Sundrop

Honestly, you all have no idea how much it means to read your supportive words. I know many of you have gone the amp/chemo route and some of you didn't - so to get so much advice, and to hear the success stories, and the heart-breaking stories, really truly helps us not feel so alone in this. This is our 3rd grey to have cancer, and our youngest to leave us. She is really struggling, but she is so stoic and sweet that it's hard to tell how much pain she is in. I hope I can make the call when the times comes, as this little girl deserves to leave this life with dignity and grace. I am just so thankful we have Hospice vets here who can come to our house so she won't have to endure another car ride and vet visit. Again, my heart-felt thanks. I also wanted to say, I am so very sorry for your loss.

The neurologist reviewed Tilly's MRI from Jan 11 and it, too, showed nothing abnormal. So, from Jan 11 to Jan 23 (less than 2 weeks) a large mass appeared. I am still not clear if she also had a stroke on Dec 20 when the limping started, but I guess it doesn't matter at this point. After a lot of soul searching, discussions with our vets, the neurologist and the oncologist - no one is very hopeful. They have actually all been really good about not trying to sway our decision - but we have opted for palliative care. We felt that even if we got the best case scenario of 6-12 months, that we just couldn't put her through the pain and stress of the surgery, the rehab and then the chemo - all with so many vet visits and drugs...and then the anxiety of just waiting for it to happen again and watch her suffer all over for just a few extra months. I have second-guessed, cried and gotten angry about 1,000x, but I am really trying to think of her and her quality of life. DH is a lot more resolute about the decision and feels 100% that we are doing the right thing. I still feel like I am giving up on her, even though no one who has examined her case has given us much hope at all. On a side note, the edema in her leg is very bad now. She went on a 5-day course of Rimadyl to see if that would help, but halfway thru there is no change. She was up about every 30 minutes last night to go outside and pee (some diarrhea, too) - by about the 10th time she was so tired I was having to hold her up to pee. She is a little better today - still eating, but she seems uncomfortable - a lot of shifting, sitting up and panting. I really can't be objective about any of it, she keeps gazing at me and it just breaks my heart that I have to let her go.

Hi all, spoke to our vet again and asked if she thought Tilly was an amp/chemo candidate (Dr Couto hasn't been much help to us, unfortunately) - she paused for a moment and just said she felt this was very aggressive, more aggressive/fast than she usually sees and because we are seeing anamolies in her hip on that side, she was concerned it had already progressed to her pelvis. No X-ray to verify, but that was her main concern. She also said that complete lameness and the edema indicates we are dealing with late stages. I struggle with putting her through surgery, chemo and rehab with such a high risk that it will show up again soon thereafter, and then she has to go through the illness all over again. We thought about getting her back in for chest and pelvis X-rays, but she cannot stand for very long and she was wiped out and in so much pain after our last vet visit, I am hesitant to do this without knowing "for sure" what path to take. I have a call later today with the oncologist, but I don't think we will contact Dr Couto again. He has responded quickly, but he basically told us he would have to examine her before giving an opinion on her candidacy for amp/chemo, which is obviously not something we cannot do.

Many thanks to all of you - it was truly a shock to hear the diagnosis yesterday since her X-rays showed nothing a month ago. We are discussing our options... I was already consulting with Dr. Couto regarding her stroke (vet still thinks her initial issues were a stroke) and whether she is even a good candidate for amp/chemo. DH is very against that route, but I am struggling as I feel I am just giving up on her. We just lost our boy in April to cancer, and we tried everything available to us. She did have a chest X-ray yesterday which looked clean. Of course, the vet said it isn't overly reliable, as it would catch those small cancer cells. I have also asked for a referral to an oncologist to consult, and get a quote on chemo. Also requested a quote for amp surgery. We do not have pet insurance - so everything is out of pocket and, of course, the neuro and MRI, with all the vet visits, rehab, drugs, etc. - it hasn't come cheap. We are financially okay to do this, but we don't want to just throw money at a situation if this isn't right for her. I am desperately trying not to be selfish... Also, I work from home, so I am here with her all the time. DH has a relatively flexible work arrangement and can be home, as needed. We feel like we were too selfish when our boy, Deacon, was fighting for his life last year. I would like her with me forever, but I am really trying to think of her first. Hopefully we can get some advice from Dr Couto regarding her prognosis, and also from the oncologist. I know we need to move quickly if we are planning on amp/chemo. Just so very sad that she is going through this and hope the pain meds are enough. We have her on 50mg of Tramadol every 8hrs and 200mg of Gabapentin once a day. She is so very stoic...but still very interested in food. Not eating her normal food, but loves chicken breast and oatmeal with broth - and apples for a snack.

