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Just seeing this memorial post now, as I've not been on GT as much lately. Kali was a beloved part of our little family too. I cherished every visit and chance to reunite the littermates (and crazy mama Alimony), whether you brought her my way, or we met up at Dewey. <3

Thank you for your responses. Yes, her existing IVDD in her neck is a big concern, re: getting on as a tripod. And yes, chest rads would be the first step. I did get a response from Dr. Couto, after the Out of Office reply. His response: "If she is neurologically and orthopedically sound, there is no reason why she wouldn’t be a good candidate for amputation and chemo." I feel literally queasy just thinking about all of this.

My shameless Boo with Cap'n Dan. And Boo with Crow, spotting ponies!

Hello all. I am sorry to sort of burst in here like this, but I am looking for opinions of other folks who have been through this. I will preface this with the fact that I have already sent this image to Dr. Couto this morning, and have received an out of office reply saying I might hear back in a few days. This xray is a foster grey's right proximal humerus. The dog is nine years old, and currently displays almost zero indication of OSA pain. Extremely faint intermittent limping, and a rare occasional yelp out of the blue. The dog has a history of intervertebral disc disease in the lower neck which causes occasional pain flare ups. But otherwise the dog is healthy and energetic. Blood work is good, but chest xrays have not yet been done to rule out metastases. I am wondering if anyone here has had a dog with a similarly located tumor and had success with amputation. The first OSA hound I had, the tumor was in her distal radius, so amputation was relatively uncomplicated. I worry about this location, being essentially inside the entire shoulder area. My goal, if amputation is an option, is primarily to remove the risk of spontaneous fracture. I am unsure if we would pursue chemo, or if this dog would be a candidate for that. Thanks in advance for any thoughts on this situation. I am sick over this diagnosis. This sweet dog has been through a lot already, and deserves no further suffering.

Every symptom you describe absolutely fits laryngeal paralysis (rough and frequent panting, gaping mouth for air, hoarse bark, low stamina, low heat tolerance). Whether caused by or exacerbated by the de-barking surgery, or whether it is purely coincidental, there's no way to know, since some dogs get LP even without that surgery. Since he is youngish, you might look into tieback surgery as an option too. It's not for everyone, but may be worth considering, if he's a good surgical candidate. You should also, if you're not already, walk him on harness only, not a collar, to reduce stress to his neck and airway. p.s. who the hell debarks a greyhound? Ugh, people.

Of the nine greys I have owned, only one ever had sleep-startle, and he eventually grew out of that for the most part. I've pup-sat and fostered many more, but I am always careful to be mindful of the boundaries of dogs I don't know as well as my own, so I can't really report on whether they had sleep-startle issues.

Yes, Billy Bob was neutered while I fostered him. Thankfully it wasn't as complicated as it could have been, so he healed quickly and well. Billy Bob's original owner/breeder kept him over last winter and drew semen from him to store for breeding use. There is already one broodie (and another who is waiting to come into season) who is being inseminated with Billy Bob's semen, so he will be a daddy-dog probably within the next two months.

That's another good point. Unless you specifically ask, thyroid levels are not checked during routine bloodwork.

As Jeffy's foster, I can assure everyone that he was definitely not overweight when Carolyn adopted him. He was a perfectly good weight for his build, even arguably slightly lean as a fresh retiree. So a 15 pound loss, even though very gradual, is very worrisome to me. His bloodwork is all normal (including protein levels?), and his stools are firm, and he's actually consuming five cups of food daily? That is bizarre! What kind of food are you using?

What an amazing story. I soaked up every word. Thank you so much for sharing it, Wendy. My heartfelt condolences on your loss of your truly one-of-a-kind beautiful boy.

Oh Diane, I am so very sorry for your loss. What a stunningly beautiful boy.

We have cooked lamb somewhat frequently, with no noticeable effect on any of the various dogs we've had over the years. But the description of the OP's dog's behavior seems similar to what happened when Dazzle "saw dead people" as we called it. Acted weirdly spooked at nothing in particular, like she was seeing ghosts. So I was trying to recall if we had cooked lamb at any of those times. I don't think so though. Too bad, because it would have eased my mind knowing there was a tangible reason.

This is fascinating. I had never heard of this phenomenon. It makes me try to carefully recall if we had ever been cooking lamb when Dazzle would have her very unsettling "I see dead people" episodes. I honestly can't recall. I never did figure out what triggered that.

Happy to have helped.

I can't help on the prosthetic question... but I have to wonder what the heck is up with Chihuahua breeding that this is actually apparently becoming a thing? I just saw TWO chis at one of my vets' offices, both born with no front legs. Littermates. Was mama pregnant under a power line or something? I was told they were rescued from a puppymill, where birth defects like this are common. I can't even wrap my head around that. Incidentally, the two little armless littermates are five years old, and have apparently managed without prosthetics that long. They looked healthy and happy other than missing two limbs. I guess they never knew life any other way. They looked like strange little prairie dogs, perched up in their nest of blankets.