[Have Leftover Budesonide If You Need It]

Thanks, y'all. I've just posted a Remembrance for her.

 

The Budesonide is still available if anyone wants it! If you know of someone who uses it, let them know.

[Happy Can Be Happy Once Again]

Happy was a trooper. She was good-natured through a rough life, always ready with a waggy tail. Her farm owner said she was always wagging, "even when she was in trouble." Rascal! The name Happy went with her from puppyhood, through her racing career, back to the farm to be a broody, and then to train puppies on the whirligig, all the way home to us. I don't think we ever even considered changing it!

 

She came to us two years ago, thin as a string, with teeth to have nightmares about, a fatty lipoma (we determined) and a rash. And all sweetness and wags. She survived getting half her teeth pulled, and soldiered through illness for two more years with us. She learned to walk on the leash finally. She learned three tricks: hippy hop (a quick rearing jump), spin (one turn clockwise), and sit (very tricky with her broken hock, especially on the wood floor), though she couldn't reliably tell the commands apart, and would just keep doing whichever popped into her head 'til the treat fell into her mouth. Even though she was a little thing compared to my boys, if there was petting or treats happening, she'd muscle right in there for her share.

 

I called her Tin Cup when she dragged her muzzle back and forth on the dog yard gate, like a jailed prisoner in an old movie. Or UN-Happy, her alter ego, when she wailed and whined, which she did quite a bit, in anticipation, or boredom, or who knows why? She just had a lot to say. Sometimes she said it in a most coloratura roo! Not just "Rroooooo!", but "Roo-ooOO-ooOO-ooOO-ooOO....!" Serious lungs on that girl!

 

Sometimes, she'd go over and stand over one of the other dogs as they lay on a bed or in the yard. Just stand there, looking off. The other dog never seemed to mind, or even take notice after an inquisitive sniff. It seemed companionable. She'd do that with us, too, if we sat on the floor, practically standing on our laps. It didn't seem to be about petting. Just standing. Really close.

 

Happy was a dog's dog. She was a marker - always outside, of course! With a peculiar flair! Because of her broken hock, she would swing that leg around in a jazz dance-like flourish to achieve her squat. Made me smile every time! And she was a hunter. When the other dogs obliviously passed small animals, she was practically on point. She loved to snuffle and root in the tall grasses surrounding our house. Even with a muzzle on, she managed to down and smush a big dragonfly last summer. Oh, and yes, she needed that muzzle. Not because she would bite, but because she was a serious poop-eater!

 

She was a game gal. If you asked her to do something, she did it. Usually with complete docility. Sometimes with that polite air that you understood to mean she only did it because you asked, and she was too much of a lady to say no. We saw more and more of that over the last few weeks, until finally she did say no, but still with good manners. She simply turned away, so as not to make a fuss over how rude we were being to her.

 

Happy is gone now. Or gone into the greater whole. Either way, we miss her sweet spirit, kind nature, wagging tail, and butting snoot. There's huge relief in us that she's finally out of pain, and huge pain that she's out of our lives.

 

You've waited patiently. Here are the pictures, as required.

Here she stand over Pogo, who does his part.

 

Here she is, right after her brutal dental, snoot all swollen, ribs and backbone still sadly prominent.

 

I have several pictures of her snuggling with Wabi. Or rather Wabi snuggling with her. These are from the last week or so. Wabi wanted to be pretty much ON Happy a lot of the time. We had to make sure she wasn't stepping on her pretty often, especially when she was getting her IV drip, and all wrapped up in a blanket.

 

Back in happier times.

 

Happy meets the "girls" on our neighborhood walk route.

 

I think DH must have better pictures than I do! He just said he'd been looking at pictures of her, all hail and hardy, from last spring maybe.

I'll leave you with this one.

 

Good-bye, Happy.

 

Please excuse any typos or other writing mishaps. I'm not operating at full capacity yet.

[Have Leftover Budesonide If You Need It]

Happy is gone, so she won't be needing these 16 capsules of 3 mg budesonide. If you want them, pm me with your address. First come, first serve. Free.

[Corn Question.....again.]

