Xan
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Posts posted by Xan
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Oh no.
Sending waves of fast healing, non-cancer thoughts to poor Nikki, and hugs to you!
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One year at Dewey, a greyhound got out of a Premiere harness, and gave her owners and lots of other people a hard time 'til she was caught later that day. They brought her over to our booth, where were selling the Wiggles Wags and Whiskers harness, which we fitted on her nice and snug (a key point of any harness' security), and all was well.
That said, the spook harness does look like it would give you even more security against that shoulder-shrugging slip-out that harnesses like the Premier would allow.
Best of luck! So glad you were able to catch her so quickly! Heart attack!!!
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J., I'm glad to see you've found your way over here.
Not having had to go through this yet, all I can offer is my sympathy. I hope you can get a little more quality time with Gandhi. If it turns out you can't, it won't be for lack of love, that's clear.
:bighug -
Oh thank goodness!! Donna had sent me an alert earlier this evening, which I just now saw, and rushed over to see what had happened. WHEW!!! Ruby, girlie, oh please learn your lesson, Missy!!
Hugs to you all, now!!
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Thanks!
He seems just about back to normal this morning!
He was a little slow to finish his breakfast, but I put a bit extra in, plus it was probably not so tasty, with vit.s mixed in. 
His breathing looks normal to me, right now, and he was trying to get us to play with his mashed-flat volleyball out in the yard, so it looks like we dodged whatever bullet was aimed at him! 
:Thanks for all your good thoughts and wishes! Must have worked!
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Thanks! He's quietly enjoying a little late afternoon sunshine at the moment. His appetite is improved, too.
You all must be performing the GT magic for us! -
Howdy!
Welcome to GT, and the wonderful world of greyhounds. As you may have noticed, we're a pretty visual bunch.
We'll need pictures not only of your greyhound, but we'd love to see your skin-kid and your other fur-kid, too. If you accidentally get into any of those pictures, well, that's okay too. -
Thanks for the hugs.
I don't know exactly what's wrong, but as long as he continues to get better, and the others don't get sick, I'm okay with the mystery.
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Just got a call back from the vet about Pogo's blood test. White cells within normal, but elevated ... um ... did she say leucocytes? Lymphocytes? I should have written it down.
Anyway, indicates a bacterial infection, so she does want him on 1000mg cephalexin twice a day. Luckily, I had some, but only a couple days' worth at that dose. He is doing better today, so that's good. I've been sneaking him a handful of food here and there. He'd lost some weight somehow, and is looking pretty boney, for him. Maybe just by fighting off the bug? Wish I could lose weight that fast! -
He looks quite perky! Glad to hear things are finally simplifying and settling down. *Gentle* hugs to Albi, and a trophy to you for being such a good mom!
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Thanks, everybody!!
Keep it up with all those good wishes! I think it's helping. 
He seems a little better this morning. I was pretty concerned, last night. He was really exhausting himself, just breathing. Holding his head way out, even hyperextending his neck a little, fairly quick, shallow breaths, standing up as if it gave him some ease, but being too run-down to stand for long.
Today, he's more relaxed and alert, ate his whole breakfast (with extra B vit.s, ester-C, and L-Glutamine along with his antibiotics), but still taking things very slow. Breathing seems a little easier, without the neck stretching behavior.I'm giving the other dogs ester-C, too, to boost their immune systems, in case this thing is contagious. Where did it come from?? We have limited contact with other dogs, they don't go to dog parks, both dogs he's been in any proximity to in the last couple weeks are fine. Of course, we share our property with coyotes, and who knows what they might have, but again, no direct contact with them, and the coyote don't get in their dog yard ...
I'm just hoping it's not one of those really bad pneumonias I've read about.
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the neck thing sounded like what Rainey would do when she had the pancreatitis attack -- but the last time we thought it was pancreaititis, it ended up being bloat
sending good thoughts and hugs to Pogo!!!
:hope :bighug I had to stand and watch a beautiful dog die of bloat (which I didn't know at the time) because we simply had no access to a vet, out in the boonies on a Sunday. Awful.
Just looked it up to be more sure, and it doesn't look like pancreatitis. Besides being a little off his feed, there doesn't seem to be any abdominal distress of any kind. He did eat his dinner, thank goodness. Still not a happy camper, panting a bit, not relaxing. A friend of mine gave me some ideas for some natural stuff to help lung issues. I'll look into that, too.