Just got home from the vet, as Tilly developed massive swelling in her leg last night. We noticed some anamolies with her hip bone, as well - and decreased appetite. Vet wanted to do another x-Ray (had them done last on 12/22) and she came back to the room looking very sullen. Tilly has a very large mass on her knee...osteosarcoma. Given that nothing appeared on her 12/22 X-rays, they are saying it is very aggressive, given its current size. Her chest X-ray looked clear. We asked her prognosis with no treatment and vet said, "A month...maybe 2." My head is spinning now - should we amputate? She we follow up with chemo? Do we just try and make her comfortable and let her go without treatment? Just was not expecting this and I know we need to make a decision soon...

Side note, anyone have experience with this product: No-Knuckling Training Sock

Hi all - was hoping someone here might have a recommendation for some type of sling or brace that would help our girl, Tilly, with her non-functional hind left leg? She suffered a likely stroke on Dec 20, and her left hind leg is now completely useless and basically dragging behind her. We've noticed she has a lot of problems getting up and down, and also just readjusting herself when she gets up, that foot is getting caught on things. We are going to ask our vet and rehab guy, as well, but thought someone here might have experiences in dealing with this type of thing. Thank you.

Aww, poor guy! We had one greyhound come to us with a puncture wound and huge scratch on his face, that he scratched constantly. We also got one of the soft-sided cones - he could lie down and even drink, but scratching was thwarted. Finally healed up - he was pretty miserable for a couple of weeks, but was much better than the misery he'd been in for weeks before we adopted him (for some reason the adoption group was just giving him antibiotics, but not putting a cone on him).

Yep, agreed - keep it in the car for your comfort level. That said, we've only needed a muzzle once at the vet in 12 years - with our newest adoptee who took offense at having his ears checked! But, vet had a soft muzzle and it was no problem at all. They are well stocked with those supplies. We have never had any issues with other dogs in the waiting area - we just keep them away from other dogs there.

Thanks, macoduck!

FYI - Finally gathered almost all her medical records (MRI images have to be burned to a disc and mailed to us) and just started the consultation process with Dr Couto. He mentioned that the neurologist we saw here is one of his former students, which is fabulous. We really liked her and I'm glad they have a connection. Tilly isn't getting any better. She seems weak and tired, but we are seeing her get up and back down on her own when she needs to shift positions in bed. Still able to eliminate on her own, but she's having a tough time getting around. We got the Help 'Em Up harness from our vet, but I think it's too big. We have a rehab appointment tomorrow and we are going to get it fitted, or go down a size, and hopefully start training her (and us) on how to properly use it. I have a feeling we'll probably need it the rest of her life. BTW - anyone have a pronunciation of Dr. Couto's name for me? We've been guessing, and I really hate not knowing how to properly pronounce!! We are stuck in the big winter storm on the east coast today - yuck! About two inches of snow, now freezing rain falling so it'll turn to ice on top of snow, which is never fun. We are following Tilly around like a shadow, which has elicited some funny stink-eye looks from her - haha! On a side note, our newly adopted boy is hilarious - I'm sure it's the first time he's seen snow in his life.

Thanks again, all. I just got Dr Couto's out of office message, and I feel like Tilly is slipping away from me... She seems worse, trouble getting up and down and is very lethargic. I just spoke to the rehab guy who is actually recommending against activity for her, as he noticed that while in rehab she seemed to get weaker after any activity. He said she was responding well to the underwater treadmill for a few minutes and putting some weight on that leg - and then she just froze and started knuckling under (no response on that foot) so he stopped. The vet tech noticed the same thing - one day she seemed to want to go up the stairs (to go outside) but I guess on the third stair, she stopped and just couldn't go any further. It wasn't anxiety, she just lost all strength. Now, I'm just so angry that they didn't do any MRI imaging on her head, only her spine. I cannot put her through that again, but now I'm afraid that it could be something like a brain lesion - as the rehab guy (and the vet tech) found it very strange the way she seemed okay one minute and then froze/went limp the next minute. Neither had seen anything like it. She got up on her own about 30 minutes ago, but I heard her softly crying. I went to her (she's in the next room) and she was just standing there - like she didn't know what to do. I gently walked with her to another bed and she had such a hard time getting down - her left leg just wrapped around her other leg. It took a good 2-3 minutes to help her get down. Hopefully Dr Couto will respond, but it appears he is away for a bit, as his message says to consult with my own vet in case of emergency. I just don't know what to do.