Wabi's has been deep like that, and also more shallow. The last time I hulled it, it had a deep root, and actually bled a bit. That one never came back! So, maybe you're really getting to the root of it.

 

 

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

I feel very much held in your thoughts and caring. Thank you so much.

 

I'm going to put this last awfulness down here, then stop, and do a Happier celebration for her Remembrance. Don't read if you're out of tissues. This is purely for my own ... catharsis, really.

 

This morning was awful. She had wet herself in the night - a first, and was very depressed. Everyone went out for first turn-out, and brought her back in right away, so I could have a moment's peace to give her the last shot of Reglan. She could not settle. From then 'til the vet came into the exam room with her final injections, she did not settle, despite a shot of torb. She was panting, nose dripping, anxious, pacing, standing and shaking, leaning on us but not there. I took her out, and she had some bloody-looking D, full of mucous, and strained twice more to squeeze out just drops. Took her back in, still no settle. Meanwhile, I'm trying to call housecall vets. No luck. We finally decide to take her in to the regular vet in town. H puts her in the car, where she did finally lie down, but once we were in the exam room, where she usually lies right down on her blanket, she continued to pace, pant, drip and occasionally cry. Finally, the vet came in, just as she'd collapsed on the blanket, and began his routine. The first bit of sedative did nothing for her, that I could tell. Then he started the big one. And she cried out! That's not supposed to happen. He was surprised, too, and stopped to wait for it to take hold before continuing. Her head was resting in my hand, and H and I were stroking her, and whispering to her, and finally the vet slowly continued the injection. I could tell H was really upset when she cried out (as was I). Finally, it was all over. Her bowels had emptied a bit. We wrapped her up, and H picked her limp body up and carried it out to the car. We worked together to dig a safe, dog-bed sized hole between two young cypress trees beyond our garden, talking and crying as we worked. Together, we carried her as if in a hammock between us, trying not to be overwhelmed by her lolling head, bluish tongue, one open eye, one closed. I took off her collar, and we lowered her into the hole, and H lovingly curled her head and limbs around into a naturally curled position, while I sobbed to watch his gentleness. I couldn't bear to watch the dirt fall on her face, but I wanted her to be as part of the earth as she came into it. I compromised by putting a cotton cloth over her sweet face. It's so horrible to watch the clods of earth rebound on the body of your beloved friend! We worked as quickly as we possibly could through that part. And it was done.

 

H and I will work together to make her a memorial stone.

 

It's over.

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

Thanks, everybody. I'm sitting her sobbing. There's still moonlight on the frosty meadows, but I couldn't go back to sleep after I woke with a start remembering what today brings.

 

Then I just lay there and felt both sad, and mad. And madder. And sadder.

 

Rant alert: I want to get this out, but I don't want it in her remembrance thread, so put on protective eye gear, and maybe some earplugs.

 

When my vet finally called back at 9pm last night, he told me he had talked to the pathologist. When?? Why didn't he call me immediately?? They couldn't figure out what was going on from the biopsies, but it was clear that "something was drastically wrong." I almost couldn't hear at that point, with my ears ringing with anger, trying to stay civil. He talked about whether she could survive more treatment, though there didn't seem to be anything new to try, and that it was a legitimate choice to let her go. Then he offered something for her nausea and a sedative to help her rest through the night. I almost threw the phone across the room. NOW he offers something for her stomach?? I asked weeks ago for something, and he brushed it off! If her stomach had felt better, maybe she would have eaten enough to fight this off! ARGH! I told him I'd go pick it up, and that we'd be trying to find someone local to come to the house to let her go. He said that was good, and if we couldn't find someone, he might be able to send one of his techs up.

 

When I got back about an hour later with the drugs, Happy gave me a little lick on the hand when I injected the Reglan. She never does that. I just lay there on the floor with her and had the most relaxed chin-rub session we've had in days. She's been so uncomfortable she hasn't seemed to enjoy much petting even. After getting her settled in bed, I injected the sedative (he was going to give her Ace, but I asked for something different, and got torb-something), and she just relaxed.

 

I really will try not to second-guess too much. Time only goes one way. But I'm going to have some guilt about being too "nice" to insist on some things, like anti-nausea meds. The bill scared me from being too insistent, but why didn't it matter more to the doc how Happy felt??

