redlady

Saw the opthomologist and the nurologist today at the U. Everyone is leaning towards it being a brain tumor. It apparently is pretty rare. (not rare enough - if you ask me). She goes in for an MRI and spinal tap tomorrow. I'll keep it updated.

My non grey presented with a dilated pupil in her left eye that is non reactive to light. A trip to the vet showed no glaucoma (pressures were normal in both eyes), no cataract, and no scrapes or abrasions to the eye. Her eye is drifting to the left (outward) and a bit down. The vet thinks she has something wrong with her oculomotor nerve - which could be caused by anything from an infection to a tumor. I'm going to make an appt with a vet ophthalmologist tomorrow (probably at the University) but was wondering if anyone here had any experience with this in the mean time???

Hi Guys- I need a good vet for pups and kithes on the east side of Madison. I LOVE my vet in Oregon - but it's too much of a hike, especially if there's an emergency. Any recommendations?

Oh no you guys..... Fly free sweet blue

Heart is breaking. Thanks to all that helped make this baby's last hours better than his first years. RIP sweet boy. Run pain and heart break free.

Very sorry for your loss. What a sweet, loving face. She left knowing how much she was loved. Run free sweet girl.

I am so sorry for your loss. She lived such a happy and full live full of friends and loved ones. Run free sweet girl. Show all those bridge folks how you can fly.

So totally NOT crazy. You'll figure out what's right when the time comes. Until then, you need to do what brings you peace. My aunt's heart cat is in a box in her bedroom. I'm her legal custodian and she's left STRICT instructions to have her cremated, her ashes mixed with her cats and sprinkled over my great grandfathers tomato garden. Hugs to you

Thanks Robin You rock! Craig - I'll contact you. Hopefully we can help out!! K-

I'm in Madison, WI and am available to hound sit. We lost our Grey to OS last month We have 2 non-grey dogs (large) that get along well with other hounds (with proper introduction). We also have an indoor only cat. Fenced in back yard, and I work from home, so I'm pretty much always here. We'd be happy to have a grey around when needed. PM me if we can help!!

I am so sorry you have to ask this question. I, unfortunately, have no advice either. Training is probably the best route to go, but as others have said, it's just going to take some time. Many hugs to you and your family. I hope you enjoy the rest of the time you have left with your sweet Hobbes.

Wow. What a butt load of work you guys have done!! I'm missing the "events" link (probably located somewhere and I just haven't found it yet. I ran out of coffee this morning ) Like Deb, my avatar and siggie are missing Still playing around. I like it

Not to be the downer...and I'm in NO WAY trying to influance your decision. Just giving you info... My vet did warn that OS Micometasticises very quickly. So, the spots may not show up on the films yet, but that doesn't mean it hasn't located there. Of course, that doesn't mean ANYTHING. Chemo could help, or maybe in his case it HASN'T moved yet. You're right. The super sucky thing about it is not knowing. I hope you're doing OK and hanging in there as best you can. ((((hugs))))

Oh man. I let Radar go to the bridge yesterday. Same issue, same place, same age. I based my decision on him. He was a laid back boy. No fighting, no drama, just mellow. He did not tolerate pain well, and recovery from an amp would have been terrible for him. He was pleading with me to let him go yesterday. It's hard to make this decision on a pup you haven't had for a long time. But, the others are right. You need to find out your options, then search your heart and look into his eyes and decide what the best course of action is. Many hugs to you as you make this agonizing decision. Know that whatever you decide, you're doing it with your heart in the right place.

Tell him he should be so lucky.

Brought him home for a couple of hours, then went back to the vet. We put our beloved Greyhound to sleep tonight. He was pleading with me to let him go when he got home. My sweet sensitive boy did not have the soul to tolerate such pain. They took new films tonight with a darker setting, and the cancer was evident. Run Free my beautiful, sweet boy. It hasn't hit me that you're gone yet.

Thanks MP. I thought of you when he brought me back to read the films. Thinking "She told me this might happen..." He just called. The biopsy is done. He's 90% sure that's what it is. He said the bone was pretty spongy and he saw some evidence of bleeding - indicative of OS. I AM struggling. My mind still isn't wrapped around the fact that this is what we're dealing with. He was on the meds this morning, and if anything was WORSE. Vet put him on some different stuff and says he's better than this morning, but still painful. I asked about a fentnoyl (sp?) patch, and he said he doesn't use them too often - mixed success with them and he's hesitant to use them in houses with kids (I have a toddler). But said if I wanted to use one, he would get it for me. He wants to use the Previcox and Tramadol right now, and if that doesn't help, he'd supply me with injections of something stronger or order the patch for me. I'm just at a loss. Radar is just such a laid back, easy soul. It's hard and so d@mn unfair to see him struggling with anything this harsh!!! I have some long days ahead of me as I decide what's best for him. He's not like my girls. They're fiesty and fighters. He's just a passive, calm guy. I don't want to sell him short, but I don't want to put him through anything that wouldn't benefit him in the end either. I feel like a traitor even making the decision. It's a good thing the vet is only 4 blocks from my house. I'm sure I'll be crying too hard to drive much further than that. I'm going to pick him up as soon as DH comes home. I don't want to bring DS with me, he's just not in the mood and I need to be on my full game when I go (as much as I can be). This sucks. I know that simplifies my emotions more than their due, but it about sums it up.

