kikibean

Meredith- I'm just now seeing this. I'm so sorry to hear about Jane. She's truly a special girl and was meant to be with you. She couldn't have a better mom. Let me know if you need anything. Kelly

Hi Jamie! I'm sorry I haven't had a chance to call you. It's been a crazy day. I'll call you tomorrow, or you have my number if you need to call me. You can call my cell during the day. Or, anytime you need to for that matter. The info I was going to give you on the chemo and stuff was the info on Dr. Couto that was already posted. I think that Dr. Pam or Doug may have spoken to him about another dog we have that has lymphoma. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Give Harley a hug from me. Kelly

How is Raven this morning? I found some pictures of Mimi's first bruise for comparison. This is when I first noticed it and this was right before I went to bed that night. It got darker, but not bigger. The pink of her skin is because of the ice. Kelly

Mimi has had about 3 big, strange bruises like that - although hers tend to be more on her belly. The first time I flipped out, emailed the picture to my vet and he met me at his office at like 10pm. He gave her a vitamin K shot and told me to watch it to make sure it didn't get any bigger. He said it might get darker and that would be OK but to call if it spread. I think I also put ice on it for like 20min at a time. The next two times I've just watched it. If it's anything like Mimi's it will start to go away in a day or so and be totally gone in less than a week. The best I can figure is that she's done it on the stairs to the backyard. I have vitamin K pills on hand just in case and usually give her a dose if I notice a bruise. It wouldn't hurt to have it checked, but hopefully it's like Mimi's and will go away quickly on it's own. I think she's just got very thin, bruise prone skin Kelly

When I was reading about vestibular after Mimi was diagnosed, it seems like every dog can be different in the amount of time it takes to recover fully. Mimi improved quickly, but then slowed down and it was at least a couple of months before she was truly back to 100%. Hope he keeps improving!! Kelly

My 13 yr old was diagnosed w/ vestibular earlier this year. We didn't see a neurologist or anything like that. She was given an antibiotic, something for nausea and maybe one other thing - I can't remember now. She had some improvement by the next day and slowly improved over the next couple of weeks. She's completely fine now. With Mimi, it came on in a split second. One she was fine and the next she couldn't stand and we thought she'd had a stroke. I think with vestibular the main thing is time and rest. When did it happen? Kelly

I'm so sorry you lost Okie. She was a wonderful, tough old gal. I loved her like she was one of mine. I'll never forget the M&G we were at when she decided she needed to check out the greyhound puppy someone brought and tried to pick her up by the head to carry her away from the crowd!! Run Free Okie! Kelly Mimi, Molly & Rocky

I do the microchipping for our group. It is fairly easy, but I'd recommend some training. Depending on the type of chips the company may, at minimum, provide DVD's. We use Avid and they had someone come out and train me. You do want to make sure you scan the dog before, as well as scanning the chip and comparing the number of the chip to the stickers they come with. Also, one of the most important things is having someone who knows how to hold onto the dog. Once you start putting the chip in you have to finish, and need someone to hold onto the dog so they're not jumping around. One thing - greyhounds are MUCH easier than other breeds. The big boys will howl and thrash around & the 50lb girls will stand calmly like nothing is happening. I've done some other dogs for our adopters and it's much harder to push the needle through the skin of other breeds vs greyhounds Kelly

I'm so sorry Ivan says to tell Lacey Laine that they can fight it together. He had chemo #3 today. He sends her extra special hugs. Kelly

Patti- I'm so sorry to hear about Lacey Laine. I think lymphoma can respond really well to chemo. We have a dog we just got returned to us who's 11 and in horrible shape. He normally weighs 90lbs and is down to like 60. His owner has terminal cancer himself and said that Ivan had lumps on his throat that he couldn't afford to take him to the vet for. Well, the lumps were his lymph nodes swollen HUGE. The ones in his groin and the backs of his legs were also ping pong ball sized. One leg was swollen because the lymph nodes were so bad. He is skin and bones and his hair had mostly fallen out. After consulting w/ the vet we decided to do chemo on him. She said that there is an excellent chance of getting it in remission (maybe for a couple of years) if it's caught early, and that even as bad as Ivan's was she thought it was worth trying. His first chemo was rough (because he's in such bad shape), but after a couple of days he started feeling better. After the first week the lymph nodes had gone down quite a bit. He had his second treatment this past week and bounced back faster - even though it's supposed to be the worst round. He's eating well, playing with stuffies and getting on the sofa for petting. His foster home can't believe how great he's doing. So, hopefully it if is lymphoma Lacey Laine will respond as well as Ivan. At least she has otherwise good health in her favor and you caught it quickly. Here's Ivan the other day. You can see his ribs and spine. He says to tell Lacey Laine that if he can beat it so can she! Kelly

I had a foster dog with LS (he got adopted by a wonderful family ), and his is pretty bad. He was a return to our group and if he stands his rear end sinks until it's pretty much on the ground. He does better if he's walking briskly or doing his version of a trot. He's been getting the depo-medrol injections for about a year now. Even with them he's no where near 100%, but for him he's good. When his shots wear off he starts really dragging his back feet & crossing his legs. He gets the shots about every 2-3 months. Most people freak out when they see him, but he goes outside, eats, torments the cats at his new home and is totally spoiled. Even though he can't always get around his mind is totally there and he thinks he's fine. We tried adequan injections and water therapy, but neither seemed to make a difference. His family feels as long as he's getting some improvement when he gets the depo-medrol they're going to keep him on them, even if they only last a month or two. It does take him 2-3 days after getting an injection before there's visible improvement. Good luck! Kelly

I'm so sorry to hear about Luna. You did the right thing for her. I had a greyhound, RJ, with meningitis, and for what it's worth I would NEVER treat a hound with it again. I'd let them go right away. If there was any chance that's what it was you saved her a lot of pain. I've found that most vets don't advise you to let them go. If they DO tell you that you need to let your pet go it's probably way past time you should have done so and they can't keep quiet any longer. Hugs- Kelly

Hang in there Meredith! I'm glad she's getting better. She's a fighter. Leann has No Pull harnesses from Wiggles, Wags & Whiskers that we're selling. I used one of those for RJ w/ his meningitis and for Benji with his bad back end. I also used it for Mimi when she had vestibular. I like them because they don't cut into their armpits! Keep us updated & yell if you need any help. Kelly

We'll keep good thoughts for you! I'd recommend Dr. Garden at Animal Health & Healing. She's usually voted one of the top vets in St. Louis. Kelly

I do the microchipping for our group, and most dogs barely even notice. If one is going to make a fuss, it's always the big boys It's a good size needle, but it only takes a second. Even the ones who make a fuss are over it as soon as the needle is out. The big thing is having someone who knows how to hold them when it's being done so they don't squirm around or pull the needle out before the chip is in. The needle used on dogs / cats is the same one used on birds. I don't think I'd trust anyone but the avian vet to stick one of those suckers in my cockatiel, and I've given the birds shots before!!! Kelly

I'm so sorry about Falcon. Kelly

I'm so sorry to hear about Terry. I know he knew how much you loved him. Kelly

Run Free Sheba. You have lots of good friends waiting for you.

Rescued Racers just lost one of our foster dogs to a snake bite. Our vets tried everything to save her, but we lost her anyway. Laura was a sweet, gentle girl who loved kids and adults alike. Unfortunately she never found her forever home, but I know her foster family loved her like she was theirs. As far as Laura knew she was home. Run Free Laura! Kelly

We found for the small ones that pop right out they feel better right away. If they're larger or if it's the first time they've been done sometimes it takes a few days for them to feel better. I'd watch them for a day or two to make sure the holes don't look red or like they're getting more irritated. One of Nancy's corns took several days after it was hulled for her to stop limping on it. Now when it comes back I can actually just take it out w/ my fingernails (which are non-existant). Kelly

I had a foster for almost a year who has LS and had to get the shots. He was really compromised by the time we got him, so what is good for him still looks terrible to people who don't know him. We had him at the specialist when he first came to our group (return from a group no longer around). He had an MRI, x-rays, etc and all the specialist could come up with was "some instability in the back end" Gee, THANKS for that. I tried discussing LS with him and he totally dismissed me. I finally took him to my vet who, even though he didn't think it would work, agreed to give it a try. Benji did great on the shots, and even managed to get himself adopted to a family who thinks his personality is worth the $30 shots every three months or so. Before she adopted him she gave all her info to her vet to make sure he was OK w/ the shots. When we first did the shots we did the Adequan with it and I gave those shots at home. We finally stopped with that because the Adequan wasn't really making a difference to him. I'd find another vet. The specialist also wanted to do oral pred, which I didn't see the point of. Kelly

Hi! Congrats on Daisy & welcome!! Kelly, Mimi, Molly, Rocky & Nancy in St. Louis, MO

Hi- We had to let one of our foster dogs go tonight. Osteo. He was a wonderful guy who was in his foster home for 2 years. Personally I think he liked it there so much he decided not to get adopted again Feature was a big, happy, independent, sweet and funny boy. He'll be missed by his foster family and his Rescued Racers family. Run Free Feature. I know you had plenty of friends waiting for you. Kelly

None of us will ever forget Joker. He didn't deserve this. Run Free Joker. Kelly, Mimi, Molly, Rocky & Benji

I have Emily's mom, Mimi (picture on the left), and have met Laurie and her husband on many occasions. They're such wonderful people and I know Emily never had a doubt of how much they loved her. I never got to meet Em, but know what a special girl she was. Her mom and I are thinking about her. Kelly & Mimi