Thanks for the well-wishes! Have a good night, everyone.
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Thanks. Yeah. He's feeling pretty punky.
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Well, I like the new vet, for starters.
Anyway, she says he has a lot of sound in his lungs, and has slightly swollen lymph glands (so, I did miss that, even though I checked). She took a blood sample, to check for white blood cells, and wants him on antibiotics. She says we can do a chest x-ray if it seems like it's necessary, and asked if he'd been tested for heart-worm before coming to us, 4 years ago. I don't think so. I'll have to check if it's in his records. We don't live in a heart-worm zone.
She did say she's seen some nasty pneumonia lately, which I'd been reading about. Hope it's not that! We'll be watching the other two like hawks now!
So, watch, antibiotics, and wait.
Thanks for checking in with me!
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I can't find any swollen glands, in his neck or leg-pits or groin, but I'm no vet, and I might be missing something.
Thanks for the thoughts.
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Another vote for Borax.
And here's another thought: Red Star Vegetarian Support nutritional yeast. If your dog likes it (most do), the B vit.s in it can help make her un-tasty to fleas. I feed it for skin and coat, general good health, and we just don't have a flea problem. I don't use any other flea stuff.
One year, we did, for some reason, get a minor infestation, used the borax, and we were fine. If you don't have a shaker, you can make one by punching a bunch of holes in the lid of a container or jar.
Good luck!
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We have an appointment with a new vet at 4:15 (in less than 2 hours).
Last night, I noticed he seemed to be stretching his neck out, just a bit, like he was stopped on the way to lowering it to the floor. A moment's weirdness, I figured, as soon he was flat on his side.
This morning, after they'd had a little yard time, we took the boys for a walk, meeting a neighbor and her pup who joined us. Pogo was very calm about the other dog. I was proud of him, but maybe it was because he didn't feel up to much else.
He started slowing down, then literally dragging, and we turned around. This is a first for him. He's our bundle of energy guy. He seemed to be breathing a little hard. I put him back in the yard with the others to settle down before feeding, about 1/2 hour later. He didn't finish his food! Definitely a first! Very subdued. Drinking fine, though.
A little after noon, he seemed restless, and was breathing sort of noisily. That's not so unusual, 'cause he's got a messed up nose (chomped as a puppy), but was breathing faster than the other dogs, and was doing that holding his head out thing. I took him out, and sat on the grass to see what he'd do. Wabi laid happily down next to me, he stood there for a few minutes, then wandered off a little ways, looking around with a little interest, but not moving. I decided I didn't want him where I couldn't see him, and asked if he wanted to come back inside, which he did, in a sort of clingy way. Finally, I took his temperature.
I called and made an appointment, then offered him a chunk of ice (normally a favorite treat - go figger!), but he only took it to be polite, then dropped it. I decided to give him a bath, in hopes it might cool him a bit, make him feel better. He was not thrilled, but stood there somewhat limply throughout, barely shaking off afterwards. After I got the bathroom cleaned up, I saw he'd gotten on the couch (sigh - wet dog on the couch!), but he came over to me, and I saw he was shivering like crazy!
I wrapped him up in a thick fleece, rubbed him all over, got him to lie down, and he's resting now all wrapped up.The weather is mild (about 70'), not hot. He doesn't seem to be sensitive anywhere, not hunched up, not puking or Big D (yet? *crossing fingers*). I did recently change foods, but it's been at least a week, and the other dogs are fine. There was a dead mouse in their water bucket outside a week ago which he MAY have drunk out of before I saw it and dumped it (and scrubbed it!), but if so, it wouldn't have been more than a sip. They haven't gotten into anything else, and there's no sign of worms or bug bites or anything I can think of! .......
Thoughts?
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Glad Albi is doing so well.
If you haven't, you should look into these harnesses Ruff Wear Webmaster Harness
It was really helpful with Dude when he first came home and started doing things that scared the pee out of us - like going upstairs! Never underestimate the power of motivation! I have my heart in my throat every time he does go up and down, but he LOVES to sleep with us on the bed and he WANTS to, so he found a way to make it work. We wouldn't even let him try for about 4 weeks after, then one day I left the gate down by mistake and UP he went! He was so proud of himself! The harness helped us a lot when he wanted to go up but didn't quite have the mojo working.
