HopeForHounds

Very nice job indeed Miss Deb. More hugs for Sam.

Poor guy, and poor you. Wish I could send you some Scentsy through the phone line, I have a box full of bars, scent paks, scent circles and room spray. I agree with either fasting or giving very mild foods like a sweet potato. Get something from your vet in the morning. You'll need to re give the Heartguard at some point, but not until he feels better. Hugs to you both

So gald to come into this late to find Sam is doing so well. Big hugs from all of us in Ontario.

Traumeel is available here in Canada. It's my favourite go to med. I know someone who works atwith hemopheliac dogs. She started using Traumeel instead of acetaminophen and has had fabulous results. Where do you live?

I heard Dr Radcliff a vet from Wheeling Downs speak at Sandy Paws. He highly recommends all senior dogs be on CoQ10. He said to buy the best quality human version. So I would take from that it is safe for hounds. If you are using it for the bennefit to the heart, Krill Oil is another good one.

With my heart in pieces I share the news that our Itty Bitty Peanuttiest is gone. We were planning to take our girl to OSU for a consult on Friday, but she had other plans. Peanut was in liver failure. She had the most gentle passing I've seen. For those of you who don't know her story, I preadopted her in 2005 after seeing many, many pictures of her in Mama Caffie's or Daddy Bill's arms. It was this picture that I kept going back to over and over again before I finally sent Cathie an email asking if they were keeping her? In 2006 I went Jacksonville to see my girl, Peanut was 10 months old at the time. I was so excited, she was not. She did allow some kisses and played with the stuffie I brought her, until her brother Frankie stole it. Then the two of them played a game, I would throw, Peanut would catch and bury it then Frankie would dig it up and steal it. The following year I got the email every Follow That Hound Preadopter waits for - "Are You Sitting Down?" My girl was coming home! My friend Laura and I already had plans to go to Sandy Paws with a week following in Jacksonville Beach. We picked Peanut up the day before we left to come home. That trip bonded us completely. She loved the snow, loved to play rough, loved her babies, loved her big sister Foxy. We loved her! Peanut brought so many people into our lives. I will be forever grateful for our FTH family, the WFUBCC, Peanut's boyfriend George, and the many, many friends Peanut attracted like a magnet. For Peanut's littermate's families, Judy & Mike, Michelle, Janice, Wendy and John, I know how hard it must have been waiting for updates and seeing the final news. Please keep Mama Caffie and Daddy Bill in your thoughts too, they feel the loss of each of their babies. As sad as I am, I'd like this to be a Happy Memory Thread. Those of you who knew her, you have your own memories, please share them here (with pictures too please). As she left me yesterday, this is what I told her "go my little one, we love you and you will be in our hearts forever. Fly baby girl fly! When you arrive on the other side Foxy will find you, she always knew where you were. Look for a big, black, goofy boy. He will recognize you since you look so much like your brothers. Some of my favourite memories. I am so glad that Peanut made the trip to Sandy Paws to pick up Grandy last March. She got to see her Mama Caffie and Daddy Bill again. Plus, of course, she made a whole new group of new friends.

Tonight's dinner - beef chunks aux jus and baked potato out of the jacket. No, not our dinner, Miss Peanutty's dinner. She loved it. I also added some nutritional yeast.

I missed this since I've been dealing with one crisis after another with Jake and Peanut. Merlin honey you have to eat! I know just how your Mommy is feeling right now, and it's powerless and awful. I know you don't mean to make her sad, but try to eat something. Kerry, when my daughter's dog was diagnosed with diabetes last winter she had no choice in the eating matter. In order to give insulin, she HAD to get her to eat. Faced with your frustrations, she went out and got a syringe then blended her food. She forced very small amounts down her throat. It takes ages, and dogs hate it, but......you have to do something when they are refusing to eat. I'm not sure if Merlin is at this point yet, but I would discuss it with your vet as an option.

Blood was drawn from her leg although.......... I forgot that they drew blood for her ACTH stim test. I'm checking where that was taken from. She looks okay, no worse that's for sure. Bruise is about the same too, no bigger. She ate most of her breakfast too. Came back to add that she growled at Jet when he got too near her bowl and at Wil last night when he cleaned up her cookie crumbs. All normal Peanutty behaviour.

