starhound

I emailed three of those (I didn't know the fourth existed) and got really sweet and understanding responses from two of them, who sent their condolences with what happened to Brandy and suggested I went to one of their meets to see if I'm ready to adopt.. I'm not sure if I could foster.. I just know I would end up growing attached to and keeping the hound and the process would result in adoption anyway, so I might as well skip that step When I have my own property though and I'm able to own more than one hound, I will absolutely consider fostering. Oh wow, you are? Frederick and Owings mills are the same distance to me but in different directions! What time is yours?

About 2.5 hours I would love to come by at some point though, I just have to give DH some notice as he's the one driving me places.. (and massive props to him for looking after me, taking me out for food and taking time off of work while I've been so depressive and down) I still need to get my driver's license in the USA When will you be there next? Thank you so much for the invite All of you are amazing. Thank you so much for all of the support. I'm a bit nervous about the Owings Mills meet and greet tomorrow but I can't not go.. I have to go see some hounds.

{{{{Hugs}}}}} It took me several days before I did Pearl's "obit" here. take your time, we all understand. And yeah, I can't believe my baby is on this list either. I know.. every time I think about going through the (literally) thousands of photos I have of Brandy.. trying to select the best ones, it becomes too daunting. I think I'm still in denial she's gone, honestly.. how has it been a while week already?

I'm due to pick up Brandy's ashes from the vet next week and I've been panicking a bit thinking about how I'm going to handle it. She was my soul dog.. she went everywhere with me. I haven't quite got my head around having/holding her ashes yet.. it's strange to me, but I just cannot be without them either. You're certainly not crazy. (Unless I am too.) When you said how you didn't want her to be out in the cold.. I thought the exact same thing, which is why I cannot scatter her ashes. They will stay with me for life and when I'm gone and cremated myself.. I want Brandy's ashes with me, mixed with my own, because she was part of me in life. A little of her ashes are going to go into one of these: http://www.petreliquaries.com Maybe you'd like to do the same, so in a way, she can always be nearby. Please don't feel crazy.

I can't believe my Brandy's name is up there. I'm still in disbelief.. when I can bring myself to do so, I need to make a post with photos.

No problem, I will resend it now.. thank you all for the kind messages.. I don't feel as alone.. nor as guilty about adopting another greyhound. There's no way I'm ready yet and it still hurts so badly, but eventually I will be able to adopt again. The days aren't really any easier.. the fact she isn't here is stabbing and I get reminders every time I move around my living space. This time last week, her symptoms were probably just starting.. I can't believe it's almost been a week. I emailed a few places and both advised me to go to a greyhound meet n greet... this weekend there's one at a Petsmart in Owings Mills so I'm going to try and attend that. I just have a feeling seeing hounds will make me burst into tears all over again but I'm sure hound people will understand. Every reply to this has helped me emotionally and has comforted me.. this sentence means a lot to me though and it is so very true. I was planning to get a second greyhound in a few months, had Brandy still been with me.. she would have enjoyed the company.

Thank you so much, I will email you..

I will try to gather some energy to make a call to them later or tomorrow... it sounds silly but I have some awful phone anxiety. Today I'm going to get a 'thank you' card for my vet (not the E-vet) because she hugged me when Brandy had to be put to sleep and she was very supportive and gentle. She loved Brandy as her patient in her previous visits and that's enough for me to adore somebody, so at least I have one task to put thought into today. Oh, the joys of being unemployed..

I'm so sorry to hear you're going through this dreadful pain too. *hugs* There's a greyhound rescue about an hour from me (Fast friends of Boonsboro, MD) but I feel a bit awkward about calling and asking if I can randomly go cuddle some hounds... I'm extremely shy and I'm not the best talker, as much as I wish I was. This is something I'm truly struggling with at the moment. DH called out from work for the first two nights to stay at home and comfort me, and his Boss made this rude implication that dogs aren't something to cry over. It makes me so angry, because I value dogs over most people.

I feel a bit like bringing home another greyhound ASAP is disrespectful to Brandy's memory.. and might stress out both the greyhound adoption group and the innocent hound if all I'm doing is crying, panicking and moping (as my days seem to be filled with this)

Some of you may have seen the thread I started in the Health & Medical section a few days ago: http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/250343-brandy-is-at-the-e-vet-tonight/page__p__4444790entry4444790 Unfortunately she didn't survive the stroke and I'm having the hardest time without her. I've had greyhounds all my life as my family raced them and I could never be without one.. but this is the hardest thing I've ever had to go through. I'm even a little ashamed to say that this is proving to be harder to cope with than the death of (human) family members. Brandy was a personal rescue case (I went and got her from appauling conditions myself) and ended up being my therapy dog. For 5 years we were together 24/7. She went everywhere with me. We immigrated to the USA together.. no way was I coming here without her. I didn't live with my family so I was closer to my dog than I was my own family. I've had lots of greyhounds but none bonded to me like Brandy did. I've never had a greyhound die and been without an existing greyhound to help me cope.. but this time I have no greyhound to hug, to help me through. I'm lucky to have my husband and friends here for me but all I can think about is my hound. Today I was going to go volunteer at the humane society but I don't know if I'm ready. The thought of seeing other dog breeds feels crushing, and obviously any dog that isn't my Brandy. I called my mum who said I should contact a greyhound rescue as soon as possible to try to help ease my loss but I just don't think it's a good idea yet. Maybe I need a push though.. I have absolutely no idea. I just feel so lost without my her. I just don't seem to be taking comfort in anything like I was able to when I went through losing other greyhounds. I don't know how on earth I'm meant to cope with this. I think it would help a lot right now to hear from greyhound owners who understand the breed..

