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Pennymom

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Everything posted by Pennymom

  1. I'm so sorry. Your home must seem so much emptier after your recent losses.
  2. You know, I'm getting to see things from the "other side" as my sweetheart has become involved in our local group as an adoption volunteer. Our hounds are beloved family members and I can't imagine being without them, but here are some of the struggles that first time hound adopters might not anticipate that you might want to think about: -What would you do if your hound was afraid of floors without carpet? -How would you feel if your dog turned out to be highly predatory toward small animals? -What if your hound turned out to be a "breed snob?" (i.e. reactive toward non-hounds) -How would you feel if your hound preferred to relax on a dog bed in another room rather than snuggle up to you on the couch? These are just some of the things that I've heard from new adopters that have posed challenges for them. I highly recommend working with a group that utilizes foster homes, as others have suggested (and it sounds like that's your plan). When we adopted our first, I stressed that the single most important thing was that we wanted a dog with NO aggression/reactivity to people or other dogs. We called her our plug-and-play hound. Our subsequent hounds have been more challenging in terms of reactivity. I think so much about the adjustment process for a new hound is simply getting them exposed in a positive way to things that they may not have encountered in their lives before. Lining up a trainer who uses positive, evidence-based training methods to help can be a really good idea. And having ongoing support from your adoption group is really important.
  3. LOL both my girls have been way more likely to mark (including lifting their legs!) indoors than our male! All of our dogs have been cuddly, although our male is less discriminating. Our girls certainly have had favorites. I agree that size is an important consideration, especially when it comes to thinking about emergency situations. Trying to lift our 80 pound male into the car to rush him to the vet after he ate a bunch of grapes and refused to jump in was a challenge for me. I also find it more difficult to keep control if confronted by an aggressive or off-leash dog while walking him because he's just so strong. I do agree that boys tend to be goofier. If I could only have one I'd have a female. I like a little more independence.
  4. I'm so sorry that it was her time to leave. Bless you for loving her enough to let her go - doing the right thing surely doesn't make it any easier to say good bye.
  5. Something similar happened with our first greyhound, Penny. I arrived to pick her up from her dental and she was on the floor panting and sort of "checked out." I had a thread on here about it at the time. At first they told me it was likely from the ace, and that they'd avoid giving it to her in future. Later I learned that the clinic had ordered large animal atropine instead of small animal and had essentially overdosed her. The worst part was that it was a tech who told me, in a casual way during another appointment weeks later. The vets never told me what had happened. I had a fit. I did return to that vet, as I've been using that practice for 20 years. Going forward they changed Penny's anesthesia protocol to include neither ace nor atropine. They also had me stay with her until they were ready to do the dental rather than have her stay in a crate alone, the idea being that she would get less anxious. It was a scary event. We had to take her home and use cold towels and fans to bring her temp down, and kept checking it periodically. It took her several days to get back to her normal self. I'm sorry this happened.
  6. Penny came to us during a low time in our lives. For the first time in our adult lives, we were without a dog, and our home seemed empty. We felt adrift, without purpose. Along came Penny to fill our home and our hearts. All we were told was her name and that she liked to give hugs, but that was enough for her daddy-to-be to jump in the car to go bring her home. They were inseparable in those early days, going everywhere together. Penny never met a stranger, and approached all kinds of people with a smile and a waggling head. I was more reticent about this strange and elegant creature and vowed to keep my distance so she could become her daddy's girl. Until that faithful night when she climbed in bed with me and tucked her needle nose into my neck. There was no resisting her charms, and Penny had plenty - from her 'copter tail to her champion roaching to her "spinny zooms." But what I will miss most is her special greeting for me, where she would put her cheek against mine and come in close for a hug. Penny succumbed to a mystery liver ailment, despite our best efforts. It's so hard to know we couldn't save her and had to let her go. She has lots of friends and fans who are missing her, none more than me. She was practically perfect and certainly perfect for our family. She was the most beautiful hound ever and our time with her was far too short.
  7. What would a bile acid test tell us? Ultrasound showed nothing else abnormal in her abdomen, just one mushy liver lobe. The "worms" disintegrated - would not hold their shape at all.
  8. Yes, we have started the liver support supplement. Getting up very early to give it! She is also taking an appetite stimulant, which appeared to help at first but isn't now.
