LBass

I'm so sorry that your girl's time with you is drawing to an end. Piper and I faced the same sad situation last Christmas. Those last precious days of spoiling him and saying a loving goodbye are treasured memories. Hugs and warm thoughts to you both as you make your own treasured "remembories".

MoMo lost her spleen after a problematic spay so I did a lot of research and questioning about the consequences of that loss. From what I read, the spleen backs up the bone marrow in producing red blood cells and helps handle some kinds of infections. However, it seems that it is not regarded as being at all necessary. The take away I got was that I might need to be sure that any infections were treated promptly but that Mo would not be impaired at all by the loss of her spleen. Three years later she is just fine. In fact, when she broke her leg I dutifully told the surgeon about the missing spleen and he said, "Oh good!", explaining that it did little and could harbor sources of infection. I also have a cousin who lost his spleen as a young man because of injury in a car accident. He too is fine...cruising into middle age with no issues. So, if seem that if the spleen needs to be removed, life goes on pretty much as usual.

Therapaws makes a nice indoor bootie. http://www.therapaw.com/search.aspx?find=cushy+paws They have a bottom that is nicely padded and also offers grip on slick floors. I got MoMo's from the GEM store at Sandy Paws so they may be on the GEM web site--Cushy Paws. Also the Therapaw site has them.

I'm so sorry you and Ava are dealing with this. Cluster seizures can be exhausting for everybody concerned. Your experience...the cluster episode, the brief focal seizures...sounds very similar to what happened with Piper when his seizures started. Here are links to the web sites that did so much to equip and inform me about managing his seizures: http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/ This site has an e-list that can be a great source of support on information A consult with a neurologist would be great. I took Piper to a neuro early on and after that my regular vet was able to use him for phone consults so Piper got the best of care without regular out of state trips to the nearest neurologist. Through the years Piper had awful cluster episodes about once a year. He'd have 10 to 12 bad seizures over 36 to 48 hours. Grueling for both of us. The common wisdom was to give phenobarbitol and potassium bromide twice a day to try to control seizures and then to give rectal valium after each seizure to prevent a cluster. The problem with that regimen in Piper's bad cluster episodes was that his seizures were 3 hours or so apart. I eventually learned that rectal valium is most effective in stopping recurring seizures that happen within 30 to 45 minutes of each other. Rectal valium's charm is that it gets absorbed into the system immediately, and is working right away. The down side it that its effects diminish fairly quickly too. What ended up working for Piper was this: after his first seizure he received and extra 1.5 grains of Pb and 10 mg of Valium. He got both meds at that same dose every 6 hours until he was seizure free for 24 hours. After starting that protocol he never had another one of those horrible annual cluster events. I'm not so much suggesting that the same treatment is what Ava needs as I am stressing that managing seizures is almost as much art ans it is science. You need to keep careful notes about seizure dates/times/duration and be willing to change meds and experiment (with your vets involvement all the way) until you find what works for your girl. Warm good wishes to you and Ava. Lucy

These are the web sites that were most helpful to me when Piper's seizures started: http://www.canine-epilepsy.com http://www.canine-epilepsy.net http://www.canine-ep...ian-angels.com/ There are many different possible causes for seizures in dog. Some of those underlying conditions can shorten a dogs life. The good news is that "garden variety" idiopathic epilepsy is usually a very treatable, manageable condition. I've never seen any indication that greyhounds are any more prone to seizures than any other breed. I remember how frightening Piper's first seizure was for me, so for you.

Any time there was a change in food, or even a change in the formula of the current food ("new and improved") Piper would have a week or so of horrid gas. Then it would stop and he'd be just fine. His em missions were so fragrant and frequent that he'd often wake me in the night during that adjustment period.

done

Deb, I'm so sorry that your Sam is gone. What a heartbreak.

I am so very sorry that you are going to have to say goodbye to Sara.

