Beachbum1

Nap time, Sunday morning after breakfasts. Taylor gets up and down easily, and his appetite is getting better.

Taylor was diagnosed with bone cancer on a Saturday at noon. I sent the x-rays to Dr. Couto that afternoon around 1:30, and Sunday morning at 9:30 AM, I had his comments, and we emailed back and forth for a couple of days. Knowledgeable and caring.

Last evening, and overnight went well. I took him out to pee in the middle of the night, but he slept the rest of the night. Maybe it was too bright in the room? No clue with Taylor with his nose jammed under his bolster bed. And Face was in his usual position. Bruising is pretty much all gone since he got home yesterday, edema is WAY down, and the incision looks clean and dry. The skin is just a little pink, but that's mostly the camera. He's peeing a nice color; drinking water; ate 2 cans of dog food, a jar of baby food, and around a cup of little pieces of rotisserie chicken during a few feeding yesterday after he came home, and he gets up and down fine. He's balancing OK on his 3 legs, too. By 12:30 PM today, he's been outside three times walking around and peeing, and pooped, and has had a can and a half of dog food. Now it's nap time again.

So very sorry for your loss

So very sorry for your loss.

He ate another 1/2 can of dog food around 7:00 PM, and maybe a half a cup of rotisserie chicken. Then he went out to pee, plenty and looked OK, and then came in a drank a bowl of water. Sutures come out 14 days after surgery, so that's a week from Friday. I finally went to take a shower at 9:00 PM, leaving Face and Taylor sleeping in the den. 15 minutes later, Face wandered into the bathroom. When I walked back into the den, no Taylor!!! I looked in one of the bedrooms, and there he was laying there all by himself. Sleeping comfortably on the carpet. I put the little table top fan on the floor to blow on him, and hopefully I can get him up at 11:00 PM to take his Tramadol, go out to pee, and then get him into my bedroom onto his bed. Otherwise, wherever he will be sleeping tonight is where I will put the inflatable bed. I have no idea if he can go overnight without peeing. Still plenty of fluids, but no bruising.

So sorry.

Taylor is home, as of 1:45 PM. He is managing getting up and down, and he gets around OK in the back yard. At around 4:30, he drank water, ate a jar of baby food, and around a half a can of 2 different kinds of dog food. Then he went out to pee (good color) and a big poop, and now is resting again. He seems comfortable.

Taylor's doctor called this evening. He's eating all kinds of food offered him, in small amounts and he said that's normal. His urine color is getting much better, too. The next update from the doctor will be around 8:30 AM Thursday and if he continues to improve as far as the urine color is concerned, I will be able to pick him up at 11:30. If he needs another day of IV fluids, then I should be able to get him Friday. I cut up a rotisserie chicken this evening, in advance of Taylor coming home. It looks like I stuck an M80 in it's ass and blew it up

The doctor called at 9:00 AM. Taylor is comfortable. Easily getting around. Sleeping well. They gave him an appetite stimulant yesterday afternoon, and this morning the doctor was hand feeding Taylor some rotisserie chicken!!! Yesterday, Taylor wouldn't touch any of the 3-4 different kinds of dog food I brought, 2 different baby foods, cooked or raw hamburger, or even a McDonald's hamburger I went and got. Hopefully he'll be eating more today. They removed his pain patch around noon on Tuesday, and that medication reduces appetite. He's managing fine with oral pain medication. They will do blood work today, and check his urine, and hopefully the dark color urine will be starting to clear up so he can get off of the heavy IV fluids. A tentative check out appointment is Thursday at 11:30, and the doctor will give me an update late this afternoon. Hoping he has a good day, and is eating more. They offer different kinds of food throughout the day.

So very sorry for the loss

Face sniffed his boo-boo, and then Face was rampaging around trying to get the food I was trying to get Taylor to eat. I finally took Face out to the Tuscon, turned on the a/c, and locked it up with him listening to Fox News. He loves going for rides, so it was no big deal for him to hang out there by himself.

Taylor is still in the hospital. The amputation was last Friday afternoon. Face and I went to see him this morning for the first time (he's an hour and 20 minutes away). As I expected, he was quite hyper and just wanted to leave. He gets up and down easily, and can lay there upright with no problem. We went outside for a little walk and he was trotting along just fine. They said when he is out back in his crate, he is nice and calm and acting comfortable. He is taken out for walks many times a day, and he gets plenty of attention, and massages, from the staff there. The doctors and staff there have been excellent, and they are very grey-savy. The edema and bruising that started Sunday afternoon is quite extensive, and I was told that happens quite often with greyhounds. He has had his Amicar for bleeding. His urine continues to be quite dark from the bruising, and they are continuing to push a lot of IV fluids to keep the kidneys continuing to flush things through, and the fluids are keeping the kidneys from becoming damaged. Hopefully the urine color will improve in the next day or so, as to be expected. They do test the urine to monitor his kidney function, and that has been good. He still has little appetite. They have been trying all kinds of different foods. That could be from a combination of things. I brought different types of food today, including cooked and raw ground beef, and even a couple of different jars of baby food. No interest. His Fentanyl pain patch was replaced yesterday, and they removed it today around noon , since that could be causing his lack of interest in food. He's also taking Tramadol. Face and I went off to lunch around 1:00 PM, and I went back with a couple of plain McD hamburgers. They brought him back to a room and he was calmer this time, and laid down and was resting quietly, but he still didn't want to eat. They have been syringe feeding him throughout the day, and he doesn't mind that at all. So at least he's getting some food into him. He acted alert when I was there, and not in any pain. They will keep him tonight and keep the IV fluids going for the kidneys, and maybe later he will eat. We'll see how he is tomorrow. He is getting good care there, and once the dark colored urine issue is resolved, and that will hopefully be in a day or so, then he should be able to come home. In the meantime, as discouraging as it is to have this delay, he is where he needs to be.

