[Marla Seems Slightly Depressed, Sometimes Won't Eat.]

Thanks DeVon. I did cancel the appt. So watch, when I get home, she won't want to eat again.

 

</Eeyore voice>

[Marla Seems Slightly Depressed, Sometimes Won't Eat.]

Yegads, I'm such a big flake.

 

Now I plan to cancel Marla's appointment for today. She ate perfectly normally yesterday afternoon and evening, and again this morning (yes she normally eats three times daily). Eliminated normally also. She still acts a tiny bit off in a virtually indescribable way, but it's so vague that I just can't justify bringing her in yet. I'll wait and see how things go over the next few days.

 

Thanks again for all the replies. I'm sorry to be so flaky. It's just that worry is kind of a natural state for me. I come by it honestly. I'm from a long line of worriers. I'll certainly keep y'all posted if anything changes again.

[Marla Seems Slightly Depressed, Sometimes Won't Eat.]

Marla has an appt tomorrow at 3:15. Not sure what we'll do, besides more bloodwork...

[Marla Seems Slightly Depressed, Sometimes Won't Eat.]

Sparks does not add any stress. Don't be silly. He's a perfect boy. As is Gobi, so I have no worries that our guest hounds will cause any problems. Sounds like Willow may not arrive until Sunday. She's no prob either, the little cutie.

[Marla Seems Slightly Depressed, Sometimes Won't Eat.]

Hugs for Marla and for you too Aimee.

 

I think our 'instinct' when it comes to our babies is usually pretty good. I know you tend to be firmly rooted in your 'eeyore pessimissm' and I try to bounce you out of it with my 'tigger optimism' but I would say if you are leaning toward her needing to be checked out then it is probably a good idea.

 

...

 

Crap, how could I forget Tip, probably because he never causes any trouble so doesn't get talked about much

 

 

Thanks Carolyn. I know I can be pretty negative. It's one of the reasons I like GT-- helps me get a smattering of other opinions before I utterly freak out with worry.

 

Yes, Tipper has really been in good shape for all the 4 1/2 years I've had him (except that recent stupid dislocated toe incident, which led to my baseless bone cancer panic ), so the poor boy does get taken for granted sometimes. Knock on wood.

 

He eats like a champ. If he ever skips a meal I would run, not walk him to the nearest E-vet.

[Marla Seems Slightly Depressed, Sometimes Won't Eat.]

Thanks you for the replies. I think I will schedule an appt for her. It's just that I can't really point to much in the way of "symptoms" so I feel sort of vague and alarmist...

 

I would take her to the vet if she were mine. I'd also be wondering it another dog might perk her up. Any chance of that?

 

 

You mean my Tipper-boy doesn't count? Poor Tippy.

[Marla Seems Slightly Depressed, Sometimes Won't Eat.]

Her last bloodwork was June 21st. The only thing I see slightly off is creatinine 1.7 (range 0.5-1.6). That doesn't seem too bad to me. : But it's possible she's been drinking a little more than usual... Or maybe my panic-prone brain is imagining it... :

 

I don't mind giving her whatever food she wants, I just fear going down the path of encouraging a picky eater to be pickier. BTDT, it's a maddening game. Marla wasn't picky at all the first 6-7 months. This past month, she's become pretty finicky. Today and yesterday I can't even tempt her with various dollops of soft food mixed in. I thought at first she was just jealous of all the good stuff Chancy was getting, thus I started adding the spoonful of goodies to Marla's kibble. That worked well for a while. This past weekend, even that won't do.

 

Maybe I just need to bite the bullet and bring her in.

 

 

[Marla Seems Slightly Depressed, Sometimes Won't Eat.]

Just when I think I'm all worried out... Now I think something's up with Marla, my little 10 year old girlie. She's very hard to read, so I'm having trouble figuring out if she's really not feeling well, or if she's depressed, or if she's just playing me to try and get different food...

 

We've had Marla since December, and I still sort of feel I don't really know her very well. She came from a home where her owner passed away. Marla has always been a little mopey, which I had attributed to missing her owner. (She's the first bounce I've ever seen who was relatively well cared for) She has occasional bouts of playfulness with her stuffies, but it's not consistent. She doesn't like going for walks, which may be due to the corns I see on her back feet. She doesn't usually limp, but will sometimes if I make her walk too far.