 

Okay. Rant over. I feel drained, which is an improvement.

 

Thanks to all of you for your love and support through all of this. It goes right where the pain is. I'll tell Happy about all her friends here, and the love you send her today as she leaves us. She can finally be comfortable. That's a good thing.

 

 

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

I think this is it, folks. DH thinks this is it.

Happy has been vomiting all afternoon, and had a real awful bout just now. She's eaten no-thing all day, nor drunk. She must be distilling water from the IV into her stomach for this. She can't keep meds down. She's miserable unhappy.

 

I called the vet's office, nearly in a panic, while DH held her up while she puked. He's on the road, and will call when he can stop.

 

We're going to end this tomorrow morning.

 

*sob!*

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

Actually, there are vets all over the place out here. I called around when we first moved here, and got hooked up with a grey-savvy vet pretty quickly, but she left. I called around again, but no one claimed to be really knowledgeable about sighthounds, though some said they had a few as patients. I ended up with this guy because his clinic is the bloodbank where my boys give blood, and because he seemed more knowledgeable than the vet right before him (who did a fabulous job on Brilly when Pogo chomped him on the throat) when Happy first started having such difficulty last year. He gives us discounts, and lets us pay over time (obviously!), but he's downtown, so his overhead must be higher to begin with, and he never seems very decisive. Maybe that's not fair. Medicine is so complicated! But, jeez.

 

Happy just puked a bit, just as I was getting ready to give her more meds. I gave her a pepcid, and started her on an IV instead. My studio rug will never be the same!

 

At this rate, she'll be making her own decision soon.

 

 

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

I called and left Dr. Couto's contact information for my vet. He's not in, yet. I so do not feel confident in him right now. Or in the chances of him getting that information in a timely manner.

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

First, thanks again, and as always, for your continued compassion and support. It matters so much, as most of you already have reason to know.

 

Milk thistle. Good idea. I'll get some. She's had her first dose of doxy, but has literally spit out or run away (well, turned away, walked away, stuck her head in a tight corner) from food all day. Not drinking, of course. She's at 47.4 lbs.

 

I want to hear what the vet says about her liver. We're back up over $800 already, and I want my flippin' money's worth out of this guy. I've made it pretty clear I want to hear back SOONEST. The tech said, "They sometimes play phone tag for awhile." If he feels vague to me at all, I'll tell him to consult with Dr. Couto (in fact, I'll tell him about Dr. C as a greyhound resource anyway), but I'm telling you, people, I do not want to drag this out any longer if we're not going to see her get better.

 

Anacortes is over an hour away. I'd have to be pretty sure it was worth the trip for her, that she has a chance of getting better. If she's too far gone, I won't do that to her.

 

Can you tell I'm getting mad? Rant follows. You are warned.

 

I'm starting all the second-guessing early: Have we been dragging her down the wrong path since we got her? Since last winter when things first got bad? Isn't this something that could have been seen long ago, if it's been going on for awhile? I know he even mentioned liver disease away back. Even cirrhosis at one point, but just touched on it in the midst of other possibilities. I'm beginning to think that our long-running bill discouraged him from doing very much. I guess I can't blame him for that, but ....

 

Oh, and here's one. I don't know how expensive the Snap4 test is, but it seems like maybe adoption groups could add that to the list of things to do. If a TBD is the cause, we might have known and treated her before her liver curled up and died.

 

Okay, now I'm just throwing things all over the place. DH reminds me that our vet bill for this year is the same as our property taxes, which we haven't paid for two years because we couldn't. *sigh* It's not about the money, per se, but that sure doesn't help matters.

 

ARGH!!

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

tbhounds, it may be too late for that. :(

I called them this morning, since I hadn't heard anything, and was told they were waiting for the vet to come in. The tech called back shortly and said the doc had told her that there was no indications of any kind of tumor (yeay!), but there are indications of hepatitis. He wants to talk more to the pathologist. Might not hear anything more specific until

 

TOMORROW.

 

*banging head on wall*

 

I looked it up quickly, and if her liver is showing as shrunken on the ultrasound, that sounds like cirrhosis. Which sounds like a death sentence.

