greyhndz

Poooooooor Mafi. Last night, I was upstairs when I heard a screech (less hair-raising than a GSOD), and then barking from Gigi. I ran downstairs, and there was Mafi, sitting at the bottom of the stairs whining and trembling. And then she turned around, and I saw that a large hunk of her L side had been degloved. It appeared to me that the large flap of skin was entirely avulsed with only a small remnant, and there was a tear in the fascia. There was minimal bleeding, but I do think I threw up a little in my mouth. (I can laugh about this now...) I called my vet, Fiona, who is also my neighbor. She met me at the hospital, as she had to head over there to do some work anyway. She figured she'd at least look at the wound to see if it needed immediate repair, a graft, or whatever. Fiona thought there was a good chance that she could repair the wound without grafting. She felt it could wait until this morning, when she was scheduled to be in surgery, so I started Mafi on keflex and gave her a tramadol for pain, and would bring her back early this a.m. Lesson learned: for a 45-lb galga, do NOT use a whole tramadol. Mafi stood, staring at the walls, for a good portion of the night. The repair is quite beautiful - I was pessimistic that the wound edges could be brought together without too much tension on the skin, but as of tonight it looks good. There's always a chance of wound necrosis/infection. She's got a drain in, and is also wearing Auntie Irene's pretty little Pink Ribbon jammie to keep the wound clean. Right now, she's staying downstairs. She did eat a few pieces of turkey but wouldn't take a hidden pill. Where are those pill pockets when you need them? I'll post photos when she can remain standing for more than a couple of minutes. My poor, sweet, loving baby girl...

Lots of good, positive thoughts for Paul! Sending out B-9 karma.

Oh, no... I'm sorry I missed this thread until tonight. Linda, what can I say that will be an adequate tribute to Valor? He was a wonderful galgo. A champion of all galgos, and one of the first here in the US. He told the story of the galgos still in Spain, and his stories resulted in so many more lucky galgos coming here to loving homes. Valor healed the broken and the broken-hearted, and was a therapy dog who served as an example of survival and perseverence. He was a hero. Godspeed, Valor. Warmest hugs, Linda.

How beautiful, Sage. I remember meeting your beautiful boy at the first Dewey you and I met. He had an aura about him -- elegance and grace. We miss you, Harley!

Loving baby. Loving mama. You're flying again, sweet Tuna. Your brothers and sisters are waiting for you, their Queen. My deepest sympathy, Sara. You made her happy for so long.

Sara, I hope by now someone has come to help you and Tuna, and that you are both at peace. You may have been alone physically, but know that you will never be alone spiritually. We are all with you, and if it were possible, we would lift Tuna into your arms and give you the strength you need to send her on her journey. Tuna is so blessed to have had you as her mom. Big hugs Jordan

Ahhh! That's great! It actually looks like stockinette, which comes in large rolls, and is used under casts to protect the skin. I think you're right - a cotton sock or something that will fit firmly over his head and ears might work. Thank you!

Poor little iggy Jesse had a chunk taken out of his ear by mean ol' Dandi. I should have been more observant. and know Dandi too well to have not predicted his behavior. Anyway, of course the house (and my new car - WAH!) are a bloodbath, and even though he's at the vet's, trying to get the tissue to clot and stop bleeding, I know these suckers can bleed like crazy. I thought a snood might be a good compression dressing until the ear heals - has this worked for anyone else? Any other suggestions? (My vet thought an e-collar might keep him from shaking his head.) I will not let this happen again. Bought new baby gates to keep the iggies segregated. My idiocy has been outed.

Beautiful, beautiful boy. I just saw the banner. I'm so terribly sorry, Trudy and Jeff. There truly is no way to prepare your heart, even if your mind comprehends. Fly free sweet boy.

I'm posting for Judith, who is in hospital fighting a serious illness (see OT thread). Roy crossed the Bridge yesterday after being diagnosed with Osteo. Judith sent loving words to Roy, and was present as he started his journey, via telephone from the hospital. Roy was reunited with his wonderful sister, Grace, who went to the Bridge last September. Judith's 3rd greyhound, Tessa, is being loved by Kathy, the Angel who has cared for all of Judith's greyhounds during her illnesses, Mommy will be watching for your star, Roy. And you and Grace need to watch over mom. Fly free to the Bridge, sweet boy.

