GreysInSA

I thought I should come back and close out this thread. So they removed all the tumor they could in early March. A couple weeks later it was back. A couple weeks after that it had doubled in size. By the end of May it looked like her nostril had exploded and turned inside out. In spite of all that, she continued to be her normal happy, bouncy, playful self and ate well with only mild pain meds. About two weeks ago it was clear she wasn't feeling well so we increased her pain meds. That didn't really help so we increased them again. It helped a little and she was eating again. But the last couple days it was obvious she wasn't doing well. So today we made the so very tough decision to say goodbye. This is the third greyhound i've had to send over the bridge. It keeps getting harder. Thanks everyone for the advice, encouragement, thoughts, and prayers. Gary.

The surgery was last Tuesday. For 3-4 days you could tell she was not feeling well even with pain meds. Eating sporadically and not very active. Over the weekend she seemed to get her groove back. She is eating better and back to her happy, playful, bouncy self. I knew she was feeling better when she roo-ed at the answering machine Friday night. Yup, still have one of those. Its had the same outgoing message for about 15 years when my then 5 year old daughter told people to leave a message. I'm really not sure why but she has always roo-ed when it went off and has taught several other greyhounds to do the same. She and my other greyhound (9yo male Rhone) will sing for a couple minutes after the message goes off.

Well it was indeed Squamous Cell Carcinoma. Had surgery to remove the tumor last week. The vet got all they could and lasered what they couldn't. That one tumor seemed to be it right now. Considering Lizzie's age (11.5) I'm leaning against any radiation or chemo. From what i've read that probably wouldn't significantly increase her time with us anyways. I feel like i'd rather enjoy what ever quality time she has left and not go to drastic measures that also increase her suffering. I would certainly appreciate any advice y'all could offer.

That was far less optimistic than i'd hoped for but I appreciate the honesty. What I was able to google agrees with what you say in that nose/nasal cancer in dogs is rare but with very poor prognosis. What is "SCC"?

Hi All, A couple days ago I notice a pink polyp/bump/tumor/something in my 11yo female's nose. It is just inside her right nostril. It doesn't seem to bother her or be painful. No problems breathing. No coughing or sneezing. No nasal discharge or bloody nose. At first i thought maybe she stuck her nose someplace it didn't belong and got a bee/spider/ant type bite. But it hasn't gone away. I plan to take her into the vet next week but thought maybe somebody here might have some insight. Links below to a couple photos. I couldn't figure out how to directly insert from Google Photos. Thanks, Gary https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3zdl1OPCiT5rLLsXsItvmbJinHOw1A3FJQcVvO23qccFrQgMz3UhWqr5sEOl5msi8hyQ1HYaSEXrQkr1JjMDtosd8jQP6emqIto8NwwNMe2JWr1ToCP7L6bM3ep3U4xKutlC2MQf74jxakNDacodnrXZkQnPSVSKIXV6WqOe0-GAteDxAHalmHDlaKliN3Fzb96k_AyGLT67lW1Wj6Zlo6A4zxPVsvysWPR17lSmyj6uqVaVUAY-UnA7agbW0HnAimrxQ12uygs6gEU0FoAQhlS-EIrMU24d9m8s1Pg-sJi3UNLSdP04VdD_Z4tZfX-9c7jzYWJlXVSmociD2rsFcyoCIqrrGdrdfC4gKq9nRoZVi-9g2_DPfeiX5sc4F8DXYGuy0xB7N4RlRJ5X7FN5Bsj-MzgJwbST8Oi9dN7OwnwI8ahKk4WSZX2N4iznWZm0Q5uKDtLg-WX3U3vPqoPWAIr6_XMl5ldmKqh4WU7ZsH90F_63OsRDcPJSRJx8k8kpi2IZBa1oBWPzcmDMaDdsyZa8dbA0ifDsx859M4hYo0au1viDOuWqptwGyYpJer92PtTX8OahsizkfT8a4khJK3Bf5MzTAl5JXQu1_wBlZbJ4MSXWWqZ1D4VqtV_aDDNcW1z542CC8pmMAJ-Wo3tOS_YLQ2bvmqZ5gmiyIPIN2LK5a57zrUxr-do97jsb3c9e_XCALiZ0ED4G165XRuto_MmV=w654-h872-no https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YH-LWKBUDhpov_UYOH0YikV99DUmbc7JbZTgxxGf05QivLHLor6acKL2AReTimjWiATeCMHIUajksqoocnUYXr6N3INo_B5Ae0Gkh8f3qtd5uwO_euaernu2XuFpXWmdIp8i_6887luaBcFCrsldFvOmKPHbZKGCmsoKBuEPC1HbaE11bqRI4OkU_bihnRGUnx9Lor4vH72_bqg8cOMZabhwqUd-nzpbXiyr1lwm0k2_2Vj9ESqTweQV5FmUa4zhODbQU4TuQFQZZmdI0Q2jaY5fDEjGyu-k7X_ZuYeoEkJXwVK60l0aUQREO40mGpsiZlAFGImjwd9-YBHvL6rGSZS0jk-Z7FM2Rpemd1gukE4cjXx-7jJrgT8rdvvBvGWEoZj3i-SFwebjN1jdCn0gNrEP_gXzAPeM7xgvZrf-qNrb4urr6_5aXogUYfjzm7kwdN7kvCqkZMjiap2X3AIn79481tL71g7DjYB9qj9oH_r-QTFPjA_e_dNeW5wXYItzK6ixeOwA_yvOlGtTl3U2XT8tPok5ksm0CU_H39InU50T7muixpGuuqV4ouhqUYV1AKKTkX-KYJ6XNGjfEAZOBVfUugygqap5M7NXS4yIC8v-UpH2sReD_52SvSdd6rkO62gWnfavKhqZpD7aWySCIBhWeK35LgGvDRRqSWlVQwWXadpH-enDWPfFYizlg4BlBiKn_48jSrHcGA8eANBAVFBP=w1163-h872-no