Sending warm healing thoughts and prayers for you and Sara. I certainly hope that, if her GME is now out of remission, treatment will send it packing again. --Lucy

My vet had never hulled a corn so when MoMo developed one, he looked at the veterinary web sites to see how it was done. He hulled and I watched carefully with an eye to doing it myself. The vet was going to order the tool he used (a dental lifter, I think) for me so I'd be well equipped. He soaked her foot in water + disinfectant first--for about 15 minutes. Then we bandaged her foot. Having watched it done, I think I could have done it at home but I would have wanter a helper to hold her head for me. MoMo really didn't fuss at all during the hulling but I'd feel better with another set of hands. As it turned out, we quickly realized that hulling was not going to work well for Mo. The corn grew back completely in less than a week. Hulling just didn't seem to net us any days of comfort. I had just come back from Sandy Paws where one of the speakers was a very grey-savvy vet. He said he'd had good results from surgery that removed the corn all the way down to the toe tendon. In the end, nothing helped Mo much and I finally opted to have the toe removed. That has given her clear relief.

Oh dear, poor Callan. Carla, I have useful advice but will send healing thoughts to Callan. --Lucy

I'll suggest the two web sites that helped me a great deal when Piper's seizures started. http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/ and http://www.canine-epilepsy.com/ another good site is http://www.canine-epilepsy.net/ At this point watching and waiting is about all you can do. If more seizures occur, I second Judy's suggestion to start keeping a log...date, time of onset, length of seizure, any unusual circumstances within the last 24-48 hours. I remember well how terrified I was when Piper had his first seizure. Remember that there is really very little you can do during a seizure but wait for it to end.

I did have Piper wearing his Webmaster harness all the time without any problems. It was not easy to get it on him initially while he was lying down so I knew it would be impractical to put it on when needed, since he needed help every time he tried to get up.

I bought the Webmaster harness for Piper when I was struggling to help him get up, stay up, and walk as we battled his GME. It is very sturdy, well made, and quite nicely adjustable, however, I found that it did not give me much lift/support help for his rear end. The single handle was over his back and gave me good control over his front end but I ended up still needing the "U" lift gadget the neurologist's staff made for me. I wish I'd seen this one at the time Double or that nice looking Helpmup one. The Webmaster's straps are wide and have a nicely padded cover so it did not irritate Piper's skin. Looking at the picture of the double, it looks to me like the back strap has the same padded covering.

Wonderful news!

Kerry, I'm so sorry. I know how frightened and frustrated you must be feeling. I've no good advice but my thoughts are with you and your Wizard. --Lucy

Janet, along with so many others, I am keeping a close eye on this thread for news about Peanut. With your own wonderful vet and Dr. Couto on her case, you know she has the best chance for diagnosis and treatment. Prayers and warm good wishes. --Lucy

Janet, I am sending prayers and warm thoughts for you and Peanut.

Oh my goodness! Poor Sam and poor you. I'm glad he is feeling better. --Lucy

What a beautiful loving tribute to your handsome special boy. I never met him and yet the world feels a shade or two dimmer because he is gone. I'm so sorry for your loss. --Lucy

I would love to have Sago palm--such an attractive plant--but have known of its serious toxicity to animals and so I have and will refrain from indulging my desire to grow it. I certainly wish more growers and nursery owners would add toxicity warnings to plant labels for the safety of animals and humans alike. When I am planning plantings for the yard or thinking of getting a new houseplant I always spend some time on line first to research for safety for the hounds and for my cat as well.

Piper has been diagnosed with this autoimmune disease. For him, there are collections of white cells at several points on his spinal column, affecting his ability to use his hind end and now his front end as well. Currently he is being treated with high doses of Prednisone. Last week he had his first treatment with Cytosine. There was a slight improvement immediately after the initial Cytosine treatment but not much else in the ensuing week. He saw the vet yesterday for blood work to make sure his immune system was not being suppressed too much by the Pred/Cytosine combo. Per the vet, he's good to go for the next monthly Cytosine treatment and I scheduled scheduled that. I understand that treatment may not be successful. I understand that if it is successful, improvement will be slow. However, I'm having a hard time getting a sense of how slow is "slow" and when does "slow" dwindle to "its not working". I'm wondering if anyone here has dealt with GME before and can share insights and experiences. --Lucy

NancyB Tag Collars Here are the NancyB tag collars I've been so pleased with. I've got style one. These have enough heft that you can grab a collar in a emergency. Three hounds have been wearing them for about a year with no snags or catching on anything. I like the colors of velvet as well. There is a color to accentuate any hound.