greyhead

Very sorry, Diane. Pablo was a very special boy!

My sincere sympathy, Jean.

Thank goodness!

Thank you for sharing this wonderful tribute to the beyond-lovely Cora. I'm so very sorry she had to go but so very glad you found such love in each other.

What a beautiful character Zoey was! I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'm so sorry Cowboy couldn't stay.

So sorry Kasey couldn't stay longer with you.

I'm so sorry.

This sounds like very good news. Lots of hope and prayers coming from our house!

Sympathy to all who knew and loved him. Run free, big guy.

We'll be thinking of you and Smiley tomorrow and praying for quick healing!

So sorry for your loss. What a beautiful, elegant lady.

A great tribute to a fabulous -- and beautiful -- dog. Run free, Otis.

Since you asked for experiences, I'll just add that Spencer broke his very long tail, somehow, after he came to us, about four inches up from the tip. No broken skin, but he licked it a lot and didn't like it touched. It took a few weeks to realize there really was a problem and take him in for an x-ray. The vet said "it's a mess in there" and that the usual treatment was amputation, which I found preposterous in this day and age. They have no splints for this! But the vet said the bones were already trying to grow back together, so she had the tech hacksaw off the end of a syringe casing to make a splint. We wrapped gauze around the area, slid the splint over that, and taped the ends. Changed it weekly. In six weeks it was all healed! And I was very grateful that he got to keep his tail. Out of curiousity, how does one assess feeling in the tail? Do you pinch it kinda hard? All the best to you and Cali.

Hugs, Elizabeth.

Lovely tribute to a well-loved and gorgeous boy.

I'm so sorry, Laurie. You can't be blamed for doing everything you could. I'm sure you loved each other very, very much.

Heartbreaking indeed. I'm so very sorry! Godspeed, Petee.

Is there an internist available where you are? They're more comfortable with complicated situations than regular vets are. Much love to Warlock! And you too, wonderful mom.

Budesonide is working very well for Spencer too, but he also takes Flagyl and Tylan. And he doesn't have PLE or PLN. But budesonide is supposed to have far less obnoxious side effects than either pred or imuran. I'm puzzled that your vet could have examined a poop sample today and declared that there's no bacterial overgrowth. Spencer's sample was sent out to a lab, who watched for a week to see what it grew, and we didn't get results until then. Which is not to say I think that's Safari's problem, just that it doesn't sound like a valid test procedure. (I'm hoping ahicks51 will chime in here with an opinion.) Can you tell us what potions the holistic vet gave you? I would hope they aren't limited to homeopathic remedies but also include some herbs, only because I have more experience with and faith in herbs and I know them to have much power to address problems with internal organs. I'd hope she'd give you something containing rehmannia for his kidneys. I've never heard of ozone therapy either, but I don't know everything! Sub-q fluids help a lot with dehydration related to kidney malfunction. (I've had two cats with kidney failure.) But one wants to be sure not to add to the ascites, so I wonder how that's being addressed. (B12 is always good to get with sub-q's because it's water-soluble and he'll tend to lose B12 more quickly with sub-q's.) Hang in there. You may be, understandably, overwhelmed by choices but you're not alone.

Our IBD dog developed his problem after receiving clindamycin after a dental, a drug which can both cause and cure bacterial imbalances of the intestines. For some reason, testing the poop for germs rather than for parasites is not something vets think of quickly. I had to insist! After we got the Clostridium excess we found under control, we've been able to address the IBD and, after much ado, he's doing well. So if he hasn't had his poop tested for germs, I'd strongly suggest it. Glutamine is an amino acid that holistic vets and even our internist recommend for helping firm up poop. Easy to find OTC. They also recommend the herb rehmannia for kidney problems. I'd second the idea of finding a holistic vet to consult. Our thoughts and prayers are with you. These are tough problems that take a lot out of all concerned!

I'm so very sorry, Pam. Words fail me.

Congratulations and welcome! She's a beauty and sounds like a lot of fun!

Thinking of you all and wishing you peace today.

Your pup sounds like she needs some kind of help, so I hope this works for her. As Chicocat says, lower-than-expected weight can occur in hypothyroid dogs, as well.