 

I'm beside myself. Words are just failing. I'm all emotion right now.

 

Have to bring her in to change out her IV catheter at 11:30, and change her to doxy just in case (can't see what difference that will make at this point, but whatever).

 

We'll keep the boys in the blood donor program with these guys, but I think we'll be taking our vet care elsewhere. Maybe he's just too busy.

 

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

Kristin, Mary and Marcia, thanks. I've written all this down. I was hoping to hear from them tonight, but nope.

Tomorrow, for sure. If I don't hear from them by the time I'm done with breakfast, they'll certainly be hearing from me!

 

Meanwhile, Happy still is un-Happy. She ate just over a cup of food today, but vomited a little, so let's call it a cup. Barely. Pretty un-perky. Pretty much ADR, as Marcia says. (I like that!)

 

G'night, all. Thanks a million and one!

 

 

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

Thanks, eagleflyt. I'm so worried about that! Today has to be the last day on this cath, even though it's still clear. One way or another, it's coming out tomorrow.

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

I was thinking about your "forcing" food on Happy. The other thing I have done when absolutely nothing appealed to my old gal, and i KNEW she had to have food or else.....

 

get the kind of can dog food that is solid mush,, not the bits and pieces of chunks of food in gravy,, take small bite size amount in your hand, form into a ball, and shove it down her throat! It will go into her tummy, and she will digest it, and maybe she will not continue to loose weight.

I have done this on occasion. not for any length of time, but to enough to get by after a couple days of refusing food.. this made my girl feel better, then she started to eat on her own again.

 

for good news from your vet!

It's worth a try. Thanks for the idea. I anticipate a big mess!

 

The appetite stimulant suggestion was from me. The pills are teeny tiny and easy to get into them. I really believe that AS helped save Sutra's life. That, and the home cookin' carb fest.

Right! Thanks. I have it written in my Happy journal notebook. Depending on what I hear tonight/tomorrow, I'll ask yet again.

 

In case anyone else has to live with an IV catheter, or other leg wound, maybe this will be useful. They're fragile enough that a quick chomp can break the little tube that goes into the vein. To pad it up more, I cut the top off a thick sweat sock, and slipped it over her leg where the catheter is like a sleeve. I used some vet wrap at the top to keep it up, and it's worked well. She is paying less attention to it than to the band of vet wrap covering the catheter. I did have a band of vet wrap around the bottom, but it was just one more thing to have to mess with to do the necessary chores of attending to the catheter, and gravity keeps it down just fine.

 

I hope this can help someone.

[Six Months Since Loca Passed Away]

{{{{{{{{{{Robin}}}}}}}}}}

 

It's never wrong to try to help a dog in pain. Sometimes you get lucky and you can help. Too often, you can't. You knew when enough was enough, and that is all a dog could ask of her best person.

This is exactly what I wanted to say, Robin.

Every decision you made at each point was made out of love. That's what she knew. Rest your heart there.

:bighug

[Goodbye Old Girl]

:bighug

You gave her probably the best year of her life. A good note to say good-bye on, if you have to.

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

No. I asked about it awhile back, and for some reason, he wanted to hold off on it. He also felt I shouldn't be forcing any food on her (like by turkey baster/syringe), but she'd be dead by now I think if I hadn't. Or closer. I also asked about an appetite stimulant that someone mentioned, but never did get an answer on that either.

 

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

Xan, I'm hoping you get some answers about your girl and that her appetite picks up. Also, please go get some treatment for your UTI before you end up in the ER with a raging kidney infection ... no fun at all! Prayers for you and your girl.

 

Shelly in OK

Thanks, Shelly. The UTI is at bay, at least. I'm watching closely, though, believe me! *knock on wood*

 

At this point I'll bet it would just be a relief to get some kind of definitive diagnosis, good or bad. Then at least you can start looking at options and making decisions. This guessing and hoping and flailing around blind stuff has got to be thoroughly exhausting!

 

Xan, to cheer you up here's a little funny I saw on Failblog (I would think this is your little town of Custer, what with suspicious Canucks wandering about and all)...

 

That's hysterical! Thanks for the laugh!