Yep, I put calls into both the neurologist and our regular vet to get all her records emailed to me so I can get them to Dr Couto. I was amazed at how quickly he responded to my initial email, I will let you all know what he says once I can gather all the records!

Jumping in on this topic, as our girl recently had a spinal cord stroke and her back left leg is non-functional. We are trying to help her adapt, but she is currently unable to get up stairs. We carry her now, but since I've had (emergency) back surgery (in 2006) AND I have a total knee replacement (in 2014), it's not really the safest idea for either one of us. Since I work from home, I am her primary care giver and I desperately need a harness. I ordered one of the sling-type ones, they claimed it would fit, it doesn't - our girl freezes when we put it on her. I was going to get her the Ruffwear Webmaster, but after reading the (very helpful) article comparing it to the Help 'Em Up harness, I am now second-guessing, as she is very wobbly on her remaining hind leg, so I fear getting it on & off will be challenging?

Thanks so much for the support! I'm really glad that we opted to board her in the ICU at the vet, as she got 24/7 care and apparently it's a relatively quiet place. Also really glad the rehab guy was able to bring her downstairs to the rehab area - I got lots of photos of her chilling on beds watching other dogs get their rehab, and we got a couple of her on the underwater treadmill (she didn't look happy, hah!). They said she ate fine, also she went out 4-5x per day and did her business just fine, but they noticed the same thing I noticed - she has some days where she is putting some weight on that leg and then the next day, she won't even use it for balance and hops on 3. It's tough to say if she is getting better, worse or remaining the same. Since we got home, she hasn't used that leg at all, not even a little bit. She is dragging the foot completely and she's having a tough time. It's taking everything in me to let her "work it out" - but I know that she has to learn how to do things again, and she needs to challenge herself and build new muscle as well as keep the existing muscle she has. The neurologist put her on Plavix - I asked about the baby aspirin/Pepcid (as I saw on Twiggy's thread that Dr Couto recommended), but she said that she preferred Plavix based on the lack of side effects. I didn't argue with her. I did send Dr Couto an email and he responded really quickly, but since we have been out of town I haven't been able to gather her medical records to get a consultation with him. I plan on calling the neurologist today. She is having a lot of issues getting up, and when we let her outside, she has fallen a few times. Getting down is a bit hard for her, too. We took her on a short walk yesterday and she seemed really happy - we always take them on 2 walks per day, but since they originally thought it was soft tissue, we were resting her. She got tired quickly, and hopped on 3 legs the entire time, but she looked alert & happy. Going to work on buying non-skid rugs/runners today and all new orthopedic beds. She's struggling with some of the taller beds, so I'm going to go for more compact ones. Any other advice on what we can do to make life easier and safer is GREATLY appreciated. The vet, neurologist and rehab guy don't seem overly confident she'll regain use of her leg since it has already been almost a month with no improvement. I am still going to do her rehab, look into acupuncture (they don't offer it where we do her rehab) and remain positive. They all said some dogs just take longer, and that will be my attitude. Also, I don't want her to get worse, so we'll push on. Anything else I should consider or think about for her if she'll be like this for the rest of her life? I'm guessing it's a bit like being an amputee, except that leg is still "in the way," as it were?

Hi all - we are just back from vacation. Tilly stayed at the vet in ICU medical boarding, and she got 3 rehab sessions while there. In fact, the rehab guy brought her downstairs to the rehab room to stay with him all day on Wed, Thurs & Fri to give her a break from her boarding kennel and to keep an eye on her and build some trust. She isn't doing very well, however, and I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. We have at-home rehab and we've done what we can (we need a demo of some of the things) and I'm trying to get her once-weekly rehab sessions @ the vet set up. She isn't putting any weight on that leg now, she is just hopping around on 3. That wouldn't be so bad, but she is very wobbly and she has already fallen down (and couldn't get up on her own) 3x. We are trying to do as the rehab told us - to let her "work it out" and be there to support her, as she needs to relearn how to do things like stairs, beds, etc. She just seems so weak, and she is lethargic (I assume from lack of activity overall). Going to take her for her 5-7 minute walk right now (as rehab guy instructed), but she isn't putting any weight on that leg - so won't be much help for that. Hopefully it will keep her strength up in her other legs and give her some energy. I'm going to remain positive and do everything I can for her, but it is truly breaking my heart.

Anyone have any ideas for her razor burn? It looks so inflamed and ugly.

