HopeForHounds

Debbie, I have no idea how I missed this, but I am thrilled to see the end result. Kisses to sweet Paulie

So glad to be seeing this after it's all B9!! Very happy for you all. I hope she got even more cookies.

Well, when she chews up that dragon and spits him out we'll know we are good. That's what Peanut does to all of her stuffies, chews little holes in them and spits the skin out. Then she pulls the guts out little by little. By the time she's done said stuffie will have 20 or 30 tiny holes in it, yet the squeaker will be safe inside or deposited gently on the floor.

No tumor! Her belly is filled with fluid no sign of blood. There are some spots on her spleen, that can be indicative of her body fighting or it could be lymphoma. But, there are no other outward signs, all nodes are normal. Temp is still normal. The Dr who did the ultrasound was puzzled by what he saw and what her blood values show. So,on Dr Couto's recomendation, we did the test for Addison's. Miki gave her a shot of prednisone to guard against her crashing (in case it is lymphoma) and we put her on doxy in case it's TBD. Now, we wait and watch. She came home and immediately picked up her baby and looked at Grandy daring her to come closer. lol She ate her full dinner which is the first in many. I'm relieved, but worried. Derek Trihounds stopped by this morning and gave Peanut a dragon stuffy. She loves it! I'll try to get a picture of her skinny self with it. Derek, you don't know this but dragons are a special symbol for me. Thank you from both of us.

Thank you for the good wishes and prayers. Dr Couto gave us some hope that it could be Addisons. Her blood chemistry is consistent with Addisons and GI bleeds are not uncommon. As long as her ultrasound is clean we will move on to that being the diagnosis. Can't believe I'm praying for another disease, but this one is treatable. Meanwhile little Miss Peanutty is eating a bit especially if it involves cheese or milkbones. She's moving around, asking to go out etc very nomrally. Slightly more panting when going up the stairs, but I bet she's carrying 10lbs of fluid.

Our little 'Nut is a mess. She's been losing weight bit by bit for a few weeks,but still full of energy and playing. Miki, our vet, saw her 2 weeks ago when I had to take Jake in (a whole other saga) and we discussed ways to get more calories into her. She was eating better, and even until Friday she was okay. I was away this weekend at a conference and visiting my Dad this weekend, and when I returned I was shocked at how much muscle she had lost since Friday. Even so,she was acting okay and we know she doesn't eat the greatest for Daddy. I phoned yesterday morning to make an appointment to take her in, and between that and going in at 3 she started to develop pitting edema in her hocks and her belly was swollen too. They did in house blood work and she's very anemic. Miki is thinking a tumor but hoping it isn't. We sent her blood work off to OSU and she has an ultrasound booked for 5:00 today. Dr Couto asked for the blood work so that has been faxed. I'm so scared for her and sad for me. Please keep my baby in your prayers

Jean I'm so sorry, Atlas was a wonderful boy. Godspeed Atlas

Jake gets Cartrophen shots (they aren't available in the US yet) I was told it is very similare to Adequan. I give them to him myself which saved me a lot. Jake is better on the shot than not, unfortunately we are only getting about 3 weeks between shots. The difference between last day and the day after the shot is remarkable though. It's been well work doing.

Some of what you describe is very similar to what we experienced with Jake. Over a period of several years Jake had rotating leg swelling, lameness as sometimes fever. His epeisodes got closer together until both back legs were involved. He had tested neg for TBD, had joint taps, blook work etc and everyone was stumped. In the end in desperation we did a month of doxy, not at the high dose recomended but higher than normal. It made an almost immediate difference. 5 months later he had a relapse, and we did 8 weeks at the recommended dose. Jake has been symptom free for 1 2/2 years. What's the dose of doxy Stosh is getting, and for how long? I would also contact OSU, and have them look at the x-rays.