 

Glad you've got some tests to work with. Sorry they didn't biopsy the intestines too while they were at it. Did they look at the intestines with the sonogram? With IBD one would expect structural changes there. But, hey, info on the liver and spleen is needed, so it's great they're getting it.

 

You made me proud, the way you met the vet's suggestions. Grounded, centered, calm, and not signing off on any premature moves.

 

And vinegar?! For me the cranberry juice is bad enough!

 

Hugs and hopes for continued munching!

Augh! See, why didn't I think of that? To look at the intestines, and, as DH said this morning, her kidneys? I didn't even think of that. Maybe they showed up enough and were unremarkable. I'll ask when I talk to him next. I was calm in that sort of detached shocky way I'm getting along right now.

 

Apple cider vinegar is part of my daily routine since my last UTI, last winter. Helps with the seasonal blues, too.

 

So how long do you have to wait to hear anything about the biopsies?

 

Hope she will eat something for you. Sutra was the same way when we were having feeding issues...he'd eat something for a day or two and then decide he was over it. That was especially problematic for my pill giving attempts...he liked fruit roll ups for a few days, then he wouldn't take them, then velveeta, then he was over it...it's frustrating!

Tonight, maybe. Or if the results come back too late, tomorrow morning.

Yes, the pill scheduling is a major headache. Today, I'm putting them off 'til she's done with a vit. B drip, in hopes it will spur her appetite a little bit. They all end up being later than I'd like, since they start so late most days, but at least she's getting them all each 24 hours.

 

However, even though nothing grew on the last urine culture (hers I'm talking about now! ), she's acting like she's still got a UTI. Concentrated, scant urine with some urgency.

 

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

Back from the vet.

Friday, she had xrays, which were sent to be interpreted by a lab. Today we went in to hear all about it, and to do sonogram if indicated (yes). In the end, she also had needle biopsies of her liver (abnormally small and dense) and spleen (enlarged). Dr. S also considered the possibilities of heartworm (nothing seen on sonogram, and agreed that treatment could kill her in any case), and TBDs. In fact, he liked that idea so much, he was thinking we should switch her to doxy, and skip the biopsy for today. I said, hey, we're here, the sonogram is ready (helps to guide the needle), let's do the biopsies so we can rule that stuff out more definitively (cancers of various kinds, basically), and start her on doxy after we get results as indicated tomorrow. He agreed, and that's the story in a nutshell.

 

Slightly more detail: If she were going to be cured by the cipro she's been on for nearly two weeks, she'd be better by now, he says. Vet tech said her urine is still dark (though ... I don't see it - looks about the same as the other dogs' to me, just watching the stream anyway). Spleen might just be enlarged as a response to infection, he said, since it functions as a part of the immune system, like lymph nodes. Or it's cancerous. Liver is small, maybe because of continual insult over years of IBD. We do have xrays from a year ago to compare it to, though. I hope he has time to do that.

 

Right on schedule, she seems to be done with dog cookies. About a day and a half is all she wants any one thing, it seems. After that, she will not consider it. I offered her (with a rueful shrug) the Kirkland chicken kibble the other dogs eat, and she ate about 1/4 cup of that when we got home. Maybe she'll eat that for a day or so. At least it's more nutritious than cookies! If the chicken doesn't irritate her too much.

 

TMI alert! Didn't have time to get to a clinic, so I'm still chugging cranberry and apple cider vinegar. Mmm! That's bracing!!

 

Oh, and Mary, your point about the budesonide dose is well-taken. I think the dose she's on now is 2.5, though. But still. Yes, I try to give all her pills with some kind of something in her stomach.

 

Weight: 48.7 lbs.

[Drake's Healing Progress - After Mass Removal From Both Left Legs]

Progress is good! I hope Drake doesn't have to be on Tramadol for too much longer, but it's so good that he's feeling better!

 

I hope Kaylee's ears stop bugging her soon. Wednesday is not too far off, and then you can see how she does without the bothersome drops and wiping. Sometimes, don't you begin to wonder how much of what you're seeing as symptoms are reactions to the treatments?

Hugs to you all!

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

"Sucker food"!