 

What really is starting to concern me is that since Chancy passed away, Marla seems even more mopey and had intermittently stopped eating. I thought perhaps she was reacting to my depression, but when the weather turned cold late last week, she seemed to perk up, both energy- and appetite-wise.

 

She went on a hunger strike for a couple days early last week when I tried to transition her back to her regular kibble (when Chancy was sick, I had been giving Marla a dollop of Chancy's soft food mixed with her kibble). Marla wouldn't touch the regular kibble until I resumed putting the dollop of soft food in. At that point I figured she was playing me to get the "better" food.

 

But yesterday and today, she doesn't want the kibble no matter what incentives I add to it. She drinks and eliminates normally, and she even comes in to watch me prepare her meal, as though she's hungry, but as soon as I put her dish down, she sniffs, and walks away.

 

In desperation to get her to eat anything since it had been since Saturday evening that she last ate, I thawed some of Chancy's leftover meatballs and Marla ate those just fine.

 

So. Is she just upping her manipulative food-games? Or is something wrong?

 

Her last bloodwork was a few months ago, and all was normal. If she doesn't snap out of this weird funk soon, I'll have to take her in. I just feel sort of drained both emotionally and financially since losing Chancy. I feel like I barely have the energy to worry about Marla right now.

[Lee Has Been Diagnosed With Ls.]

Acupuncture can help alleviate pain also. It helped Chancy when she had flare-ups that pain meds couldn't touch. Some have had luck with chropractic treatments also, but that didn't help us.

[How Do I Give A Subcutaneous Shot?]

The syringe for your Cobalamine injection will have a larger gauge needle than an insulin needle. But fear not, most greys do just fine. Like someone above said, be matter-of-fact about it, and it will likely be fine. It's great if you can have someone distract the pup with lovin's from the front while you do the deed. I always made Sissy stand for her injections, as I wanted to keep her bed as her "safe" place where nothing bad ever happens. Just firmly pull up a pinch of skin (I used the area near the shoulderblades) to form a sort of tent. The only mistake I made my first time was I accidentally put the needle through both layers of skin, so the injection squirted out in the air through the other side of the pinch of skin. : Sissy really didn't seem to mind much, thankfully.

 

Oh, and the most critical part: treat liberally after each injection.

[Peter Passed Away]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I had followed your threads with much hope in my heart, and was very saddened to hear of the outcome.

[Good Intentions Gone Bad]

Warm washcloths (water only) after meals worked very nicely for Sissy's foodstains.

[I Had To Let My Sweet Tigerdog Go Last Friday]

I'm clearly no action photographer (Tipper looks like a deranged kangaroo there). But I swear my ol' tigergirl's toes hit that soft sand and ten years evaporated off her age.

[3 Geriatric Dogs]

Oh DeVon... It's just so damn hard to watch them slow down. Every minute is precious, every wag, every car-ride, every happily-gorged-upon meal... I know you know that.

[I Had To Let My Sweet Tigerdog Go Last Friday]

We'll miss the sweet, timid stripey girl who matched her couch perfectly and who was willing to just lounge, cuddle and soak up love from any gentle soul that would send it her way. Hugs to you & DH and scritches to the rest of the critters.....We loved you Chancy~

 

Until I read this, I'd forgotten I had this pic of Jen's first meeting with Chancy. Chancy really did blend into our couch nicely. The first time she sneaked up there, it took me a while to find her.

[I Had To Let My Sweet Tigerdog Go Last Friday]

One of the million things I miss about Chancy at this moment, is her ability to completely forget that she was no longer a puppy. She LOVED other dogs of all kinds (it was people who were scary), and always wanted to play with them. She would always RUN to greet me upon returning home. She'd rear and grin, and swipe at me with her crazy paw. And when I knelt down to greet her, she wouldn't look me in the face, but would wiggle and wag and lick my arm...

 

I know it's not fair to compare Tip and Marla to Chancy or Sissy, but I really miss that happy-go-lucky demonstrative and infectious joy they both had. My greetings upon returning home now are just so subdued. It's just not the same...

[Urgent Question For Adopter-]

I don't know what cerenia is, but metronidazole is a common drug (never heard of it being unsafe for greys, used it on mine several times) for treatment of intestinal upset.

 

Oh, and Pepcid is the commercial name for Famotidine, which is an acid reducer. Also safe for greys.

 

I also think a urinalysis and blood test would be in order.

[I Had To Let My Sweet Tigerdog Go Last Friday]

Part 2 of 2...

 

One of my favorite photos of all. Sissy, Tipper and Chancy. A perfect trio.

