MP_the4pack

I bet the sound of his heavy feet slamming on the floor was no different between 3 legs and 4. I can see him now. A stuffie in the hospital is definitely worth every moment. You go Joe!

I'm sorry. I went thru the same thing with Pearl. It seems a lot of people are losing several close together this year.

I went to an expensive cardiologist. Our visits always ranged from $350 to $700 dollars a visit (with the exception of getting a BP done by the nurse, that was "just" $92.) I didn't keep track of when she had echos vs EKGs.

I sent a ton of leftover meds from Pearl to OSU. Dr. Couto was very thankful. ($1700 according to him). I get a tax break with that this tax season.

Topaz was 5 when I lost her. I was new to greyhound ownership and had expected to have both of these girls for 10 yrs. So there was quite a bit of shock when she died of liver disease (especially since the vet kept saying that with meds I could have her for another year.) Anyway, after she was gone I brought in Onyx. So now it was Brindle (my first) and Onyx. Brindle had a horrible year after Topaz died. I spent $7000 in vet bills on her. But they all seemed to get fixed including her 2 week stay at U of Penn vet school. Well about a year after that I started to look at my then 8 yr old girl and say, "You'd better not leave me. You're supposed to make up for Topaz leaving so young. You have to make it to 18". There was no reason why I would say it, she wasn't showing me any signs of being sick. Not consciously, maybe subconsciously. I said this rather frequently during the next 6 months, then she died suddenly. Of hemangiosarcoma. It must have been growing all that time I was telling her "You can't leave me. You have to stay with me for another 10 yrs." We fought tooth and nail to keep Pearl feeling good and healthy and to have a quality of life for 7 yrs with her heart disease and hypertension. Although I kept preparing to lose her to a stroke or CHF, deep down I knew cancer was going to take her. Fibrosarcoma of the spleen. (this was after her last cardio checkup when her doctor said she probably will get 2 more years out of her heart). All my girls would limp occasionally. Drove me nuts because I always thought the worst. But when Diamond got OS. I knew it. It was really a different limp. I was about to say that when I took her for the last time to the vets, I just thought she had overdone running around the back yard. I think I really thought that. But then why did I give her an extra special dinner the night before "just in case"? Just in case what?! So, I think I knew then too. I was just in denial that I couldn't lose another so soon. So Beth, I guess this diatribe answered your question from me.

Emily was way too young to have left. I'm so sorry.

Tracy, to answer your questions: They did the single left side tieback. Apparently there is a difference if you tie back the left or right side. They went in thru the side of the neck to do it. The incision was 2-3 inches long. I took her home that day. No vomiting. The surgeon put her on pepcid daily to help prevent vomiting. That's a big no no. Major cause of aspirate pneumonia. But before you nix the surgery because of that, LP with no tieback is just as prone to the aspirate pneumonia as with the tieback. The only food restriction is no hard crunchies (milkbone dog biscuits, dry kibble...must be soaked). That's it. Due to her age and other things popping up, I have recently switch to all canned food. But she'd been on soaked kibble for years after the tieback. If she has surgery in the future, the doctors would need to know she has the tie back. The intubation tube needs to stay in as long as possible, til the very last minute. But again, it's more because of the paralysis, not tieback. Onyx did not vomit much during her life before or after the surgery. If your dog is prone to vomiting, the doctor may decide not to do it. Or maybe be on stronger meds than just pepcid. The elevated bowls were fine as is. But now, because she is the Queen Mum, she gets fed in bed, while lying down. "Can I get you anything else your Royal Highny?" Every once in a while she seems to have a different cough (they do cough more since the larynx no longer closes) and I'll take her to the vets. She just gets a round of antibiotics to be safe. Just a few months ago, she had a 'spit up' (like what human babies do)...I still took her to the vets for a round of antibiotics. But no real scare. For treats I give her Nutter Butter sandwich cookies that I wet first. Makes it nice and soft. She has had a few surgeries since the tieback and other than keeping the intubation tube in a tad longer, there have been no problems. Let me know if there are any more questions. I do know some dogs don't do well with the tieback. I don't know any personally so I can't give an opinion other than what I see with Onyx. It's still a rough decision. Good luck in whatever path you choose.

