starhound
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Posts posted by starhound
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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.
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Hi - if you emailed and didn't put something about greys in the subject box, I may have deleted it! So IF you already emailed me, please send it again!!!!! Or just put Starhound in the subject... thanks...
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.
We did feel so guilty, but we had so many reassuring replys on here that helped us so much and was told by a sweet person that another dog is "a great grief councillor" and I don't think I've ever been told anything so true.
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.
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Hi Starhound... I'm in Maryland too. If you'd like to call me (I know, the phone!), feel free! I lost my only greyhound Cody 5 years ago - circumstances didn't allow me to get another then and I've stayed grey-less. But I do love them all!! And I understand your pain quite well...
I volunteer with Greyhound Welfare, also in MD. No kennels to visit, but we have lots of open houses where you could come love on some dogs (fosters and ambassadogs both). And don't worry about losing it at the OH - I did that a bunch at first and everyone there understands...
Email me at ozgirl2 at verizon dot net (just put in the @ and . instead of the words...) if you'd like... I'll give you my phone number _ I'm in Prince Georges Co but that's not too far away...
Jeannine
Thank you so much, I will email you..
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I understand you are shy but I think Brandy will help you make that call. Many hugs to 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..
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I'm in your shoes right now. I just lost my heart and soul girl.
I do have other hounds at home, but Pearl was the cuddler. The shadow. My right hand man(girl). The others are just there.
I did go to the big NGAP adoption kennels in Philly to "walk the dogs" and some are real cuddlers, so I did feel better. But interestingly enough, I didn't want to adopt any (yet).
So is there a greyhound kennel nearby? It might help.
But, I do understand where you're coming from. I'm devastated without my Pearl.
{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}
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.
My husband's family told me to enjoy my freedom. They are not pet people.
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.
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Listen to your Mom. She knows you
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)
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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..
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I am so sorry. My Brandy had a stroke yesterday. Praying for a good outcome with your Dakota.
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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.
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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.
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Glad she calmed down. Because she stops when she is stroked, I would do this on the way to the vet, too. IF she isn't seeing properly, or at all, things ARE very scary. Your touch, reassures her, that she isn't alone.
PLEASE feel free to email me later, and yes, do keep us posted. You ARE NOT alone during this trip to the vet! WE are all her with you!'
Love and hugs! DEE
Thank you.. I absolutely will, all of your kind words and support are massively appreciated
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This is Brandy when she was herself.. I just wanted to share
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Prayers surround all of you.
Thank you so much..
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Not sure if you're vet is like mine, but when I have an appt, and I'm really worried about the dog, I can show up early and they'll see me when they free up. Particularly if they are appearing to be in any kind of pain.
Sending prayers.
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
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I can be contacted at starhound at hotmail.co.uk
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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..
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Oh boy, do I know how you feel! Well, as much as anyone else can, anyway ...
I lost my therapy girl last year and it was devastating. We grow so close to these very special dogs, don't we? 
Sending many, many good thoughts and prayers your way for both you and for Brandy. Looks hopeful for her from your last message, but I'm thinking of her today and hoping that she continues to improve and can come home very soon. Who knows what caused the dehydration, but it can indeed cause disorientation and confusion and all kinds of physical problems, so hopefully that's all it was. Could she have got into something salty? Did you open a new bag of food lately? Just thinking aloud.
:hope Edited cos I can't spell this morning.
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.
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Thank you for the kind replies.. they mean more than I can describe. Brandy is an outstanding therapy dog. I suffer from panic disorder and all-round anxieties and she knows how I am, how to comfort me, and I swear we share the same sense of humour.
She is so dear to me and I am so utterly afraid of losing her.
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I have a 9 year old hound who took a turn for the worse tonight. She's usually so outgoing, happy and joyeous, but today when I woke up she was stumbling a little and kept staring at the walls, into space, etc. She is just not herself at all. After an hour she got a bit slower, but still ate her food, willingly took a chicken strip and drank some water. My husband called the vet and they said she'd likely suffered a mild seizure or had low blood sugar, and recommended the Emergency vet if her state got worse.
An hour later she was so slow and disorientated I tried to move her downstairs and it was very difficult to keep her on her feet. She layed down at every given oppertunity... like standing was an effort. She started to cry, and the whining noises sounded so laboured, it was clear we had to take her in. I was already in tears at this stage.. Brandy is a therapy dog, she has been with me since 2005... I am actually closer to this hound than I am to my own parents or family, so I feel utterly, completely devastated. The E-vet was so nice.. she ran bloodwork on Brandy and while all of her numbers seemed okay, she is severely dehydrated.. I'm not sure how this happened.. water is always within reach and I always assumed she drank enough. The vet kept her there overnight so she could get IV fluids in her, and some added painkillers... the vet thought she seemed to be in pain. I just hope that dehydration is the only thing causing her such disorientation and spaced-out-ness... I just pray that it's not a sign of something way worse... it happened so quickly. Yesterday she was her bubbly, playful, happy self.. and in a flash she's gone compeltely downhill.
Sorry if this post is overly emotional but I just cannot stand to see my girl in pain.. we have immigrated to the US together, we've been everywhere together, I saved her myself from a neglectful situation... I just love this hound and seeing her like this is so crushing.
If you believe in praying... please, I would be so grateful if you'd send one her way for a complete recovery... she looked so awful and the waiting is unbearable.
I lost my therapy girl last year and it was devastating. We grow so close to these very special dogs, don't we? 
:hope 
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.
Should probably convince my guy to make a detour to Panera Bread on the way.
Darla Is Home
in Remembrance
Posted
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.