I am so sorry. My Brandy had a stroke yesterday. Praying for a good outcome with your Dakota.

Thank you for all of the kind words.. I'll make a post of Brandy pictures when I have the energy. Though I'm crying my eyes out it still hasn't hit me that she's gone. She was always, always by my side.. I feel like part of me has been suddenly surgically removed.

She is gone. Before we left she couldn't even get up anymore. Her last attempt at walking ended with her falling over. She couldn't eat or drink. She was completely immobile. She didn't know where she was and she didn't know who I was. We had to use a makeshift comforter-stretcher to carry her into the car. She had no reaction to anything. The vet (my usual vet, who saw her 2 days ago when she was fine, and knows her well) said she'd suffered a 'massive, massive stroke.' She was so utterly shocked at her state. She said it looked like irreversible, severe damage had been dealt and administering steroids or other medicine would most likely just prolong her confused state. She was just completely unaware of everyhing. Completely gone. Looking right through you like she couldn't see or hear anything. I held onto her until I heard her heart stop beating. I feel completely crushed.

Thank you.. I absolutely will, all of your kind words and support are massively appreciated

This is Brandy when she was herself.. I just wanted to share

Thank you so much..

About 45 minutes until we leave for the appointment... she's quietly whining right now and seems to stop whenever petted.. and as I wrote this she finally closed her eyes (to sleep hopefully..) but luckily a member of the family offered to drive us there... DH's truck isn't the best for hound transportation as it's the two-seat kind.. if she starts screaming in pain like she was earlier... will definately take her earlier

I can be contacted at starhound at hotmail.co.uk

Thank you Energy11... I just hope with every part of me that she'll recover from this. I've never seen her at such a low point. Does anybody near me have AIM or MSN? I feel stupid but I can't seem to find the PM feature..

Thank you for all the wishes of luck... she has not stopped crying and it's so distressing. I'm not sure how we're going to last until 2:20pm. DH thinks she looks a bit more responsive in her face (looking at you, etc) but I'm not seeing it. She hasn't really slept - she just won't stop crying aloud, but seems to stop when petted/touched. I tried to give her one of her favourite treats.. a chicken strip, and she tried to take it and her ears went up but she gave up before even chewing, like she couldn't work out how or she was too weak to. Like I said.. she's just a totally different dog to her usual self and not knowing what's up or if she'll get better is unbearable. I haven't slept or eaten for such a long time and I'm scared my stress may affect her recovery. For anybody local - we're in the Carroll county area.

Our regular vet agreed to see her at 2:20pm. I'm not sure how we're going to load her into the truck.. she can barely walk. Seeing her like this is so heartbreaking. Just 30 hours ago she was fine.

She is worse than when we took her in. I was hopeful when I heard that she was alert at the clinic, but she just isn't the same dog and I dont know what on Earth has happened. When the vet brought her out, she just walked right past me, as if she couldn't see or hear me. When she got home she didn't seem to know where she was. I tried to help her into the sofa so she could sleep, but once laying down she cried loudly, her mouth hung open, and she occassionally pawed at her right eye. After about ten minutes she got up and ran around the house, as if she didn't know her surroundings, panting and almost bumping into things. Her vision seems very limited. She went into a different room and urinated in the corner, walked over to the door, looked outside and seemed very confused. Then she came back into the living room and threw half of her body on the floor, rubbing her eye. I really don't know what to do.. we tried to call back the emergency vet but they're not answering for some reason. The vet said she'd take a while to come through from her ER experience but this is just crazy. She is so out of it. I don't know what to do. She seems to be fast asleep now.

Thank you It's a comfort to know that dehydration on its own can cause those symptoms, to be honest. I'm sitting here worrying about way worse things because of how she was stumbling and staring into space. I can't think of anything salty she got into.. she's usually around me 24/7 but I guess the possiblity is always there. I go to pick her up in an hour... I hope she's feeling better, albeit probably tranquilized. I haven't eaten in 24 hours, oops Should probably convince my guy to make a detour to Panera Bread on the way.

My husband just called the E vet, they said she is stable and swaying less when they walk her around.. that's good, right..?? They said she's hardly swaying now at all, but she's very scared and nervous (she's terrified of vets though.) They also said that some of her other questionable numbers (from the bloodwork) became more normal after she'd recieved IV fluids.. If the dehydration was all it was, I will be so relieved.