The doctor called at 6:50 PM. Taylor is doing OK, but there is a lot of edema on the other side from his amp side. He is getting massages to help with the edema, and I know he is loving that. He's still not eating too much, but there has not been any of the post-surgery greyhound whining or crying. He gets up and down easily since the morning after Friday's surgery. He walks around 5 minutes before tiring, and pees plenty. They are pushing a lot of IV fluids to keep his kidneys flushing out the blood his body has moving around. They changed his Fentanyl patch today, and is taking Tramadol pills and seems comfortable. The next update from the doctor will be Tuesday at 9:00 AM and we have another discharge appointment Tuesday at 2:00 if he is doing well enough to come home. If not, they will keep him another night. I think the edema is the biggest concern now, and that is being adressed.

Taylor was getting an IV of Zoledronate, the bone strengthening drug, every 3 weeks. Unlike Pamidronate which takes up to 2 hours to infuse, the Zoledronate takes 15 minutes, and according to studies, is WAY more effective than Pamidronate.

He still doesn't have much of an appetite. Last full meal was Thursday evening. They are offering him different foods, and maybe he will get a little more hungry soon. He has lots of attention and i comfortable, and is out walking from time to time. I was thinking of going there today(an hour and 20 minutes away) and try hand feeding him, but I know he would get very agitated and want to leave, and the chance of getting food into him when he is acting like that would be small. I know how he is like after the vet visits the past 3 months. When he comes out to see me after the visit, he is totally focused on OUT OF HERE! It's better to let him rest.

They're going to keep him another day, at least. They want to keep IV fluids going since his urine is getting a redder color, which happens sometimes after surgery. He is on Amicar.

The doctor called this morning at 9:00. Taylor is doing well and is on schedule for the 2:15 PM discharge appointment this afternoon.

The doctor called at 9:15 AM: all is going well. Taylor gets up and down by himself, has been walked a 100 yards a few times to pee. He is young (only 6) and well muscled so that is helping him get around. He is off of IV pain medications and is now taking Tramadol and has a Fentanyl patch for pain. Bruising has spread, but it is normal for a greyhound, and swelling is minimal. He's on Amicar. He's not whining or crying, like a lot of greyhounds so after surgery, and today will be a quieter day in the building for him (less people coming and going). Taylor lays there and naps, or "observes". He still isn't eating that much, but that should be improving today without the IV pain medications. I will get called Monday morning around 9:00 AM with an update, and to confirm that he should be released on Monday afternoon. As of now, it looks like he will be well enough to come home Monday.

Or you can make one of these out of 2" thick Styrofoam sheets from Home Depot, and your dog can trot up and down. You can make it whatever width, depth, height.

Spoke with a doctor at 1:00. He assisted in the surgery Friday and will be there today and all day tomorrow. Taylor is doing quite well. He has been getting better balancing when he gets up, and they are starting to wean him off of inject-able pain medication to oral form. His appetite should improve when it's an oral form, and he's only eaten around 1/3 of a can of dog food today. He is getting fluids though his IV and he seems quite fine laying in his run with people around, but not as comfortable when there is a lot of noise or activity in the room. That's normal for him. He's a laid-back, mellow kind of BIG boy who kind of "stays out of the way" when things get busy. I will get an update Sunday morning around 9:00 AM and again on Monday around 9:00 AM, and at this time, it's still looking good for the discharge appointment Monday at 2:15. And here is how Face is managing with Taylor gone yesterday and today. Face has been with us 2 years. "Taylor? Taylor, who??" Face and I were out this morning to 2 strip malls, into 4 different stores for cookies, and went shopping at Lowe's.

I just spoke with the surgeon at 9:00 AM: Taylor is doing VERY well. He had a comfortable night, and has gotten up on his own a few times this morning to walk out of his crate. Bruising is minimal, for a greyhound, and he has NOT been whiny and vocal like a lot of greyhounds are after surgery. The surgeon is very pleased with how he is so far, and as long as this continues to be the case, he should be ready to leave after our discharge appointment on Monday at 2:15.

The surgeon just called me at 8:27 PM and he's OK. Surgery went well. They even got the lymph gland out, which is what they wanted. The doctor was so sorry about the delay, but Taylor surgery was held up by emergencies. He's sleeping comfortably, with an IV of pain med. The breathing tube will come out in a few minutes. The surgeon will be back in at 8:00 AM, and then someone will call me in the morning with the status, and if there are any emergenices overnight, I will be called. So I shall continue with "no news is good news" Thank you all for you thoughts, love, support.

Surgery was delayed due to other emergencies. I got a call at 3:00 advising me that they hadn't even started surgery yet. Hopefully soon. Got a call at 6:05 that he was in surgery and I should get a call in an hour. It's been 2 hours.