The blood bank that our greyhounds donate to have the kits for this. Apparantly it works quite well depending on what the problem is. Platelet Enhancement Therapy

Simple answer, yes. Jake has had many episodes of sudden swelling and limping. It may turn out there was some hijinks while you were out and an injury was the result. If it comes back, or there is an episode with another leg, even a few months later I would suspect tick disease. FWIW Jake had PSR tests for ehrlichia, babesia, lyme and rocky mountain and they were neg. He also got regular snap tests as he was a blood donor. Unfortuanately none of these caught his TBD. Our vet strongly suspects a strain of ehrlichia. After years of tests trying to determine what was going on, we treated with doxyscyclin. the first time not aggressively enough, but after a relapse and treatment he has not limped again.

I keep looking for that darn "like" button. Glad to see this. Keeping her in my prayers. I'll check back for an update.

Pinky will be in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm so sorry Wendy. The love you had for him shines through.

I am so fortunate to have spent time with Arlie recently, what a wonderful girl she was. Much love, and many hugs to you, today and always. Godspeed beautiful girl run pain free forever. You and Miz Foxy will be a great friends I know it.

That's what I was going to suggest.

It is a matter of perspective, and yes osteo does suck! Pam is right "All dog must eventually die of something!" Our greyhounds are generally very healthy, yet they will die of something. Cancer rates are rising in all breeds as well as in humans, a sobering thought. The prevelant number of deaths from cancer in greyhounds is osteo. We just seem to see a higher number here on GT because this is where people come for research, comfort and support. I had a conversation with our vet recently about a limp one of my dogs had where she said "if it is osteo sarc........." I looked up, and she smiled and said not everything with the word osteo in it is cancer. I realized then that in the greyhound world "osteo" has become synonymous with cancer even though there are other conditions with osteo their names. I've had a greyhound with cancer, not osteo, she lived 4 more years and died at 13 3/4 of basically old age. I have a 12 1/2 year old who we struggled to "fix" after limping and other stuff that turned out to be tick disease. I hope he too dies of old age too. I have two more who are young and healthy. The odds aren't on my side, I know that. But, I'll keep working to raise money for cancer research because someday we will find the answers we are looking for.

Sending many hugs to you Mike and Kevin. I am so sorry. I love you guys! Godspeed Gee I'll be looking for your star tonight.

Dude you will be missed so much. You leave us with so many wonderful memories that will never go away. I can't say I've ever met a more well rounded hound, you tried a little of everything didn't you. Still, I will always think of you as 00Dude, so stinkin' handsome. Chris, many hugs to you and Dennis. : Godspeed 00Dude there are adventures waiting for you.

Very familiar. A sound that rips right through your heart. Most pain meds for dogs are dosed once ever 12 or every 24 hours so don't worry about that. My own meds or arthritis and fibromyalgia are ever 24 hours so I don't really think about it anymore. Sweetpea is right, massage is another good way to help. Although while she is still very painful some moist head and gentle stroking away from her head is all you would want to do. Try not to mess with her too much or you could actually make it worse. The antinflammatory meds need to kick in for a day or so first.

Ditto on the keeping her quiet. Often with anti inflamitories and pain meds they overdo it as soon as they begin to feel better. If you can, use a harness to further reduce and stress on her neck. Foxy had a couple of bouts of neck pain and our vet opted to use prednisone rather than pain meds to ensure the inflamation was calmed down and she didn't over work her neck. Jet has had similar issues twice. Since he doesn't play our vet suggested he likely slept on it wrong. Like us they can get a crick in their neck without doing anything strenuous. Alternating heat and ice can help a lot too.

Come on Gee baby you can do it! Sending lots of healing thoughts, love and prayers.

Judy I have Gee in my prayers and you are all in my heart. Big hugs my friend.

Don't you love the relief without actually knowing for sure what's going on? Mixed blessing for sure. Keeping Teagan in my prayers for a quick and uneventful healing.

I view it as affection. I have 3 that do it together when I get home from work. It's amazing I stay right side up when it happens They really remind me of cats when they do this.