I couldn't imagine a more beautiful tribute. I'm so sorry, Tina and Bob.

I'm not yet ready to write this, but until then, I have to believe that Bailey is once again snuggling with Lexi, whom he's yearned for since 8/15/09. I have to believe that, from the day he was given to me in 1997, he knew that he was adored, worshiped, and was truly a gift. That nothing could compare to neck kisses.... That he knew how well he taught me that iggies were iggies, not little greyhounds. And that for the past 13 years, he knew he had me, and that I'd never let him go. Until I knew it was the right thing to do. My 4 galgos woke me at 3am this morning, rooing loudly. I have to believe it was when Bailey and Lexi were reunited, forever. I will never be the same.

Ducky! I didn't know you majored in toiletology! But I must correct you: even using good old Scott 1-ply with 1000 sheets per roll (probably more like 300 these days), though you are correct that the tissue has increased permeability, and thus rip potential, this will not increase the likelihood of the TP mess being confined to the scene of the crime. Unless the roll is padlocked onto a roll holder, it's quite simple for Ekko to swipe it, cardboard roll and all, and run around the house, waving it over her head, and creating a living mummy out of her living mummy. Just wanted to clear that up.

Lots of healing thoughts, prayers and tinkles coming down from NH. (Please note: the tinkles are not from me) I'm sure she'll do just fine, especially because Heather referred you to an excellent vet. She'll be home very quickly, doing silly Ekko things. I'm sure Lenny will be OK. I'll bet it will be a short day for Ekko and she'll be hopping into bed with him before he knows it. Teo sends his fuzzy best wishes.

I just added my membership, too. I'm legal! Jane, I have 2 questions: Is the program a 501©3? Many people have a matching contribution program at their place of employment. For those who do, can the program be listed as a recipient?

Wow - pretty impressive! Thank goodness it came up and never caused obstruction! But I'll be the one to ask the irresistible question: when you were giving tummy rubs, did you ever hear squeaking? DId you think her stomach was doing a lot of high-pitched gurgling recently? Were you walking around, oiling all the door hinges and metal joints because you just couldn't figure out where the squeak was coming from? Did all the other greyhounds run up to her and try to shake her in their mouths to get to the squeakie? But the most important question on my mind: when the squeakie came out, did it still work? I'm bad today, but I'm so happy to hear you have a healthy pup.

Hi Melissa Hopefully it's just conjunctivitis and will respond well to abx ointment or drops. Other possibilities would be corneal abrasions from foreign bodies, minor trauma, etc. Glaucoma is another possible but unlikely dx. Years ago, Kody was playing with one of those hard, indestructible balls when it struck him in the eye. He developed traumatic iritis, but this is painful, and I'd expect Thunder to be pawing at it and reluctant to open his eyes. I always think uveitis but that's just because I have it. I wouldn't assume the worst, though. If your vet has any concerns, Dr. Welch over at In-Town/Woburn was very good. Keep us posted!

Bailey (in between snores) thanks you all for caring about him. I went downstairs a little while ago to grab a snack. Bailey woke up long enough to follow me downstairs (he's still a bit spacey). I asked him if he wanted a little baby food and I got a tiny little wag -- and he snarfed down 2 jars. He needs it. He's lost about 2.5 lbs in the past couple of months. Luckily he had a little weight to spare, and now he's down to fighting weight.

Thank you, everybody! Your healing thoughts and prayers did it. He was in and out quickly. The flap procedure went as well as it could - the defect was large and pretty grody. We hope that the flap will stay in place. He tolerated surgery and anesthesia without a problem. Because he was first on the schedule, my vet figured I would just wait, so I did. I was handed a flaccid little lump wrapped in his blankies at about 10am. (Only kidding - he was awake, just a little stoned.) We got home, he stood on his feet, and when I fed the others, he wanted to eat too, so he had a jar of baby meat. He'll be eating only pureed from now on - nothing crunchy or sharp that could damage the flap. My puree-er is warmed up and ready to go. The biopsy results will be back next week and we're hoping for the best, preparing for the worst. The goal is to keep Bailey comfortable, happy, eating, and enjoying life. Bailey has been with me for 13 years. Anything he wants, he gets, and nothing he does is wrong in my eyes. As I've always said, he's my little King of Tinkle. Snoozing a few minutes ago...

