be able to hear her get up. She goes outside in the middle of the night almost every night. But, she's down to just one tramadol today and she'll get none tomorrow. Her mouth looks good, she's eating (still eating Momma's meatloaf and tapioca pudding) But she seems to be over the worst of it. Thanks for all the prayers!!

I hope Harley starts to feel better soon. I haven't read all the replies, but did anyone suggest Care Credit? I use it for my dogs all the time. Just make sure to either pay it off, or transfer the balance at the end of the time alotment otherwise you'll get whallopped with high interest. But before then, it's interest free. I've had 18 months to pay off $3000. No interest. Good luck.

My Diamond was a food hound. But when she had her surgery, she didn't eat for them until late sunday (Fri surgery) and it was cold cuts. They were nervous to let her go because she still hadn't pooped yet. But on Tuesday, the first stop on our 9 hr trip home and she let out a huge pile. Big enough to please even the pickiest doctor! She looked so much better in the second pix. I'll be looking forward to updates when she comes home.

Sorry the update was so long in coming. The dentist is almost 2 hrs from me. Nana did very well. It did take her longer to wake up, but that was to be expected for an old lady. She lost 3 of her 4 canines. I was surprised that she kept any of them. She lost 3 other teeth as well. Believe it or not, she still has several left in her mouth! She had a very hard time trying to lay down in the car. But I wasn't moving until she did. I ended up bringing the nurse out to help me. But once down, she slept all the way home. At home, the snow kind of revived her a bit (we have about 6 inches of soft powder.) Anyway, boy did she have to pee! Luckily she also poo'd, so that meant once she came in, she could sleep the rest of the day. We got home about 5 PM. Fot those of you that read Soap Box, know my 4Runner died Dec 28. They called and said it was ready today, so I got Nana settled down and could tell right away that she wasn't going anywhere for a while. She was out cold. So I took advantage of that and called my friend and he took me to get the SUV. (It's running great by the way). Now since I was already on the road and Nana needs something really soft to eat, I decided to hit the store and pick up 2 doz eggs. That should last the week. She was in the exact same position as when I left her. So..........that's why the delay in the update. I cooked up some liver and eggs (Pearl's favorite) for Onyx and she did eat some. Enough to get her pain meds down and the antibiotic down. But she prefers Momma's meatloaf to liver and eggs. She snarfed that down. SO I guess I'm going to be getting a whole lot of meatloaf mix tomorrow. She's resting comfortably right now. I'm going to take her out in about an hour (she has a dog door, but I don't want her going out alone). Then hopefully she'll crash for the night. (she usually goes out in the middle of the night), So I'm hoping there will still be a little anesthesia left to keep her asleep all night. Now let's hope she has an uneventful recovery (too many times I hear of something happening a day or week later)

Phew, one hurdle down, a few more to go.

We're all waiting impatiently.

When Diamond had her leg amputated, I sat in the OSU waiting room ALL DAY. From 7 AM to about 5 PM. I didn't get to see her, I just sat there waiting. Luckily Jane (my Ohio hostess) stayed with me all day too. The only thing that helped was to see all the greyhounds coming and going.

Tomorrow's the day. I just got the results back from her pre-dental (senior) blood panel and the vet said she looks very good. All organs are working fine (if I weren't so worried about her dental tomorrow, I'd be jumping up and down that a 15 yr has such a healthy body).

I had tears reading this. They didn't sound very empathetic. But, no matter, she's in their care now. If you have stairs she needs to do to go outside, why not take the time and build a ramp. I'm a middle aged woman and I built a simple but very sturdy ramp in 2 days. (It held my weight). It'll keep you busy and also give her something easy to go down. Also, if you don't have one, get a sling. They are easier to work with than towels under the tummy. She'll need it for just a couple weeks while she's remembering how to do things without all 4 legs. The next two weeks will be the worst. But it'll pass.

I just thought of one other thing. Believe it or not, Callie may be feeling so good by day 4-5 that she may try to do things she can't do. Diamond was trying to go down 6 stairs (even though I had her ramp up) by herself and decided to jump instead. I had just caught up to her when she took that flying leap. (I have a dog door and rushed out when I realized it was her that went thru). She landed in a heap. She was very very lucky, she didn't hurt herself. (I was very very luckY!) So, their mind is saying "I'm feeling better" but the body hasn't adjusted to just three legs yet. Actually, I like this kind of warning. That they feel that good. You have all my prayers, and there are a lot of GTers that have been where you are now.

Kim, I'm so so sorry to hear this about Callie. I was in your shoes a year ago with Diamond. It was her right front as well. I don't know what option you're going to end up taking, but I just wanted to let you know what I did. Diamond was 2 weeks shy of her 12th BD. I drove from NJ to OSU so that Dr. Couto could tell me if she was an amp candidate. My biggest fear was that she couldn't live as a tripod. I felt she would survive the actual surgery. But living on 3 legs, not so much We spent the day there and the consensus was that while she was a bit arthritic, she was healthy enough to live as a tripod. They all thought she would take extra long to heal due to her age, but she surprised them all and was ready to go home by Tues from a Fri surgery. That bordered on being early! Anyway, once she healed from surgery which took just 2 weeks for the worse to be over, she had a happy and pain free life for 6 months until OS showed up in another leg.(we also did chemo, they sent it to my vet in NJ). The only thing I did for Diamond was to build a ramp to go outside since there are 6 steps to get outside from any of my doors. I have a dog door and she had no problems with that. She mastered the ramp easily (but we did practice before we went out to OSU. I had it built in a weekend and since her leg was already hurting, she was happy to use the ramp. No matter what option you chose, it is the right one for you, because you're making it with Callie's happiness in mind. Good luck with whatever you do.

Oh no! Not Hector. And he was so young too.

Even a foreleg, the may want several views. A front view, side view. The side view is easy, they just place them on their side, and depending on where they are looking if they stretch the leg (not painful stretch). If they need a front view, then the dog needs to be on their sternum, which might be hard for an unsedated dog. Pearl with her heart disease had regular chest xrays. We plopped her on the xray table, on her side. I was with her (in lead suit) and she'd lay quietly while we took the pix. When Onxy was limping in her back end, she needed to be knocked out because they really had to stretch her hind legs and manipulate them to get a good xray. So, if a side view is all that's needed, it could be done without anesthesia if your dog is quiet. My Diamond didn't need sedation when her OS was discovered in her shoulder. She laid quietly. And she was quiet when we discovered 6 months later, OS in her back leg too.