UPDATE: Both dogs have ehrlichia. Every year at their vet visit the have the simple blood test done. Lizzie in August and Rhone in December where both clear. Lizzie and Rhone after they started showing symptoms in mid to late March were clear with the vet test. The internal medicine specialist sent Rhone's blood off to a lab in one of the Carolina's for more detailed analysis (sorry but the PCR/Titters talk is foreign to me) which took a week but showed Ehrlichia. Took them both back to the vet earlier this week and now both show positive at the Vet's quick test. Both are now on a month long Doxycycline treatment (150mg twice a day). How? I would love to know. My dogs get NexGard the first of every month. I live in a typical suburban home. Lawn (mowed), with trees and landscaping. But i've never seen a tick on me or the dogs. And that's the only place they've been other than walks around the neighborhood and unless the ticks are jumping off the sidewalk onto them... Nor have they been around any other animals. The exception is they were boarded the last weekend in February (~2-3 weeks before they started showing symptoms) when my daughter and I went out of town. I contacted the boarder and they said their dogs were fine and they didn't know of any issues. The reading i've done says Ehrlichia is only transmitted by tick bites. So they both got bit by and had their NexGard fail at the same time?

Rhone update: Some of his bloodwork came back and he is positive for Babesia and Erlichia. The vet said while some of the symptoms (loss of appetite, depression, lethargy) are the same as what he was showing the liver issues are not typically. So there may be two things going on. My dogs are on NexGard religiously every month (Frontline Plus before NexGard came out) and I don't take them to the woods and haven't ever seen a tick on them. The vet said he may have had it in the past and just carries anti-bodies now but we are doing another round of antibiotics just in case. Rhone has a follow up for bloodwork tomorrow to check his liver levels. Lepto results are still pending. Both dogs are acting more like normal now. Energy levels are not where they used to be but the playfulness is there. They are enthusiastic about eating again although not back to pre-illness amounts but the vet said that may take a month or two. Now I need to take Lizzie back in and get her tested for Erlichia and Babeshia.

Lizzie was never as bad as Rhone. Which makes since if its a toxin as Rhone will eat anything and everything without a second thought where Lizzie is more finicky. She is off all meds now and eating fairly well. Not back to normal but getting there. No longer showing any signs of distress or discomfort. Unless one of the two remaining tests come back positive I fear I will never know what caused it.