Could you spare some positive thoughts for iggy Bailey, who is having surgery tomorrow a.m? Bailz is now 16, and if the surgery weren't truly necessary I would not even consider it, but it's essential. He had dental surgery about a month or 2 ago, when several teeth were extracted and vet used a flap to cover a fistula that had opened between the oral cavity and the sinus. He did very well, and came bouncing out the office by noon. He was able to eat pretty normally until about 2 wks ago. He started violently sneezing after eating (even soft foods) and I knew the fistula had re-opened. But it was worse than expected. His upper palate has eroded (from the site of his extracted canines to the front of the palate) and is wide open -- whatever he eats is shooting right up to his sinuses. Vet doesn't know why this occurred -- possibly chronic bone infection, possibly something more ominous. So tomorrow morning, she's doing surgery to try to cover his palate with soft tissue flaps so he can eat normally without contaminating the sinuses. The other option is to bring him to a surgeon for bone grafts and reconstruction, but this is far too invasive for my 16 yo Bailz. I don't want to put him through this type of major surgery. And, with his murmur, any anesthesia is risky. So vet will biopsy the area, and try to use flaps to close off the palate. If the biopsy is not good, we'll deal with it at that time. Please keep Bailz in your thoughts tomorrow, and send along some "benign biopsy" vibes. thanks Jordan -- (Trying to pick up a babe)

Very interesting. Elmiron is the brand name in human medicine. The drug is primarily used to treat the symptoms of interstitial cystitis. I've actually been on it for about 5 years. News to me about it being a DMOAD. Guess I should read the literature more often.

At Ducky's request...niña as we'd all like to remember her: Always doing something to put a smile on our faces. ejecuta guisante libre, dulce. Usted vivirá en nuestros corazones. Teo siempre será su primer amor, y tú el suyo.

Noooooooo...... {{{{{Nina}}}}} {{{{{Ducky}}}}}

I get the sense from joejoesmom's original post that Dr. Couto et al were pressured into getting the website up and running sooner than anticipated, thus their inability to communicate the change to (or get feedback from) the GH community. I also get the sense that, because they don't have access to OSU's resources or fundraising services, they probably did not have professional guidance in how best to approach setting up a new fee schedule for their online services. I would bet it's the last thing on their mind to jeopardize their accessibility or support of the greyhound community. I think Dr. Couto is a member of a dwindling group of professionals: those opting to dedicate themselves to academia. The money is in private practice, but gratification and dedication to teaching vet students and residents, as well as conducting research, brings its own rewards (usually not financial ). It's becoming more difficult to juggle both academia and clinical practice (not to mention writing grants and fundraising efforts), and I give Dr. Couto tremendous credit for doing so. Scoop (MZH), I hope he never leaves academia, even if he has to phase out his clinical hours. He has so many talents to pass on, and doing so will expand the circle of veterinarians coming out of training with a solid foundation in greyhound wellness. I don't know if he has a professional web designer putting together the site; I would doubt that they're at the point where they can incorporate processes such as auto-payment or complex navigation based upon permissions granted to each individual accessing the site (i.e., members given access to certain areas, non-members given access only to limited areas, and opening options such as purchasing memorials easily available to all). Especially with the crush to get the site live very quickly, he probably didn't have the time to explore all of the options. I do agree completely with the idea of consults becoming fee-for-service. This is being done commonly at many veterinary schools and vet referral practices. It's usually a vet-to-vet consult for a set fee, and the request is generated by the vet. (and of course the fee is generated by the owner ). For instance, look at the Tufts behavioral Dept. website: Linky This is Nicholas Dodman's clinic. They provide paid online consults for both vets and owners. Not only does this generate funds, but it also makes Dr. Couto's services available to those who cannot get to OSU. I'm sure this will come to a compromise that everyone is comfortable with. I believe Dr. Couto's philosophy and goals for Greyhound wellness will prevail (as will everyone's bank accounts ).

WOW! I'm really surprised to hear this, especially because of the recognition it receives, and also the donations generated by people visiting the site. Please remember GreytHealth. We've been out there for years, and Suzanne Stack DVM has always been a fantastic resource for the Greyhound community. www.GreytHealth.com Also, Bill Feeman DVM has a wonderful educational site here. So don't despair -- there are plenty of excellent greyhound health sites at your disposal.