vjgrey

Thought I'd toss this totally bizarre issue out there to see whether anyone has any possible explanation: Lucy becomes really angry when Cash nests. Any time, day or night, wherever she is in the house. If she hears him nesting, she'll bark, and then run over and glare at him until he stops. We've had her for six years, and she's never done this with any of our other hounds. We've had Cash for two and a half years, and she didn't do it with Cash until recently. We can also simulate the sound by scraping our nails on the beds, and she doesn't react. She gets along fine with him otherwise - no issues or snarking at all. She just won't let the poor guy nest.

Gabe (Zared) - lost his battle with Osteo in March, 2012. Diamond (Shorty's Diamond) - lost her battle with Osteo in September, 2014.

I literally gasped out loud the first time I saw Diamond's kennel photo. DH immediately said "You've found a hound, haven't you?" We'd adopted Gabe a few months before and knew we'd eventually adopt a second. I thought she was the most stunning dog I'd ever seen. I couldn't stop thinking about her and kept showing DH her picture. The next evening over dinner, I emailed the group, telling them we'd come see her over the weekend and asking them not to let anyone adopt "our" hound. And she was our hound. Every inch of her. From the minute she first set foot in our house seven years ago, she wanted nothing more than to be glued to us - especially DH. She was also perfect from the first moments - instantly house trained, instantly obedient. A total love bug. Absolutely perfect. A few months after we adopted her, we took her to a greyhound playdate with 50 hounds and dozens of people. She'd been outside, holding court, and she'd ventured back into the building where DH and i were. We saw her looking around for us. When she spotted us, her face instantly lit up, and she RAN to us, all joy and wiggles. That moment has been stuck in both of our heads ever since. That's exactly how I picture the scene when we see her again at the bridge. The photo I fell in love with: Her very first day home. She was a champion roacher.

We were in a very similar situation with Diamond. Her Osteo was missed by two vets and a Chief Surgeon on three sets of X-rays. We tried cold laser until that made things worse - at that point, she was diagnosed with Osteo by a neurologist via MRI. I hope you have better news and that someone can give you some answers.

We went through that with Lucy, and it turned out to be IBD.

Had another conversation with her oncologist, and he feels it's not time. Despite the met in her lung and the lesion on her leg, she's not really showing any signs of pain or discomfort. He feels we can continue to manage it and that she still has some good weeks (months?) ahead. So I'm going to pick up my girl. We'll get her burgers and ice cream on the way home.

It's in Diamond's lungs and her back leg. I'll probably be letting her go this evening. I'm beyond gutted. Two of my babies claimed by cancer in two years.

I know I've been terrible at providing updates (life has been CRAZY lately, to say the very least), but if you could send some positive thoughts Diamond's way tomorrow (Wednesday), I'd really appreciate it. She's going in for her third chemo, and they'll be doing x-rays of her lungs and probably her remaining back leg. She's generally been doing REALLY well, but she's having some problems with that leg. Her Oncologist and her physical therapist think it's a strained muscle, but since they'll be doing x-rays anyway, I want to have it checked out. We (DH, oncologist and I) decided on day one that we're not willing to risk a pathological break, so if they find anything sinister, we'll probably be letting her go. We're not ready for that (as if you ever are), and she's not ready. She's still happy and spunky and enjoying life. So send lots of "just a strained muscle" thoughts, please.

I've also been really happy with Healthy Paws. Diamond was diagnosed with Osteo in May, and they've paid almost $10k in claims with no issues.

This has been my ONLY complaint about our insurance (Healthy Paws). They raised our rates when we moved, literally, two miles down the road. We changed zipcodes because we moved from the county into the city proper, but we're still in exactly the same area with exactly the same vets/specialists.

I'm so sorry, Judy.

I need to find some time to sit down and write a full update, but Diamond, my ten and a half year-old is ROCKING life as a tripod. It's absolute nonsense to say they can't do it at seven. For what it's worth, our Oncologist says there's no evidence that a low-carb diet helps at all. The most important part right now is to control his pain (I agree with others that Tramadol isn't enough) and to limit his activity so you lessen his risk of a break. So sorry you're facing this awful diagnosis.

Definitely send the X-rays to Dr. Couto, even if the radiologist says it isn't Osteo. My Diamond was misdiagnosed for over two months after two vets and a surgeon missed Osteo on three sets of X-rays. We still think/hope we caught it early (finally diagnosed via an MRI), but I wish I'd involved Dr. Couto at the start.

I've been thrilled with Healthy Paws. We've had no issues with thousands of dollars (approaching ten thousand now) of Osteo-related claims

Sounds very much like Diamond's symptoms. She had an occasional limp that disappeared completely after she was up for a while and zero signs of pain when we/the vet felt her leg. Unfortunately, she was diagnosed with Osteo at the beginning of the month. Hers was even missed on three sets of X-rays.