I picked up Rhone last evening from the Urgent Care/Internal Medicine clinic after he spent 36 hours there. Not cheap. New floors will get put off another year. Anyways... They did IV therapy and antibiotics. Over the 36 hours his liver levels improved significantly. Sent us home with a number of meds including an appetite stimulant. They took him off the Denamarin as they felt having an appetite and eating was best at this point. And he is eating. Not like normal but better. Results from the lepto and tick panel won't be back until early next week. As of this point we still don't know what caused it but the vet feels its probably a toxin. They could maybe confirm with a liver biopsy but didn't feel it was justified with the improvement he was now making.

They don't get any vitamins or supplements. And no essential oils. No bird bath (or any other standing water) they can get into. I didn't realize all history with the chicken jerky until I started doing research this past weekend. Guess we will be avoiding that from now on. Too bad as its probably their favorite treat.

The food they were eating when they got sick is already gone and a new bag started. And now they are on Hills Science diet Liver from the Vet. Canned food varies but usually Alpo or Iams. And one can goes for 4 meals so they aren't getting a lot of canned food. They get both neighborhood walks and turned out in the yard. Sometimes they are supervised in the yard and sometimes not. They often like to go out in the spring and fall and lay in the grass and sunbathe. We live in San Antonio. No mushrooms in the part of the yard they access. I doubt the neighbors would intentionally do something to harm the dogs. I'm on good terms with all of them. I talk to one neighbor to see if he had used pesticides or fertilizer recent and he hadn't. Still need to talk to the people behind me. I couldn't swear they haven't drank from the toilet but the lids are usually down and they have shown zero interest in doing sot for the 6+ years i've had them. Lizzie is picky but Rhone would eat anything if he thought it was food. But they aren't allowed to pick up stuff on walks and i regularly patrol the yard and haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. We do have plenty of squirrels and the occasional possum or raccoon wander through. No toads/frogs. Rhone had another vet appointment this morning. As he wasn't improving the vet sent us to an internal medicine specialist where he will spend the night getting IV therapy and have a bunch of tests run including tick panel, lepto, and a couple others I can't remember (don't have the list in front of me).

No new plants. Vitamins/medications well out of their reach. Can't go to the dog park because Lizzie is terrified of any dog that is not a greyhound. I use traps for mice (no poison... lost a cat that way many years ago). I appreciate the ideas. Maybe somebody will come up with something I haven't.

I missed that Costco recall back in 2013 but did see it last week when I did a search to see if anything I currently give the dogs has a recall. I agree that a toxin seems the most likely considering the timing of them both getting it together. But i'm baffled as to what. The only thing I can think of new inside the house is using Arm & Hammer carpet deodorizer but I used that after Lizzie was sick. And a couple weeks ago I accidentally got the blue toilet tablet instead of the color free. But the dogs don't drink out of the toilet bowl and the lids are usually closed anyways. Can't think of anything outside either. And we had 4" of rain last Tues, Wed, and Thursday so if there was a toxin hopefully it would be well washed away. I've made numerous trips around my yard (including mowing) and can't find anything. I suppose how long it would take a toxin to be flushed out of the body depends on what it is.

I talked with my vet and ran by some of the things you guys have mentioned: Tick Panel: They get one done as part of their annual so have both had them in the last year (Rhone in December, Lizzie last August). Vet said it may take 12-18 months for a dog to get sick from a tick bite so they may have been fine at their annual and just gotten sick now. Although unlikely since they both got sick within days of one another. Just to rule it out we are going back in tomorrow for another tick panel. Denamarin: Vet agreed that it may suppress appetite and was fine with stopping it for a couple days to rule out if the appetite loss is due to whatever ails them or the Denamarin. Amoxycillian vs Doxycycline: Vet agreed that doxy is a more broad spectrum antibiotic but that Amoxy is better with liver issues which is why he went with that. Leptospirosis: Its part of their annual vaccination although vet did say that the vaccine isn't for all strains and, much like you can get a flu vaccine and still get the flu, they could still get it but he didn't think their lapwork and symptoms indicated it was the issue.

Their teeth are good. The vet did check their mouths very carefully. Lizzie's teeth have always been good. Rhone just had a dental in December. Yes, i try to give the denamarin on an empty stomach. Not too tough considering how little they are eating. Their vets are very greyhound savy. They used to be the vet for one of the local greyhound adoption agencies and they've been greyhound owners themselves. When going over the labwork with me they'd say stuff like "yes the report lists that as out of normal range but its normal for a greyhound."