Thank you both so much! I think the best solution for her at this point is a medical boarding situation, as much as I know she'll dislike it. She's really having issues today and leaving her with a stranger in a stranger's home just isn't something I can do to her, especially since we have so little time to coordinate this. The vet does have rehab, so if we board her there, she would be able to start right away. The rehab guy left me a voice mail and I called back (had to leave him a voice mail, too) - hopefully we can chat soon and I can better understand what they offer and recommend given her current state. Honestly, it just makes me feel sick that we have to leave her. Trying to remain positive, as I know she'll be safe at the vet and will hopefully start valuable rehab. I'm already pondering telling the family that we'll be there, but I might try and leave a day early, at least. My heart just isn't in this... Will definitely ask about cold laser, acupuncture and underwater treadmill - thank you SO much!

Hi all - our 8-year-old girl spent the day at the neurologist yesterday, getting a full exam and an MRI. She was resting on her bed the Sunday before Christmas, got up and yelped - we thought it was soft tissue, but when she appeared worse on Tuesday morning, we took her to the vet. After a couple vet visits because nothing was helping her, vet suspected FCE and we went to specialist. Turns out she has a slightly bulging disc (disc right before her tail begins) - but she saw no issues with her nerves and she said it was quite 'minor' - but she also saw some small remnants of a stroke. Nothing else at all - no tumors, nerves pinching, etc. She also reviewed her previous x-rays and found nothing out of the ordinary. So she's been dealing with this for over 3 weeks now, she has good days and bad days - but never really improves/gets worse. Currently, she is not using her back left leg. She's still able to pee/poo by herself, still has her appetite and can still get around. Today, she seems worse, she's having problems getting up/going down and she was very tentative in the yard this morning - she isn't putting any weight on that leg at all. Maybe because she was so sedentary yesterday? Which brings me to my questions... I am waiting this morning for the rehab guy to call me from the vet's office, as we were told rehab might help her. Does anyone have experience with rehab after a spinal cord stroke? I've read that "immediate" rehab is needed, and since we are over 3 weeks out, is there still hope for her? Also, since she has a bulging disc we are concerned - our neurologist said she would speak with the rehab guy, too and explain that she needed very gentle rehab. And, we are leaving for vacation tomorrow - which I am sick about. It's a family trip - my mother-in-law is paying for all of us to go to Vegas for 5 days as a late Christmas celebration. Not really something we can get out of without causing a lot of problems with our family. So, we canceled our original reservation with boarding (normal boarding place, we get a big suite for both of our dogs and they get lots of playtime). Our boy will still get a playtime situation - but we are struggling with what to do with Tilly. We can board her at the vet - in a normal 3.5x10 run (no outdoor run - so they would take her out on leash 3-4x per day and would be watched over by kennel staff) or we could board at the vet in their ICU (constant supervision, looked after by vet techs, etc. - but very chaotic, lots of sick/hurt animals and it would likely be very stressful for her). We wanted to do the vet boarding so she could begin rehab right away and be in a safer environment where they could watch her - but since no one is calling us back, we have no clue if they are recommending it or if it will even help her at this point. Or, do we board her at the boarding facility and wait until we are back (next Monday) to begin rehab? We could get the big suite for both dogs, and just have no playtime for her. Or, we can do individual runs so she doesn't have to worry about our boy knocking into her (he's kind of a big goofball who has no concept of physics). We also found out that the specialty clinic has medical boarding - but they have a more mellow/quiet environment and a small outdoor area where she could be off the leash for a little every day. But no rehab there. We are leaving in less than 24 hours, so I *have* to get something set up soon. I just want what is best for her, I don't care about cost. Finally - one more question - she has razor burn from getting shaved for the MRI yesterday. It is not a spot that she can lick, so I was wondering if aloe would be okay to put on that area to give her some relief and start the healing. Or is there something else better? She is really struggling to get around this morning, I am just sick about having to leave her right now.

Just got home from the vet - she is no longer responsive when they turn that foot under (she just lets it sit there); however, she does still have "deep pain" feeling (the vet squeezed very hard on her toes and got a small response). We have an appointment Monday morning with a neurologist. Since it is not bilateral, and doesn't seem to be painful or involve her back/spine, she thought it might be FCE (fibrocartilaginous embolism) - but that was just her guess based on what she is seeing. This poor little dog has been through so much.

Hi Racindog, I was literally also going to post an update that we checked her feet, as well! We went through some horrible vet visits (and medications, including a day-long trip to NCSU for testing and evaluation, when our boy was displaying front leg issues. In the end, it turned out to be a corn - or at least, as soon as I saw the corn and corrected it, he got better... So many thousands of dollars later, we learned our lesson to check feet!