I'm so so sorry. I too lost two this year within 2 months.

My Onyx was 11 when she had the tieback surgery. She will celebrate her 15th birthday next month. She does pant a lot but it doesn't seem to interfer with her breathing. She goes out for walks...same distance we've always done. She does get more tired now but heck, she is going to be 15. We've had to watch what she eats to prevent aspirate pneumonia, but you need to worry about that without surgery too. I opted for the surgery because my sister's lab also had LP and towards the end it was awful. So many times she sounded like she was on death's door, struggling to breathe. I did not want to go thru that. I also lost a dog to hemangio. It was of the spleen. She was gone within hours of finding out. Not a hint something was wrong until then. Good luck in your decision.

I have no problems with a bedtime snack.......it's called ice cream and I can't even get around to skipping a night! I've created some monsters.

Have them check blood pressure. that should not be an expensive test. (it's the same as when the nurse checks yours). Hypertension can and will cause strokes and can so easily be controlled. My Pearl had hypertention. But the bad news is, cancer can also cause strokes because clumps of cancer cells can break off and go to the brain. Pearl's second stroke came a week before she succombed to fibrosarcoma of the spleen and liver.

I know your pain. I lost two in 2 months as well. Have you given amputation a thought? I did it to my 12 yr old girl. She did TERRIFIC. She got a good 6 months of quality life. Happy, bouncy, still chased deer.

I SO KNOW how you're feeling. The first baby I lost I celebrated her 6th BD at the bridge too. Way too young. But she left her legacy in that I have adopted several white/black girls.

Oh thank God (or whoever you may want to thank)

It's going to be a long effin day.............

I am utterly speachless.

I'm sorry Jen.

When I lost Topaz 11 yrs ago. I had one dream about her. When I lost Brindle 9 yrs ago, I had a lot of dreams about her and in all of them I had forgotten that she died. So I didn't treat her any different than I had when she was alive. I finally had a dream where I remembered she was gone and gave her a huge hug and told her how much I missed her. That was my last dream of Brindle. I haven't had any dreams of Pearl and Diamond. And I wish I would.

I'm so sorry Jen. Diamond was hit with OS in another leg as well as kidney failure. If it was just one or the other, we could have given her quality of life for a little while longer. But the two cancelled out each other as far as being able to use meds. And she went to the Bridge on the xray table. I wish I could offer more than just a cyber hug.

Done

Ummm, I hold my girls bowls all the time for them! So, how's Joe Joe today? Is he using the sling much?

Pearl developed heart disease 1 yr after I signed up with VPI. A year after that she was diagnosed with hypertension. Her vet bills were so high, we maxed out 5 of the 7 yrs she was covered. I'm sure VPI was glad when they no longer needed to cover her. Diamond wasn't covered. She was denied because of her ehrlichia. She was healthy her whole life with me until the end when she got OS. That cost me $5000. And that was with help from the Greyhound Wellness, and people like Jane that put me up for free. All it takes is just one emergency. Brindle wasn't insured 10 yrs ago. She cost me $9000 in 6 months. That's when I finally scraped together the money to insure her.

Pearl, Has it been 6 months already? Has it only been 6 months? When you left me in February I was upset that I wasn't crying for you. It felt like you had been gone for years already. But you were my heart and soul, how could that be? I've come to the conclusion it was because I was numb. In shock. Because now I find I'm crying daily. I seem to miss you more and more. I miss playing fetch. I miss playing yoo-hoo (hide and go seek) I miss having you sleep with me in bed. I miss you snuggling with me on the sofa I miss your Elvis smile. I miss your high pitched squeal of delight when I came home. I miss your happy face. You so enjoyed life. I miss so much about you. Most of all I miss your hug. Snuggling with my friend Ruby2sday Momma misses you so much.

I was hoping for a good update. How did Joe joe survive the storm? Isn't it amazing how fast they get up and going? I had a hard time keeping up with Diamond when we got home. In fact just one month post op, she wanted nothing to do with the ramp into the SUV (it sits very high). She'd jump into it. You saw when we visited in Jan just 3 months post op. She was out chasing the deer in your yard. Joe will be just like that.