ramonaghan

Sending good thoughts to you and your boy. Gabapentin might be more helpful for him, if it's nerve pain. For what it's worth, Sweep's had several sets of x-rays in the past 9 months for an ongoing limp, and any time they've had to sedate her, she's acted very loopy until the following morning. An MRI here is around $1500. Hope the neurologist can find some answers for you without needing one, and that it's nothing too serious. Please keep us posted.

Did he have x-rays?

I love that photo.

Ahh, I wondered about a puncture but thought you'd have seen it. Sweep got a small, visible puncture wound in December, though we never knew from what. Her leg swelled to an "impressive" degree (vet's term), starting as a goose egg behind her elbow and then settling into her lower leg. Did you get antibiotics? After a day or two of Clavamox her leg was almost totally normal, so hopefully your boy will be good as new very quickly. It's a pitiful sight, I know. Best wishes to you both.

Beautiful boy. I'm so very sorry.

I'm so sorry for your loss. How lucky you were to have each other, and for so long (though it's never long enough, of course). I can relate to much of your post with my diabetic boy who turns 13 this week. Rest well, ShadeMan.

Another vote for Bravecto.

Beautiful pair. Congratulations to all and welcome, Manny and Ruby.

No ideas or advice, just wanted to let you know how sorry I am.

I'm so sorry to the OP for your loss of Brendan, and to everyone else who has had an already painful experience made more difficult by complications or ineptitude. My heart cat Mud actually sneezed(?) after he had stopped breathing. He was the first pet I'd had to euthanize, and the vet saw the look of confusion on my face, so he preceded to touch Mud's eyeball to prove he was really gone. He's a good vet in many ways, but that was so thoughtless and disturbing. That was 7 years ago and I still try to schedule our appointments on his days off. My condolences on your loss of Monty.

Thanks for this. It is something I'm giving serious thought to, both because she gets pretty nervous at vet appointments and because she's only 6. I want her to be able to run and take long walks again.

It does look very similar. I remembered your post about that and reread it recently. I think that could be what we're dealing with too, even though we've never seen any bruising. Might just be an old issue that keeps getting reaggravated.

...seems to be the culprit. The second toe (not counting dewclaw) on her left foot...in other words, one of the wonky toes I have wondered about all along. For those still following along at home, I thought I'd give a Sweep semi-update. Earlier this month her left front leg limp suddenly got worse; it was terrible when she first got up and no longer completely resolving when she'd been up for a while. She was very tentative with her left foot upon rising, though she would eventually put weight on it. I was totally freaked out, because she's had no off-leash activity or running since late January. Her walks have been nothing more than 10 minute stroll-and-sniffs around the block. We'd done 6 weeks of acupuncture and 4 minor chiro adjustments to her neck, and switched her to a harness in case it was a neck issue. She was always worse in the day or two after acupuncture, and we weren't seeing any significant improvements overall, so we couldn't justify the continued cost. We thought we'd been doing everything we could, so the sudden decline after 8 months was very troubling and pitiful to watch. We tried to make an appointment with the board-certified orthopedic surgeon we'd seen before at the specialty clinic, but he's not seeing patients for a few weeks (had his own surgery, I think). So we saw another vet there, which has turned out to be a blessing. She was able to get a repeated pain response from Sweep upon manipulating that second toe. The range of motion is okay, but any direct pressure elicits a reaction. Over the course of the past week Sweep had another set of full-leg x-rays, which thankfully were clear (confirmed by a radiologist). The original specialist examined Sweep too and both vets agree it's that toe. So we still don't know exactly what the issue is (no evidence of old fractures or anything) or what triggered the decline, but we seem to have finally isolated it where we can do some more targeted therapies. The new vet is doing some further research before recommending next steps, but things she's mentioned include a nerve block to be extra certain it's that toe (though she says it would be very tricky to isolate that toe and none of the surrounding area), a steroid injection into the joint, cold laser therapy, and--absolute last resort because it's weight-bearing--amputation. For now Sweep is walking normally again thanks to Previcox and Gabapentin. So, that's where we are. Baby steps. Anyone have any experience or advice as far as the possible courses of action, or anything I should ask in our next consultation with the vet?

So sorry for your loss. Rest well, Zuni.

Sending good thoughts...keep us posted.

I am so, so sorry for your sudden losses. I am glad you have some heart healers in Manny and Ruby. Rest well, Zoe and Soul.

In addition to lots of rugs, as a short-term fix you can try applying SortKwik (the office supply stuff) to his pads while he's lying down. It's non-toxic and dries within a few minutes. It will give him a little added traction, which may just be the confidence boost he needs.

We are using Bravecto (pill given once every 3 months) for flea and tick protection and have had no issues.

I am so sorry. Rest well, Ginny.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Your boy sounds like quite a character, and your tribute to him made me laugh and tear up at the same time. Rest well, Spud.

I'm so very sorry for your loss. Rest well, Zola.

Way to (Po)go!

to Aiden (and Bea too!). Hope his recovery goes smoothly.

Welcome! Gabby sounds lovely. Most of us use image hosting sites like Photobucket or Flickr to post photos. Or if you have a Facebook account with pics, I can give you instructions.