 

Heh, carronstar! I was reading about (yet more) home remedies the other day, and that one came up. Of course it sounds better than it actually works! (The alcohol, along with any sugars, feeds the bacteria, and lowers the immune system.)

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

I haven't stopped the budesonide (in fact, it's time for her pill). I don't know if she's getting enough! *waaah!* I'm not a vet! I'm beginning to think it would be cheaper to get my degree than to just pay someone else for all my pets, though.

 

Kristin, I went on a little search for biscuit recipes. I think I have the basics in my head now. I tried some parmesan cheese (all we had on hand) to see if she liked it, and she politely licked it up. Not enthusiastically, but she did take it. Maybe I can try making some with parm in it. Or maybe just sprinkle it on other stuff (easier!)

 

Cream of rice, huh? Well, why not? I have used a slurry of raw flour (mixed with just enough cinnamon and sugar and water to make it swallowable) for D in humans, and that works a charm. I'd worry about doing that to Happy, though. She is getting slippery elm twice a day. If it's helping, I'd hate to see her without it!

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

Glad she's eating some. That's encouraging! I'm sure you've tried everything under the sun. There's always Jack Mackerel and canned fish of that nature if you haven't tried that yet. Phew to me, but the dogs love it. There's always canned green tripe but I've heard it's *really* awful smelling but a big hit with the dogs.

 

As for pizza places, I know how hard it is to find places that know and understand real pizza. When we lived in the New Haven CT area, it was pizza heaven. We had a heck of a time finding it here in SC but we finally did. There's even a place that makes whole wheat vegetarian (I think the sauce is too) pizza. It's very good! They're called New York Pizza, of all things. I've discovered that Lil Caesar's is actually quite good. Maybe you have one of them around.

Yup, tried mackerel yesterday and this morning. Nope. Tripe worked for a couple days, about a week ago. She won't look at it now, but I still add it to the goop I turkey baster into her.

 

I worry about tomato saucey things too, but she did eat that pulled pork for a couple days. She's had D or nearly-D since, I might add. Including this morning. The biscuits she ate don't seem to have done her any real good. Still, she ate some, and they made her thirsty so she drank some. She keeps greeting me with a wagging tail, despite all the manhandling (though she makes a pretty concerted effort to leave the scene if it looks like I've got a syringe or the turkey baster in hand! )

 

I had hoped we might hear from the radiologist or the vet last night, but it seems we'll just have to wait it out 'til tomorrow.

 

L'il Caesar's? Really? I think we have one of those nearby, actually. Hm!

 

I've been thinking about making biscuits myself. Maybe I can get more food value in them. But, then she might not eat them! Well, as I've said, the other dogs are benefitting mightily from Happy's leftovers!

 

TMI alert! I guess I've been a little tiny bit stressed out, and given myself a sympathy UTI. Home remedies aren't working, and I spent the night on the couch when I wasn't running to the bathroom or getting more to drink. (You know, Law and Order just goes on all night! That show is at least 20 years old! Amazing. )

C'mon, universal health insurance!!

[Ibd - Happy Starving!]

Pizza parlors are a little thin around here. I have a dream ... A dream of vegan whole-wheat pizza, delivered to my door, with salad, and ... um ... coconut "ice cream", as long as we're at it!

 

She ate a little more last night. No blow-outs this morning, so that's good. Not too dehydrated, so maybe I'll just give her a half bag of fluids. She ate a few more meat and molasses cookies this morning. They've got to hurt her little toothless gums! I crunched them up in a bag with a bottle so they're more like small kibble. They made her thirsty, so she drank a bit, too. Still won't look at anything more substantially nutritious, but I can always turkey baster that in her whether she likes it or not.

 

 

[How Much Tylan Powder?]

We've been using it for about a year (haven't been refrigerating it, either! have to look at the jar!) at 1/4 t twice a day with meals. I had been sprinkling it on, which worked until recently. I've had to start putting it in capsules, too. Happy has weighed between 48 lbs and 63 at that dosage.

 

Where did you get your capsule set-up? I got mine at an herbal store. Very simple and nifty. I can do 50 at a time with it. Unfortunately, I got the wrong size, so the caps are a little too small.