 

Our January '06 trip to the north shore of Lake Superior.

 

A late-season blizzard, perfect for a snow-day:

 

And a short video of Chancy romping in the fluffy new snow... until Marla the fun-police steps in... Click here to watch Chancy-in-the-snow-24

 

Another beyond-adorable Sid & Chancy shot... Melted my heart every time they cuddled.

 

That doe-eyed face...

 

 

Chancy loved her ice cream.

 

My gentle tigergirl was the only one who could be trusted not to eat my friend's unruly puppy...

 

This was taken on Chancy's "Miracle morning." 24 hours after we were certain we'd lose her, 24 hours before we were forced to let her go.

 

I'll love you forever, my sweet sweet doe-eyed girl. I hope you know that. I'm sorry we didn't have more time.

[Rusty]

Goodbye, perfect beautiful boy.

[I Had To Let My Sweet Tigerdog Go Last Friday]

I had to let my Chancy go last Friday, at age 12 years, 8 months. Never a sweeter, gentler soul has graced this Earth, and I was privileged to call her family for a far-too-short 25 months.

 

I wrote this article for GPA-MN's newsletter in April 2007 (It's rather long, so skip down to the pics if you've a short attention span. ):

 

>>>>

Each Day is a Gift.

A Tribute to My Beautiful Stripey Senior Hound, Chancy

 

We'd owned our first greyhound, Tipper, for two years. We'd had Sissy

for one year. I had quickly become enamored of the breed, and was

actively involved in volunteering for GPA-MN. One day I saw that another volunteer had posted to the GPA-MN listserve, looking for a "permanent

foster home" for a senior brindle girlie named Chancy who had been

recently surrendered to the group. Chancy was thought to be 12 years

old, and had a small grocery list of health problems, mostly due to

woeful neglect by her previous owners. She was deemed "unadoptable"

because very few new adopters would consider a sickly 12-year-old

hound.

 

We had never planned to have three dogs. I had never really been

tempted because our house is just a small two-bedroom bungalow in the

city. But a sentence I had read one of my first GPA

newsletters kept ringing in my head: "Adding a senior hound to your

home is as challenging as adding a throw rug."

 

My heartstrings were effectively tugged. I called my husband, who was

out playing golf. He sounded mildly annoyed at my interruption, and

not thrilled about my idea of adding to our pack. We agreed to discuss

it after he returned home. Ninety minutes later, my phone rang. It was my husband,

still on the golf course. His first words: "What's her name?" I knew

he was sold, the big softie.

 

We arranged for Tipper and Sissy to meet Chancy at her temporary

foster home. This was the final deciding factor. I wasn't worried, as

Tip and Sissy always adored other greyhounds. Chancy was no exception.

 

She was extremely shy with adults and fearful of children. She had

infected weeping open sores all over her feet between her toes and in

her nailbeds. She had the worst teeth I have ever seen, literally

black, mushy, infected and rotten. She had a large rash of blackheads

on her belly and unusually thick fur, indicating she'd likely spent

large amounts of time outdoors. And she had a raging case of

tapeworms. The saddest part is that upon reading her ear tattoos, we

discovered she was only ten years old! She just seemed much older

because of her ailments.

 

Chancy was in dire need of a nice quiet loving home where she could

relax and be thoroughly spoiled for the rest of her days. Our home fit

the bill perfectly.

 

I brought Chancy home a few days later. She fit in effortlessly, like

a missing puzzle piece. Tipper was overjoyed, and Sissy showed Chancy

the ropes of our home life. Chancy's shyness with us melted away within

a few weeks. She went from running to hide when my husband returned

home from work, to being the first to greet him, pushing Tip and Sissy aside, tail wagging, grinning her goofy gummy grin, and pogo-bouncing for attention.

 

I decided that this "Permanent Foster" idea, nice as it was, would

simply not do. Chancy deserved to be properly adopted. I sent in my

adoption fee as a donation, and volunteered to cover her medical expenses

from there forward.

 

It did take several months to get Chancy's medical issues under

control. Now that Chancy is well cared for, she is often mistaken for

being much younger than she is. I wouldn't deceive anyone as to the

added expense. But the privilege of watching Chancy blossom into a

joyful loving dog in our home is worth it. Senior hounds truly do seem

so very grateful for even the most minor of luxuries: a soft clean

bed, fresh food and water, slow walks in the parks on sunny days, and

the occasional gratuitous car-ride. Every penny invested is returned a

thousandfold in love and devotion.

