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vjgrey

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  1. 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.

  2. 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:

    Greyhound_Shortys_Diamond-_2big.jpg

     

    Her very first day home. She was a champion roacher.

    Greyhound_Shortys_Diamond-big.jpg

  3. 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.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. I second sending the X-rays to Dr. Couto. My 10 year-old was diagnosed with Osteo via MRI two weeks ago after two vets and a head surgeon missed it on THREE sets of X-rays. We still feel we caught it early, but I think if I'd sent the first set of X-rays to Dr. Couto, he would've seen it immediately.

     

    Tramadol apparently tastes AWFUL. I had some success with canned whipped cream with my first Osteo dog, but with Diamond, we can only do down the throat.

  8. Miss Diamond had most of her stitches taken out today. One section (the top right of the Y incision along her hip, if that makes sense) will stay in for another week, just to be safe. The surgeon said everything looks great, and they were impressed by how well she's getting around. When the tech came out to get us in the waiting room, Diamond actually RAN AWAY, dragging me down the hall and to the elevator. Mobile? Check!

     

    She'll get the rest of the stitches out next Friday, and we'll meet with Oncology (the same brilliant Oncologist we used with Gabe) the same afternoon to discuss the chemo plan. The following Tuesday, she'll start physical therapy, including the water treadmill, which I'm excited to see. We'll go twice a week for at least six weeks.

     

    Almost forgot the most exciting part - she's now off ALL of her meds except vitamins and supplements, although we still have Tramadol and Gabapentin to use if she needs them. I can't get over how different this is than Gabe's treatment plan. Because he wasn't a candidate for amputation (two primary tumors), he was on 15+ pills a day from diagnosis until we lost him. What a relief it is to have her Osteo pain GONE.

  9. More Diamond milestones:

     

    Yesterday, nine days post-op, we had to put a leash on her for the first time, because she's trotting too fast for us to keep up with her. Yesterday evening, I took Cash and Lucy out on leashes while DH had Diamond for a VERY short walk, and Diamond was dragging DH to get ahead of the other two.

     

    This morning, she grabbed a stuffy to carry with her when we went out - something she always did pre-sugery but hadn't done since.

     

    It's SO good to see her coming back to herself.

  10. One week after surgery and we have our first post-amp roach!! DH and I cannot stop grinning.

     

    We're also practically chasing her around the yard now. She suddenly caught onto the whole walking thing about four days in and only needs sling support when she gets tired.

     

    These dogs are just incredible. I knew that before, but now I REALLY do.

  11. Diamond and I got a little sleep - mostly between 5:30 and 8:30am. She didn't seem painful, just restless. She kept trying (with varying levels of success) to reposition herself on her bed, and I woke up every time she moved. She did cough quite a bit - not the hacking, throat-clearning cough but a dry, shallow one. I'll ask the surgical department about it when I check in with them this morning.

     

    The hardest part has been her mobility - it's still REALLY limited, and I'm really struggling. She CAN stand on her own and can hop short distances before she gets tired. But, mostly, it seems like she doesn't really want to. When I have to take her outside, I'm mostly having to carry her, which is really hard at 5'0, 110lbs. When I put her down on the grass or at the top of the stairs, she doesn't seem to understand how to get her remaining back foot under her, and a few times, I've had to catch her before she collapsed. DH can help with early morning and evening outs, but I work from home, so it's just us during the day.

     

    I really wish the surgical center had kept her until she was more mobile, but when I expressed those concerns, they said they thought we'd be just fine. They also thought we'd do better with just a sling, but I'm wondering whether we might need an assist harness.

  12. Miss Diamond gets to come home today! :clap We went to visit her yesterday, and, at that point (less than 24 hours after surgery), she wasn't really trying to stand or walk on her own. Apparently, she's been standing today and is walking fairly well with sling assistance. She's only eating baby food, no kibble yet, but hopefully we can tempt her with something when she's here and more settled.

     

    She has a little swelling and some bruising, but not as bad as I expected - especially since she had a partial pelvectomy. It did surprise me that they're not bandaging the incision, though - they prefer to leave it open for better healing (?)

  13. Hi all,

     

    Nell wanted me to send along warm 'hellos' and a little dance. We've made the appointment for her second round of chemo, and I just got off the phone with OSU a little while ago. They'll be sending four doses of Carboplatin, which was mentioned earlier in the thread. Our oncologist is alternating between that and another called Doxorubicin.

     

    Thanks for suggesting to contact them - I wouldn't have thought of it, and every little bit is helpful, and they couldn't have been more sweet on the phone.

    Love to all your pups, hope they're as happy and healthy as our girls.

     

    I've probably watched this video fifteen times in the last hour. I also sent it to my husband, who I'm sure has watched it multiple times. This evening, we'll pick up Diamond who (also at ten and a half) had a rear leg amp with a partial pelvectomy on Saturday. This video was just what we needed to remind us that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. THANK YOU, and tons of good wishes for Nell.

  14. Diamond's amp went really well. They gave her Amicar and had a blood donor ready just in case, but the surgeon said her bleeding was really minimal. He said the bone was stronger and much more solid than he generally sees with Osteo dogs, so he thinks we caught it very early. We'll go visit her tomorrow, and if all goes well, we should be able to bring her home on Monday.

  15. I'm so sorry about Roxy. I can't imagine.

     

    Diamond's amp was postponed to wait for the results of a CT scan. Because Gabe had two primary tumors and because we think Diamond's Osteo has gone undiagnosed for a while (not spotted by two vets and a head surgeon on two sets of X-rays and no signs of pain, just a very slight limp that worked itself out as she walked) we wanted to make sure it hasn't spread anywhere else. The original plan was to take her straight from the CT to surgery, but the radiologist couldn't look at them until this morning.

     

    He sees NO signs of cancer anywhere else - in fact, he doesn't even see the normal signs of aging he'd expect in a ten and a half year-old. He said he had to look at her paperwork again to confirm her age. According to all of her scans and her bloodwork, she's a REALLY healthy hound except for this stupid tumor. So we have high hopes that she'll do well after her amp.

     

    They plan to operate sometime this late afternoon/early evening. All white light, prayers, good thoughts, etc... are really appreciated.

     

    Attaching a photo of her, because it's been way too long since I posted one on GT. Someone in the vet's office called her a supermodel, and, of course, we 1000% agree:

     

    photo2_zps87c64906.jpg

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