Good thoughts for Albi! You go guy!
That's nice! Plus, there's the harness made by God's Greyts specifically for helping lift or assist greyhounds.
I'm so glad Albi is doing so well now! I just talked to a friend who's grey is hitting his 2 year post-amp anniversary and going STRONG.
Now that you're over the hardest part, it'll just get better and better. Kisses to Albi, and hugs to you! -
Oh boy. I feel your anger. I wonder if the e.coli and MRSI aren't just opportunistic, and were just part of the bad luck, not anyone's fault. When Happy was so sick before she died, I know DH and I were angry about everything the vets did, mostly because they couldn't make her well. It's frustrating, painful to watch, and you really want someone to blame!
I'm not saying there was no fumbling or mishandling along the way, 'cause how can I know? Just feeling your anger. At least poor Albi is home with you all, so he can start to relax and get into his new phase of life.
Eat well and get your teeth into LIFE, Albi! -
Way to go, Albi! Toss off that nasty bug so you can get all healed up and go HOME!
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Sounds like improvement! What a relief to get things going in the right direction. Sending hungry, healing thoughts to Albi, and restful peaceful thoughts to you!
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Ah, sweet gem of a gal! She lived it right out to the very end, didn't she. Then took your hearts with her when she left.
Mourning her is loving her, for now. Hopefully, soon, the mourning will mellow to missing, then to fond remembering.
:bighug -
Whew! Just catching up to all this. What an ordeal! I'm glad to come into this when things are starting to look better, and you've gotten a bit of a break.
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Oh yeesh!
I'm so sorry to read of Albi's and your continuing trauma! It does sound like there are a lot of vets in this, but maybe that has the advantage of many eyes, many opportunities to catch mistakes? I'm changing my Albi chant to address this mess!
*Muscle tissue, clean and strong, lifting Albi up health and full strength. Immune system like a superhero, throwing off invaders, squashing wild cancer cells, faster than a speeding bullet.
*Muscle tissue, clean and strong, lifting Albi up health and full strength. Immune system like a superhero, throwing off invaders, squashing wild cancer cells, faster than a speeding bullet. *Muscle tissue, clean and strong, lifting Albi up health and full strength. Immune system like a superhero, throwing off invaders, squashing wild cancer cells, faster than a speeding bullet. *Muscle tissue, clean and strong, lifting Albi up health and full strength. Immune system like a superhero, throwing off invaders, squashing wild cancer cells, faster than a speeding bullet. **Repeat as necessary!
Sending waves of fast healing, non-cancer thoughts to poor Nikki, and hugs to you!
He was a little slow to finish his breakfast, but I put a bit extra in, plus it was probably not so tasty, with vit.s mixed in. 
His breathing looks normal to me, right now, and he was trying to get us to play with his mashed-flat volleyball out in the yard, so it looks like we dodged whatever bullet was aimed at him! 
:
You all must be performing the GT magic for us! 
We'll need pictures not only of your greyhound, but we'd love to see your skin-kid and your other fur-kid, too. If you accidentally get into any of those pictures, well, that's okay too. 
:hope
Wabi Has A Mouth ... Tumor?
in Health and Medical discussion
Posted
We have an appointment with the vet, but this is moving so fast.
Excuse the rotten phone camera pics, but you get the idea.
(Wabi is a very deformed little thing, in case you don't know who she is, and her jaw is normally - for her - undershot, since her upper jaw is very short and curved off to her right.)
I first noticed a spot bleeding on her gum, and just thought she bumped it. Over the next few weeks, it grew into a smooth red swelling, so we took her to the vet. After discussing the fact that she arrested under anesthesia (during her spay), we decided to treat it as if it were an infection, with antibiotics, and watch. (We brush her teeth, and she hasn't had a dental since we got her because of our fears.)
There was no improvement. In fact, it has continued to grow. The vet was away for a week, and here we are today. It's gotten sort of rough-textured, and is now involving a much larger area. It doesn't bleed anymore, and doesn't seem to bother her, but I have bad thoughts in my head!
It looks pretty much like the pictures of fibrosarcomas. 
Looking on *a* bright side, if she should have to have a mandibulectomy (and survive the anesthesia!), she wouldn't have those exposed teeth getting all candy-corn-like.
But, boy, I'd miss her Very Special Look.
Waah!!