 

Chancy has been in our lives for over 20 months now, and she is twelve

years old (for real, this time). I don't know how many days, months,

or years we have with our brave, gentle tigerdog, but each one is a

gift I will cherish forever.

 

We unexpectedly lost Sissy to cancer last August at age ten. We did

not plan to adopt a third hound again. At least not right away. In

December we heard about another senior girlie who sadly lost her home.

Her name is Marla...

>>>>

 

And now the photo-montage in two parts...

 

This is one of the first photos I ever took of my beautiful tigergirl, simply doing what she loved best: lounging in the grass.

 

Tipper and Chancy, a once in a lifetime shot:

 

Sid already misses the one dog who allowed him to cuddle...

 

Hubby cuddling Chancy after a hike & a picnic:

 

The next five are from the beach on Madeline Island last Labor Day weekend. Chancy loved that beach like no other place on Earth.

 

 

 

 

 

Chancy on her 12th birthday. I told her every day past twelve is a birthday.

 

More in next post...

[Filbert Has Low Cobalamin (b-12) Levels!]

My Sissy had low cobalamine levels, and chronic soft stools. I had given her the B12 injections for a time (easy subQ shot). I should have had her scoped, but didn't want to put her through it at the time. We assumed it was IBD and treated accordingly. Hindsight, we SHOULD have had her scoped. When she fell ill, we realized that the cancer had most likely started in her GI tract. Had we caught it sooner, she might have been a candidate for chemo.

 

Sorry, I don't mean to scare you. Just my unfortunate experience.

[I Lost My Sweet Chancy]

Today was the day.

[I Lost My Sweet Chancy]

Well the decision has been made. We are not going to go.

 

We had another bad night, another fever spike up to 105 at 3am. Appetite gone again. She's not in as bad a state as on Wednesday, but not as good as yesterday either. I've been cooling her with ice packs and frozen towels. I've had to force the last two sets of pills into her, as she won't even lick at the peanut butter right now. I consulted with my vet, and he suggested some adjustments in her meds.

 

She still drinks, and can walk, although MUCH more wobbly/weak than yesterday. We got her outside at about 5:45am and she peed an ocean, and had a bout of bowel upset. But such a good girl for managing to hold that until outside.

 

She's back in her flat bed now, still hasn't eaten, but I did get her pills in, thanks to Summertime's method of freezing the pills into a "bullet" of cream cheese. I'll give her some time to rest before offering more food. She's very listless right now, which scares me. But her eyes are still alert. I'm hoping the increased prednisone can perk her up soon...

 

Poor hubby said he felt punished for being so optimistic yesterday. I said it was just a very rude reminder that we are nowhere near out of the woods.

[I Lost My Sweet Chancy]

Well we're still undecided about the trip. There are good reasons to go, and good reasons not to. I think we'll just wait and see what tomorrow brings... If we go, we won't leave until Saturday morning, so we have another whole day to think about it.

[I Lost My Sweet Chancy]

I was at work for a few hours, nervously leaving Chancy unattended. When I returned, she was sleeping so soundly I had to touch her to awaken her. (she's never been a sleep-aggression type, thank goodness. ) I invited her outside and we enjoyed the afternoon in the dappled shade of the yard. She enthusiastically ate another 1/3 can of soft dogfood, but refused a second helping.

 

You can really tell in this pic how skinny she looks now that her spleen is shrinking. Where it's concave at her waist was hugely round and hard just two days ago. Sadly, you can also get a good idea how much muscletone she's lost.

 

But we had a lovely lazy afternoon. Here are all three of my pups, my Peaceable Kingdom.

 

Last week we had been planning to take the dogs up to Madeline Island to stay with friends for the long weekend. The last three days we had pretty much dismissed the idea. Now we're contemplating it again. Hubby thinks we should go, and I want to, but am a nervous-nelly (as y'all know by now. ). I assured him that it would be challenging, a lot of work to bring Chancy along. And risky, since we'd be at least a few hours away from the nearest e-vet. But my heart says we should go. The one other time we went was last year right after Sissy died. It was sad, but very healing. And Chancy absolutely loved the private enclosed beach. This would possibly be her last chance to see it again. Hubby even said he'd happily carry her up and down the long staircase down to the beach. He refers to this as the "Daddy-vator"

 

Here's Chancy on a morning stroll on that beach last year: