JedsMom

I'm so sorry.

It was Osteo. She was in too much pain. She's at the bridge. I'm lost without her already. *-*-*-*-* I've tried to write her a proper tribute. It's difficult and still so fresh. I tricked my husband into adopting Ripple. We had taken Jed in for a check-up and I knew that a new group of dogs had come up from florida that week. “Why don’t you go and let the dogs out into their runs, honey. I’ll finish up here with Jed and meet you out there.” By the time I made my way out there, Jon was sitting down and Ripple had her head in his lap. We brought her home on a ‘trial basis’ and officially adopted her one week later. Ripple was so different from Jed. He was our scaredy boy, afraid of new things and people. Ripple never met a stranger and she always preferred men. If a couple came over to visit, she’d ignore the woman and throw herself at the man. She loved children and liked kids in strollers the best. I remember one mother commenting to me once on how affectionate Ripple was. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Ripple wasn’t giving kisses, she was looking for crumbs. Ripple was a traveling dog. She’s been all over the East coast with us - hiked the mountains in 3 states, played in the Atlantic Ocean, walked the campus of the University of Georgia and strolled through Forsythe Park in Savannah like she was a native. As long as Ripple had her bed and a stuffy, she could do anything. Ripple was a happy dog. She always had a smile on her face. If she was laying down and napping, she’d always give a little tail-wag salute, just to let you know that she saw you and was happy you were there. One of her favorite tricks was rolling off of her bed and right into my lap. It’s not often a 70-pound dog can be a lap dog, but Ripple could pull it off. I miss you, my sweet brown dog. I don’t understand why you had to leave me so suddenly. I always said you were Jed’s courage. Perhaps he needed you more than I do. Jed and Ripple, Ripple and Jed... You’ve always been a pair, and I know that you’re together again.

I've put together a timeline of her history. I hope that will help the new doctor. I've seen him once before, last fall. He was the doctor who diagnosed Jed's osteo. Today is going to be a better visit. I am thinking positive! You can think positive and cry at the same time, right? @ 8 weeks ago, Ripple ran & played in the yard with Daisy (puppy). Next day had lameness in leg ->gave her Deramax and limp cleared up after 3 days. @6 weeks ago, Ripple let out in yard and ran for a couple of minutes - started limping again. Took her to see Dr. F the following day - she was limping in the morning, but by appointment that afternoon, no longer lame. Refilled deramax rx. 7/20 limping returned - x-rays taken Deramax 75 mg/day controlled limping until @ 8/3. Slight limp returned. Added Tramadol for a couple of days and she felt better. Tramadol given sporadically - only every couple of days if we felt she needed it. 8/10 Limping returned full-time - made appointment with specialist. 8/18 (PM) pain appeared to increase. Tramadol given regularly. 8/19 (overnight) - 8/20 - -Very bad pain fast panting, crying. Tramadol increased. Unable to get comfortable. Up and down all night - finally began to rest btwn 4AM & 9AM. As of this morning, she will put no weight on leg at all. Cries if area (shoulder/leg) touched. Fast panting. Not interested in breakfast, but got some down her. Has been eating well all week before today. 8/16 - Observation (Jon) - Left shoulder flexes more than right when walking. 8/16 - Observation (Diana) - Hesitates when picking up/moving bad leg forward.

It was a really bad night last night. I spent it on the floor with Ripple. She was in tremendous pain. I could get her down to lay with me and then she'd be back up. She was panting to hard. If I tried to touch her, she'd cry. It was terrible. I finally got her down to stay around 4:30. In the course of the week we've been waiting for this appointment today, she's gone from kind of limping, to unable to use the leg and in bad pain. If the doctor we see today finds this to be something that isn't fixable, she's in too much pain. I'm so sorry that she's having to go through this.

Ripple's limp has come back and it's worse than ever. We had clear x-rays a few weeks ago and she was doing well with just taking a deramax. Now she's limping worse than ever. We've switched from Deramax to Rymadil and we've also added in Tramadol. I'm hopeful that we can find out what's going on. She won't put any weight on the leg, has trouble going down the front steps and has a hard time getting up and down. It seems like the problem is something in the movement when she starts to move her leg forward... I don't know if it's the having to pick it up some or move it forward or the combo movement... Please keep your fingers crossed for us, we need it!

Thank you for sharing this.

I am so sorry.

The TBD theory is very interesting. Jed had ehrlichia...

Well, we had our visit. Doc did 3 x-rays, 2 of her bad leg and 1 of the good for comparison. He did not see anything that looked off or any signs of Osteo. He's sending the x-rays over to a specialist in Cary (the same specialist who was so sweet with Jed when he was first diagnosed with Osteo). Doc thinks it might be neurological because of the way she knuckles under when she moves her leg. (She also does a weird swing out with it when she walks) She's had neck problems in the past... Right now she's on Deramaxx and Tramadol. She's pretty glassy-eyed, but is resting. She's such a silly goose. Any time any one does anything that makes her cry out, she immediately turns her face up, looking for kisses. Keep your fingers crossed for us. Hopefully we can get to the bottom of this and get Ripple feeling better and more like herself.

Ripple started limping last week. I took her in to the vet, but she had stopped limping and was her usual bouncy self while there. I probably should have done an x-ray then, but she has a history of neck issues, and it was her front right leg, so I agreed that this might have been part of her neck issue. We put her on Deramaxx and just wanted to keep a watch on her. She was fine for the rest of the week, but was a little sore when she'd first get up. Yesterday she started limping badly and this morning she couldn't bare to put weight on it. She has an appointment for an x-ray at 12:45. We could use good thoughts and prayers right now for a clean x-ray.

Sweet Maddison... Hard to believe it's been 4 years.

I'm so very sorry.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Clare, I'm so very sorry. Maggie

Have it checked it out for the peace of mind. Ripple has one on her side that turned out to be a fatty lump. I hope it's the same for Flex.

I'm so sorry.

I'm so sorry. Please know that we're here for you. Make the most of every day together.

When Jed was having an especially bad ehrlichia flair, sometimes it took a round of pred added to his doxy to get him on the road to recovery. All of his flairs were stress related, and sometimes it was a vicious cycle of his flair stressing him out and causing him to be worse. The pred would help him feel better, which would allow him to relax and get better. Maybe Rudy will have a similar reaction.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I am so sorry.

I am so sorry.