Hi all, Looking for ideas on what might be wrong with our girl. She is 8 years old and has a history of seizures, and one episode of sudden blindness (overnight). She was on an aggressive steroid regimen after, and has regained some/most of her sight. The Sunday before Christmas (12/20), she was lounging with me - sleeping on her bed. After 2-3 hours, she went to get up and yelped loudly, and immediately started limping. We had found a sweet gum seed pod in her bed that morning, so we immediately thought she had one stuck in her foot - we checked every foot, nothing. We felt around on her legs, hips, feet, etc. and she gave no indication of pain. She was putting very little pressure on her back left leg, but still walking. We decided to wait until Monday - and she seemed to be a tiny bit better. She was putting more pressure on that leg, so we monitored her for another day. On that Tuesday, she was much worse - not putting any weight on that leg - so we went to the vet within 2 hours. They took 3 x-rays (top, middle, bottom) and found nothing abnormal - nothing broken, cracked or that looked anything like bone cancer or hip dysplasia. Vet said her leg looked perfect on x-rays. She checked her spine, neck, all legs, etc. and thought she was displaying signs of neck soreness and tenderness on that leg/hip. She thought it was a soft tissue injury. Perhaps she pulled something getting up? She also checked that on both feet, she is responsive (she turned them under and our girl immediately turned them back over, suggesting that she can still feel her feet just fine). They put her on a 1-week course of Rimadyl. We limited her movements - no walks, we carried her up & downstairs and my husband moved into the guest room downstairs with her so she would be apart from our boy at night - and there is a door to the outside that has no stairs to make it easier on her. Christmas Day at my mom's she seemed to be doing really well - she was a little "wobbly" but she was putting weight on the leg and appeared pretty normal. That night, we let her out and she found a bunny hiding in the yard and subsequently chased it. My husband ran out to her immediately, but she was already severely limping again - no weight on the leg. The next day we extended her Rimadyl for a couple of days, and got her Tramadol for 5 days. Here we are, however, almost 3 weeks later, and she has shown almost no improvement. We have kept her downstairs - no walks - no stairs. I've also been gently icing her hip area when she lets me. She's not on any meds anymore - she is putting almost no weight on that leg at all. We have another vet appointment in an hour. I'm still feeling like it is soft tissue, and our vet will likely give us a referral to our an orthopedist or neurologist - which I will absolutely do. Just wanted to post here to see if this sounds like anything to any of you? We are going out of town next week, and I'm thinking I need to board her at our vet instead of her normal boarding place - just so they can keep her confined and watch her. I hate leaving her at the vet (she hates it, of course) - but she has difficulties just getting up.

Hi revamp - yep, we took her to the vet the next day after she had regained her whereabouts (another reason we were confused that they were hesitant about refilling the prescription). She's had cluster seizures in the past and she has very violent and prolonged seizures (oftentimes lasting more than 5 minutes). That's why we had to get the valium.

Have they done an ultrasound of her belly, by chance? One of our greys used to stand instead of getting into bed, would pace and act like she just didn't want to sleep - but she would seem so exhausted (shaking, drooling, head down, eyes droopy, etc.). She also stopped eating most things and after numerous vet visits and so many tests, I asked for an ultrasound and they found "numerous" tumors. She was suffering from acute pancreatitis - thus why she didn't want to eat or lie down on her belly -- because it was just plain painful.

We've had 5 greyhounds since 2004 and both of our girls had seizures - through batteries of tests no one could ever find any reason either was having the seizures and both were put on phenobarbital. Both were very different seizures, too. Our first girl would shake, drool, become disoriented, etc. - but we never saw her lose consciousness and she seemed to snap back within an hour or so. Our (present) girl has massive attacks and loses consciousness completely. Afterwards, she experiences blindness, extreme disorientation and we are convinced she has no idea who we are or where she is. In fact, in 2014 she experienced "overnight blindness" and no vet could find a cause. She regained some sight, but her pupils are always dilated - I am convinced she had a massive seizure the night before and it caused brain damage (and thus her vision issues). She is currently on phenobarbital and just had her dosage upped after suffering a seizure the night before Halloween. If you really want answers, I'd recommend a neurologist instead of a regular non-specialized vet. We opted against it for multiple reasons, but you'll have a much higher chance of finding "real answers" going that route, I think. Good luck to you - they are SO scary to witness.