Wonder

I only play ball with Diamond alone now. Otherwise, they play with their muzzles on. I have a toy with nubs on it and they can still get it with the muzzle on.

update post #1

Oh Kim, I am so sorry I almost lost my Sparks today and I'm so happy that he's still with me but now I'm soooo sad for you. I know how hard it is to make the decide to let them go. I had made that decision for Sparks today but my vet talked me out of it. Sending you lots and lots of hugs. and I'll give you one in person on the 8th

My vet is the bestest. He hugged me and told me to not worry- this was before the US. Then after I gave him a HUGE hug and told him I was glad he was wrong. He told me I need to smile more (he tells me that all the time and to drink more wine ). Every time I'm at the vet (which is every few weeks) I'm always crying. Those poor front desk girls

I'd started to mentally plan his remembrance thread, which sucked!

Last week Sparks hurt his back (prob an old injury maybe from racing days). He couldn't walk and because I didn't know what was wrong, I thought I was sending him to the bridge. When they did the back x-ray, they saw a mass My vet was out of town and called me Monday after he looked at the x-ray. He was 99% sure it was a tumor on his spleen. I honestly didn't hear anything else after that as all I could remember was Mo's Bailey and the outcome. I did some research and realized this wasn't good. Also PM'd Mo, Burpdog and Batmom for input. I kept going back and forth between just doing surgery, getting an ultrasound to see how bad it was or just putting him down (again, still had Bailey on my mind). Last night, I was pretty sure I was letting him go. He'd had big D for a week and nothing was helping. He also didn't want to eat much at all. I made him a "last supper" which he hardly ate. Then I gave him a bunch of treats which he didn't turn down. Because of his back, he hasn't been allowed on his beloved couch for the last week. Last night, I let him up on the couch. His huge sigh of happiness made me cry (crap, i'd been crying non-stop since my vet called). I took a ton of pictures and kissed him a million times. We'd already been sleeping in the living room for the last week so that I could block him off from the other pups. I've been keeping the light on and sleeping with my glasses on so that any move he made, I'd see him right away. I hardly slept last night. I kept thinking that I needed to be touching him and kissing him so that I'd never forget what kissing his nose felt like or how soft his fur is. 7am came way too soon. We had to leave by 8am. I took him on a final walkie. He was so happy to sniff everything and pee on the shrubs. I lifted him into my car and he laid right now. He loves car rides. Once we got to the vet, I told them that I can't put him through anything else and had decided to let him go. They came back and asked me to reconsider. So I decided to do the ultrasound. I was in the room and watched while rubbing Sparks leg. He was very stressed out. They checked his spleen first and decided that it was super large but looked normal otherwise. All the other organ looked normal. He said that his spleen is pro 4 times the size it should be. My vet doesn't recommend surgery since it's not bothering him. They did take a sample, preliminary results are benign but they sent it to pathology to be 100%. I'll find out tomorrow afternoon. He's lost 7 lbs in a week and had had big D for almost a week Prob from the tramadol and pred. I'm stopping the tram and reducing his pred to wean him off. Added Baytril for 10 days and I'm going to give him pumpkin and yogurt. He's still on restricted activity which means no walks, no getting on the couch, no stairs (he refuses to use the ramp I put in) and no jumping, running, etc. I'm thrilled beyond words. I still tear up when I think about it and how I thought he was leaving me today. I'll post some of those pics later since I'm at work and they block FB Please keep Sparks in your thoughts. He's a fighter but still needs prayers. ================================================================ Update Thursday 10/21 Finally a firm poop I loved calling the vet with that update He still doesn't want to eat much so starting him on pepcid again Gave him 2 chicken quarters this morning and he only ate 1 Also gave him wet food with some pumpkin and yogurt- wouldn't eat any Course he gobbles up the treats when I offer them =================================================================== another update update =================================================================== update 10/29 Sparks is doing great! He will only eat 2 things: ground turkey and Natural Balance meat rolls So I'm having a sale so I can buy him as much as he wants to eat Sparks Sale Thank you for all the support! I think Sparks is getting sick of me kissing him all the time

Any updates?

I'll try that Thanks!

wasn't sure if you were still going next weekend. see you there

Thanks He's not happy about the couch restriction. I thought about putting him up there but I think it's just best not to allow him on the couch anymore. Let's see how long this lasts and I give him and put him up there.

He's still being restricted from activity but he's really not wanting to move much at all. He's going out potty and I don't hold on to him anymore but I do stay close since I still worry he might fall. I have plywood to make a ramp for the patio stairs but for now I'm carrying all 77 lbs of him much to his dismay. Last night after his poop, he tried to do his happy dance which is kick back his rear legs. This time though he kicked his front legs. I stopped him once I saw what he was doing. He slept in my room last night and myself and the other pups slept in the living room. If I can figure out a way to keep him safe in my room with the other pups, we will all sleep in there again. I just need to make sure they can't step on him. He still has big D and isn't eating any kibble but will eat his raw chicken. He's no only allowed on the couch and no more running at all or digging. I have a follow up call with the vet on Monday to talk about what's next. I'm just thrilled that he's still here with me and doing so well. Thank you for all the well wishes.

It's 89 cents a can here and I've been seeing it back for a few months I picked up 4 cans yesterday

Oh no

He is actually letting us know about every two hours that he wants to get up, so that has been a good thing. It was my plan to get him up more during the night, but I was wiped out from lack of sleep and emotional distress and didn't wake up unless he did. Your night sounds exactly like how it's going with Sparks. I had to make him get up twice today to pee otherwise, he doesn't want to move I had to help him the first time up but the other time, he got up on his own without any screaming. I need to remember to ask the vet if I should be making him walk some so that he doesn't get so stiff. I can only tell you my experience. When Larry quit getting up so much, he started swelling. The more he swelled, the more painful it was for him to get up and the less he wanted to get up. Once this started, he swelled pretty quickly, and then it was horribly painful for him and became a two-man job to get him on his feet. That's what I'm worried about. His leg does look swollen but it's not getting worse and the bruise isn't spreading. I did call my vet and she said to keep him quiet this weekend and if he only wants to get up 3 times a day, don't fret. I also asked about heat or ice (it's his back causing the problems with his leg/walking) and she wasn't sure since this is a few days old already. I just emailed my reg vet who is out of town about the ice/heat and acupuncture - have you thought about that for Larry?

Thank you and please give one to Larry too

He is actually letting us know about every two hours that he wants to get up, so that has been a good thing. It was my plan to get him up more during the night, but I was wiped out from lack of sleep and emotional distress and didn't wake up unless he did. Your night sounds exactly like how it's going with Sparks. I had to make him get up twice today to pee otherwise, he doesn't want to move I had to help him the first time up but the other time, he got up on his own without any screaming. I need to remember to ask the vet if I should be making him walk some so that he doesn't get so stiff.

He didn't move much today which is fine with me. I gave the vet an update and she's please with his progress. I'll update again Monday and they will decide if he should wean off the pred. He goes have big D which is prob due to stress I'm working tonight so my mom is watching him for me. Thanks for asking. I've been giving him so many kisses that I'm kissing off his white stripe.

I'll give him a smooch when I get home tonight from work. I can't wait to see him.

He has a huge bruise on the left leg and it looks slightly swollen I'll check it when I get home from work I couldn't get him to eat at all today but my mom gave him 4 chicken drumsticks and he ate those He did eat 3 chicken qts last night so I don't think he was hungry today Before I left for work, took him out to potty and he walked up to me and leaned against me. Brought tears to my eyes. I love my boy!

I am THRILLED to read this. :yay Sparks is also not moving much and I almost sent him to the bridge yesterday. He hurt his back jumping up onto the couch, I believe. He hasn't been using his left, rear leg much and last night he was finally walking better after a visit to the vet. He's also on pred and pain meds. I'm so happy my Sparks is still with me and I'm so happy Larry is still with you. I also wonder about the walking and how much. He's only going outside to pee every 5 hours and that's all the walking I'm allowing him.

He turned 12 in March and this month is his 8th gotcha He really hasn't been having health issues-I was just being cautious and going by my vets advice not to walk him, let him run and no jumping, etc for the last few years. It wasn't until Monday that this happened and I didnt know it was his back and thought it was much worse (cancer). He's walking so much better today. Almost can't tell anything was wrong. I'm still carrying him up the stairs and helping him lay down and get up.

I'm so sorry to read this and have tears streaming down my face.. I have no words other than you are in my thoughts and I'm sending you tons of hugs.

I thought I had to send Sparks to the bridge today but thankfully my vet calmed me down and was able to tell me that he's going to be ok. Here's what happened: Monday around 11am, he jumped onto the couch and my mom heard him scream. He wasn't able to use his left rear leg and was in major pain. She called my vet and he told her to give him tramadol (which I have on hand) and bring him in Tuesday. I was still in Dewey and she didn't want me to freak out so she didn't tell me. Later my vet called me not realizing that it was my cell. While I;m on the phone trying to understand what they are talking about, my mom calls. She told me what happened and I told her to give him the tramadol. She was worried that I would rive straight home but there's no way I could drive 19+ hours. I did get home Tues night and made arrangements to bring him to the vet today. I had to have my brother take off work and help me get him into his mini van. I cried the entire drive there, thinking it was the end. The vet techs helped carry him out of the car (he hates to be carried too) and took him right in the back. The vet came out shortly and said that she thought it was his back and would do an x-ray. She was sure that he would have a chance and good quality of life. I've always known he'd have back issues some day. My vet had told me not to allow him to jump (so my bed is on the floor), no walks, no running. I was still allowing him on the couch which is what triggered this. X-ray shows 2 spots. It's all a blur now. They gave him a shot and I will continue the tramadol and started pred tonight. Today sucked but I'm so freaking happy that he's alive. He's still in pain and screams when I help him up. I'm going to make a ramp for the patio stairs and am trying to carry him for now. He's hanging out in the livingroom and the other pups are blocked out so that they don't get close to him. I'm sleeping on the couch next to his bed. He hasn't pooped since 5am and he really needs to go. I took him outside around 8pm and he walked (with me holding a towel under his belly) for about 10 mins but he didn't go poop. He did pee twice though. He's almost putting weight on his left leg again He's lost 1.3 lbs since June so I need to keep an eye on that. I just gave him 3 chicken qtrs and he chowed them down. I'm so glad my Sparky is still here Here's a pic from this afternoon. I might post later all the pics from this morning when I thought it was the last pic I'd be taking. Edited to add: they saw on the x-ray what they suspect is a mass in his belly. They ran blood work which was all normal so I am not doing an Ultrasound at this point.

Sparks never wanted my attention until he got older. I had him at age 4 and he's 12.5 now and very needy

Are you the family that I did a home visit for and you got your pup from Iowa? Hope Arrow settles in and starts to enjoy walking again Kari