He's on Tramadol and Previcox. I was reading Rileysmomma's post about Riley's split incident a couple of months ago, and that is EXACTLY how Radar is. Videos of Riley are Radar to a "T". (except w/ Radar it's his right front, not his left front). I PM'ed her for some info. But, from her postings, it seems like just some rest. I am going to call the vet and let them know his panting and restlessness. Maybe they have an idea on how to keep him quieter and more comfortable.

So, a couple of weeks ago, Radar started limping on his right front leg. Took him to the vet, no cancer, nothing visible. Vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory and sent us home. Limping got a little worse, so I took him back 10 days later. We did another set of x-rays, and further probing of his leg showed that he was presenting with pain on the bone. No cancer again, but since we knew exactly where to look, they found a teeny tiny crack in the bone. Very small, barely visable. So, we went on the idea that was it. They gave him some pain meds along with the anti-infammatory and sent us home. I left to go back to Michigan for the weekend. Sunday, I called my husband to tell him I was on my way home, and while we were talking, I hear Radar doing the GSOD in the background. DH didn't see what happened, but we are guessing that he was trying to get up in the dog room (room off kitchen - linolium) and slipped. Took him to the vet this morning as he is now not using the leg AT ALL and is in a lot more pain. They do MORE x-rays. Still nothing. But, now they think that when he slipped (or whatever happened) that he did something to his tricep. He is panting hard and constant. He finally laid down (read: collapsed) but he all but refused to lie down before that. He won't eat. He got a morphine shot this morning. I'm beside myself. I don't know what to do to make him feel better. I don't know if there is something me and my vets are missing. He's crying in pain and I just want him to lie down and relax and try to heal. Help!!! Any suggestions? Any experience?? Update 11/2/09 - Just got back from the vet. I took him back in because he was so upset. My regular vet (saw a different guy this morning) came in to talk to me. He had reviewed the 3 x-rays we had taken. One from almost 3 weeks ago, one from less than a week ago, and one from today. The change is subtle, but on the one from today, we can see thinning of the bone wall and some fuzziness around the bone (before it was a nice clean line). He's going to do a biopsy today, but he's thinking it's OS. I knew this was a possiblity. He even told me that he's had people come in with a limp, films were fine, then a couple of weeks later, they saw changes. My poor baby. It's not fair that at the ripe age of 11 he has to go through so much pain.

Well...I went to the Vet. I survived a mild heart attack. No cancer. My vet wasn't in today, so I saw someone else (I like they're whole practice...) She was poking around on his shoulder, and found "the spot". Then, she had him lay down, poked around some more, and found "the spot" again, then had him lay on his side - same thing. She finished, looked at me and said well...it's not the muscle. Its defiantly the bone. I panicked. (see my post in Off topic...thank doG for my iPhone...) Then, after looking at the new films and comparing and zooming in A LOT, she picked up on the tiniest crack I've ever seen. So tiny that neither one of us is convinced that it is the issue. But, it's in "the spot" that he's painful, and there is NOTHING else there. She actually remarked how beautiful his bones looked. So, I got an antinflamatory, and a pain killer. He's on house arrest for a couple of weeks while we try and get it to start healing. I'm frustrated that we don't definitively know the answer, but I'm happy that his bones look ok (at least for now...)

Thanks guys. This gives me some info to go on. MP - yeah...I know. My vet is grey savy, and when I brought him in, my vet just looked at me and I said "I know....X-rays..." When the X-rays came back clear, he told me that he had a case of a GH that showed fine on the X-rays, but a couple of weeks later they redid them because they couldn't find another reason, and the cancer was there. He doesn't like to scare me, but he's a full disclosure kind of a vet. I'm hoping that's not the case.

Radar has been limping significantly on his right front leg for about a week. I took him to our vet 2 days after it started (wanted to wait it out to see if it was just a minor pull). Dr did x-rays - no cancer (thank doG). Also did Lymes test since he's seen a number of dogs with lymes lately - also negative. He found a sore spot (when pressed) on his shoulder. Put him on AB (just in case it was early lymes) and an antiinflamatory. It hasn't worked. I'm going back today, but I'm a little at a loss on how to proceed. He's 11 years old. No other health issues. What else can I do to help with the sore spot? I can keep him more confined during the day (he has full "run" of the house). I'm just hoping this is something that will heal. Edited to add - he does have arthritis on that shoulder. Is there a good long term med that could help with the pain? Any suggestions?

I know you feel like your words didn't do him justice, but they did. He was so loved. He was unbelievably special, and only you could have loved him all he was worth. Many, many, MANY thoughts to you. Run free sweet Crisco. You have many friends waiting for you.

Oh my God Tammy.... I, too, was just reading about the dental and was in shock. Many, many hugs. Godspeed Keena