DesiRayMom

I'm so sorry.......doing what you know is best for someone you love beyond measure is truly heartbreaking. We've all been there done that.

Welcome!!! Finnegan is certainly a handsome one! I also love his raincoat....would love to have one, but Desi enjoys a good "rainbath" so......

Welcome from Ohio.........your Tatiana is a beauty!

So good to hear encouraging news. These kids are so resilient. Desi was in ICU last year after having a clot that lodged in a thigh muscle & made that leg entirely useless. He couldn't even hold it up....drug it like a stick of wood. When they sent him home (because they weren't doing anything I couldn't do at home) they told me me "may" recover some use of that leg, just have to wait & see. Within a week he was toe touching, 2 weeks = bearing weight with a significant limp, 30 days = walking well. Now you'd never know what he'd been through. Best wishes & prayers that Doodles continues to improve.

Good thoughts, white light, prayers........all coming your way for Doodles.

You have exactly the same protocol that Desi has had for his last 2 dentals. Domitor/Torb as a pre....then Propofol.....then iso. He's done very well both times. I do know, however, that they don't give him a full dose of the pre or the Propofol. They cut it back to almost 1/2 of what they would have given another breed, same weight. Good thoughts that all goes well & neither of you get too stressed.

Typing through tears, but I loved it.........thank you.

This is what Desi's tail looked like after I caught it in a door at work & degloved a big spot. The piece at the top was loose & floppy, rest of the way down was down to ligaments/bone. This is how it ended up being bandaged. Nothing left of skin to put back together. We changed bandage frequently, that top loose piece of skin eventually died & fell off. As I remember, it took over a month (maybe 6 weeks) for that wound to fill in & heal. A year later, his tail looks a bit wonky, but the hair has grown back and only those of us who knew what happened would be able to tell how yucky it was. Best wishes & smooches to Charlie for his owie.

Sat.evening......we both slept like the dead last night. He managed up & down the block a little way, enough to get his business done without giving out. I took the sling with me, but he wanted to do it hisownself. He's still awfully wobbly, and the ankle is still swollen, but he sure enjoyed being out in the cold crisp air, and I had to make him come back in. My brother came up & we worked on his ramp, filed off rough edges, tightened bolts, cut up an outside mat & used double side tape to stick it on. It looks awesome, going to have to take pics of it set up....looks totally professional (no thanks to me). I'm still worrying about that spot in his lumbar region, but if today is any indication, I've got some time now. Thank you all for caring. I just lost Skeeter in June, and this past week without Des at home just about put me over the edge. I can deal with wobbly. Now if my house would just self-clean, I'd be just fine.

Yea!!!!! Desi & I thank you all for the good wishes, hugs, prayers, & white light.......they worked!!!! His ankle is still swollen today, but he's putting weight on it at last. Our trial run for lunch went fairly well. He's was very leery of that new ramp (dangerous things, they are), but we figured out that it I hug him around his chest really tight and stay right beside him with him halfway leaning on me.....it can be done. So we're HOME!!!!!!! He got a McD's cheeseburger for his birthday lunch, and a bully stick for later. The big prezzie was his new ramp. My brother is coming tomorrow to do a few modifications (I think gluing a piece of carpet on it will make it easier for him). I don't know who's happier, him or me (or is it he or I?) He's crashed out on his favorite bed & mama can start catching up on all the stuff that's been let go this week. (Mainly, sleep) He's on 2 different antibiotics, 3 different pain meds, plus all the usual supplements. Thank goodness he's easy to pill. I feel like now we have more time to figure out a plan to manage the back issue. Thank you all! Kathy & Desi

I'm so sorry.....was so hoping for better news.

Desi has been in hospital since Monday. To add to the woe, tomorrow is his 12th birthday. He's fallen a few times the past couple of weeks....suspected LS. He fell again Sunday evening, off the ramp from the vehicle. Monday, right rear foot/ankle very hot,swollen, non weight bearing, and with the left rear weak as well, we were in trouble. Had a neighbor help me get him loaded Mon.morning and we were off to work at the vet clinic. With his history of clots, drs concerned; we made an appointment for an ultrasound at OSU for Tuesday. He stayed at the clinic, on IV & serious antibiotics Mon night. Tuesday ultrasound: Dr. Langston at OSU went over his history (he was in ICU at OSU in Feb 2013 for clots) and told me we'd likely find clots in that leg. Hours & hours later, I get good news/bad news. Good news - no sign of clots, even on his spleen, which had many small clots last year. Bad news - they found a pocket of pus in his foot, most likely an infection from one of the many small abrasions he has on his legs from falling more frequently in the past couple of weeks. Put him on 2 kinds of antibiotics immediately, and sent in a culture. More bad news - the weakness in his rear seems to be caused by an "atypical bridging" between last vertebrae & tail. Dr. Langston said it was atypical in that the bridging had lots of pointy, spur looking places that were probably causing his pain/weakness. And that it might even be an "aggressive lesion" but that could only be determined by a CT or MRI. I decided not to do the more advanced imaging, partly because of the $, but also because I didn't think it would change my choice of treatment. I don't think I could put him through surgery at this point. So, steroids are recommended for that, but not until the "pus pocket" in his foot is totally controlled. He's been staying at my clinic all week....I've been spending 12 hour days there doing my regular job, plus taking care of him. Foot is less swollen today, and he managed to hobble all the way around the building (with help from a sling). I ordered an 8 foot ramp for my suv, which has a much less steep incline (but is a beast to set up & load). Since tomorrow is his birthday, for cryin out loud, I want him HOME. I'm going to take him "out for lunch" tomorrow & see if I can get him to do the ramp, in and out. If not.....I'll have to leave him there until he's stronger. Please think of us tomorrow & hope I can get my big man home where he belongs. I took a bunch of pictures of him the last sunny day we had...to post for his birthday, but since the sh*t hit the fan, they're still on the camera. So here's one from better days.

Congrats! Such a handsome lad, and looks to be settling in & finding the most comfortable spots!

An epulis is a tumor on the gum.....usually benign. The dental guy at my clinic always takes them off, sometimes sending to the lab for histopathology, sometimes not. Taking a small one is usually no big deal. They can grow to be big & yucky, which is why he takes them off during a dental, whether they are causing problems at the time, or not. We usually don't give Convenia injections to large dogs, just because it is so expensive. So glad Morty is doing well this morning.

I have a feeling she'll be one of those hounds that keeps it up until the end of her days. And that will be a wonderful thing...

I'm so very sorry.......I, too, thought I was going to read an update about how well he was doing at home. I'm so glad you made it there to be with him. He'll be with you forever in your heart.

What a beautiful special lady. I'm so sorry. She may be gone from this world, but her spirit will live forever.

Desi has one of those, too, in just about the same area you describe. Size of a small pea. My vet found it, poked it, checked it under the microscope....said it was nothing to worry about. It's been there for over a year, doesn't bother him and hasn't grown. Probably same kind of thing, but for your own piece of mind, have it checked.

Dinnertime, Walk, Potty, Bed..........Desi's main interests in life.

4 years seems like such a short time, but for Comet it was enough to find everlasting love. My sincere condolences.

Prayers for Keiva. Hoping all goes well.

She was a beautiful lady. Maybe her start won't be the brightest in the sky, but it will always be there to remind you of the love you shared. Rest well, Polly. You were a treasure here on this earth.

20 years!!! What a grand old man. My sincere condolences.

Ah Bullitt, I'm so sorry it was your time to cross the bridge. May there be peeps & fries aplenty & good friends to share them with. My condolences to the fam.........you are so missed.