So, I discovered some bruising on Peanut's throat tonight. I can't honestly say how long it's been there. I found it while I was sitting doing her subq fluids. Normally I sit near her rear and pet her belly, and truthfully her belly and fat legs have had most of my attention. Tonight we had company hounds so Peanut was on a different bed and I was sitting near her head. I moved her collar and OMG she has a big purple and red bruise on her throat. Don't worry, I have sent an email with pictures to Dr Couto. I tell you, this girl is making me crazy.

Woooo Hoooo! That just put a huge smile on my face! Way to go Joe!

I am so very very sad. Saint was a one in a million dog, one I will never forget. Judy, Mike and Kevin I hope you know how very much we love you and hold you in our hearts. Godspeed Saint you are loved so very much.

I've been researching the best product availale here since yesterday Wendy. I'm hoping to get her on something today.

Finally got to talk to Dr Couto. She does not have Addison's. He did say she is presenting a very complicated picture. I told him in our family this was typical. We could, if we could afford it, do a fine needle aspirate of the liver. That's where he thinks the problem is. That would rule out (or in) cancer or inflammation. We can't afford it at the moment, and it may not even help us help her. So on his recommendation we continue doing what we've been doing - prednisone for, doxycyclin and fluids plus pepcid. He said sometimes greyhounds get hepatic for reasons we may never know. Sometimes the situation resolves and they get better. I just have to have faith that this will happen.

No bile acid test. total protein is low (32) due to low globulin (15) as well as low albumin (17)our vet says these are consistent with whole blood loss. IBD has been discussed, but.....her stools are pretty good and no evidence of blood.

I keep hoping to come back and post a diagnosis. The problem we are facing is that her ACTH stim test for Addison is only a bit low. Not enough for our vet to call it Addison's. She is communicating with Dr Couto who has all of the test results. Plus she is anemic, her blood tests show whole blood loss, but we aren't finding it. Fluid in her abdomen is clear, ultrasound showed no bleeds and no tumors. Her urine is clear for blood and her stools look fine. So????? She looks pregnant. I did tell her when she went for her ultrasound that if there was a puppy in there we would keep it. I've been giving her subq fluids. She is getting pred as that is the drug we'd need for some possible evils. Plus she is getting doxy in case it's TBD. She is looking a bit better, gums are pinker and she's eating although VERY picky (where have I seen this before?) Just waiting on Dr Couto.............

Waiting to talk to Dr Couto. He wasn't anywhere to be found a few minutes ago when I called.

No firm news yet. I do have subq fluids to give her that we hope will make her feel better. She's also on prednisone now so again hoping for an improvement soon. She is eating a bit better, and her gum colour is somewhat improved. All baby steps.

We are hoping to have Peanut's test back this evening. I'm dropping off some samples and picking up some meds and sub q fluids to give her in the meantime. I hate waiting!

We are hoping to have Peanut's test back this evening. I'm dropping off some samples and picking up some pred in the meantime. I'll come back and fill you in.

We are waiting right now for Peanut's results of her ACTH test done last night. She's home with us, but in really bad shape as we desperately try to figure out what's going on. Dr Couto said her bloodwork is consistent weith Addison's. In Peanut's case we also have the complication of whole blood loss possibly from her GI tract which can again be seen in Addison's. Waiting sucks!

You asked ..... This was a surprise gift from her Aunty Mary - Pippin Note the red bone in that background. That lived a long time because she was a bit scared of it for a while. Then one day she overcame her fear and the bone was history. It lived as her favourite baby for a very long time, one holey rapidly shrinking rag, picture Linus. This is Peanut's idea of the perfect baby, sadly this stuffy was Jake's. Here is that poor bear after being redesigned by Peanut.

A quick update to tell you what are in our plans today and later this week if needed. Today I'm getting a urine and fecal sample. These weren't on the list as everyone was thinking tumor. We are looking for for excessive protein loss through kidneys, common with lyme's and other tick nephropathy. Plus the fecal to rule out any parasites that can complicate an already existing any primary GI disease such as some sort of protein losing enteropathy. Dr Couto suggested we do an aspirate of the irregular shaped areas on her liver, he isn't concerned about the ones on her spleen though?? But, that is only if the Addison's test is normal.

We had a good night, slept right through. She ate some, but not a lot however it was canned plus kibble. We ran out of cooked beef chunks so I guess I better get busy and cook today. She's had her second dose of doxy and had some pepcid earlier. The test for Addison's will be back later today. Depending on that, Dr Couto had some other suggestions for tests we can run. I'm home with a nasty fibro flare up that started last week. So we will just hang out, snuggle and wait.