  9. tbhounds - it's hard for me to explain exactly what happened with the needle biopsy. I don't want to get too graphic, but the samples they got simply fell apart. The vet described it as being like blood pudding. Neither of my vets recommend a surgical biopsy/exploratory surgery at her age, given the situation. She is not eating, and today vomited up what little I was able to coax into her so I could medicate her. She goes back for repeat blood work tomorrow. Her ALT, AST, ALP, and GGT were all high, her bilirubin and cholesterol were high and her albumin was low on 5/13. Her hematocrit was normal, but much lower than any other time we've tested her. They do not suspect a clot anywhere and there doesn't appear to be any bile duct blockage. I hope to know more tomorrow. The dog I lost was completely asymptomatic until the tumor ruptured and he did not have any splenic involvement either, as far as they could tell when they attempted surgery. This past week, in addition to Penny's issues, my favorite horse was diagnosed with Cushing's disease. At least I know how to manage that. But a bad week nonetheless.
  10. The pathology came back not particularly helpful. The vet says there are basically two hypotheses at this point: either Penny has suffered a trauma to her liver, and it will repair, OR she has hemangiosarcoma in which case "we cannot save her." She says that one lobe of her liver is basically a hematoma. Her best advice was to "just take care of her." So, we wait and watch. We try to get her to eat. We medicate her and hope it makes a difference. We try to be sure she has good days.
  11. Thanks all - I have emailed my vet asking about liver support supplements. The reason for looking for other opinions now, is that I've been told that the results from cytology will likely come back inconclusive, and I want to get a plan of action going right away. I lost my first dog to a hemangiosarcoma that ruptured and destroyed his liver. He was fine in the morning, lethargic in the evening and dead the next day. It was horrible.
  12. Hi all - Our lovely 11 year old hound, Penny, recently started refusing breakfast. Since this was so out of character for her, we took her in for a senior panel, which revealed that all of her liver values were elevated, as well as her cholesterol. Yesterday she had an abdominal ultrasound and liver biopsy, and we're waiting to hear more on that. In the meanwhile, I'm curious if anyone has had an similar experience. The vet said that her liver looked "mostly good" on ultrasound, but that there were two areas that looked, for lack of a better word, "mushy." They sampled both areas, and the samples contained congealed looking tissue that essentially fell apart. Instead of being able to submit a "core sample," if you will, the vet had to prepare smears which he sent for cytology. Basically, he's unsure what this is. It didn't immediately scream "tumor" to him, and he and the other vet in the practice were speculating about toxin exposure, some kind of inflammatory process, or something else that would cause necrosis. The gall bladder, spleen, etc. all looked normal. Any thoughts from the armchair vets out there? Does this ring any bells for anyone? We are really scared for our special girl. It's likely we'll have to have other testing done, unless the cytology comes back with a clear answer. Thanks for your help. Sweet Penelope:
  13. Beautiful Treasure - she became the namesake for my little girl, because she was so sweet and so loved!
  14. I am so sorry for the double loss. How wonderful that you had room in your heart for those two senior buddies so they could stay together and be loved and spoiled. I'm sure Soul and Zoe approve.
  15. My sweetheart was at Solvang, and brought back collars for our girls! Here's Treasure sporting her new Swanky collar -
  16. I am so sorry your beautiful girl had to leave. Hugs to you and Sasha.
  17. I'm so sorry she had to leave. Hugs to all her family, hound and hooman.
  18. This was my first thought, too. That she might be reacting because of pain or anticipating pain in some area - back, flank, etc.
  19. Well, I usually recommend running in circles while shouting "Ew ew ew..." because that just seems to be a natural part of the tick removal process in our house! Seriously though, highly recommend having the Tick Key on hand - we have one in each car and one in the doggie first aid kit at home. I also usually keep the tick in a small jar full of alcohol in case our hound develops any troubling symptoms. We do not live in an area where Lyme is prevalent, but if we did I might step up my tick borne illness testing as recommended above.
  20. My girls are both guilty of this behavior in new places. Penny so much so that she has to wear "bad girl panties" for the first little while. We also take lots of dog beds with us, and anywhere she appears to be investigating gets a dog bed thrown over it immediately. They don't seem to pee on their own beds.
  21. I have used a novel noise in place of the clicker, in our dogs' case a "kissy" noise. That way I never have to worry about not having the clicker on me, and I can adjust volume easily. I agree with taking the time to "load" the clicker or whatever marker you use.
  22. Just a point of order - methadone is not the same as meth (as in meth labs - that's methamphetamine). It is used by people in recovery from opioid dependence because it does not produce a high but helps manage withdrawal symptoms. Of course, this is neither here nor there for use in hounds! Here's a link I turned up with a quickie search - http://www.noahcompendium.co.uk/Dechra_Veterinary_Products_Limited/Comfortan_ACY-reg_ADs-_10_mg_ml_Solution_for_Injection_for_Dogs_and_Cats/-56234.html Hope your pup feels better soon.
  23. Both our girls are markers and leg lifters. Penny cannot be trusted in the pet store or in homes with other animals without bad girl panties on, at least at first. I tell people our girls don't have accidents, they have "on purposes."
  24. What a grand lady - so sorry it was her time to leave.
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