cathys01

I met you guys when I was in the office adopting my Monita (ironically, after her second return!). Thank you so much for taking on a "foster" that needed so much. She had a great two months with you guys and I'm sure she went knowing she was loved.

Just saw this Bev, so sorry to hear about Mokka

Godspeed, Coby.

I was here when she came into your life...and I used to tell my husband that surely we could have "just one more hound....look at Greensleeves with her eleven dogs!!" Nelly was the first "coonhound" I ever "met". I remember Whistler as the surrogate papa to nine puppies and I thought you guys were insane for deciding to keep them all! Goodbye Mamma Nelly...and Godspeed!

I lost my Kimmie last year to osteo under circumstances such as those that you describe. She had been diagnosed with OS 27 days earlier and we were taking her to the vet for a scheduled routine X-ray to evaluate the aggressiveness of the osteo. Unfortunately, her leg broke (in two places) in the car as we made the first turn off our street headed to the vet. It was the absolute most horrible 5 minute drive we have ever taken. My girl was extremely stoic for the 8 years that I had her. She had never cried, never flinched, through medical tests, blood draws, injuries requiring stitches and drains. But she screamed the GSOD the entire ride to the vet's office with the broken leg. We put her down on the x-ray table so we wouldn't have to move her again and cause any more pain. It is something that will haunt me forever. If I had it to do over again, I would have let her go much sooner and not had her suffer those last few minutes. If I ever get another OS diagnosis, we will do weekly x-rays and I will do everything in my power to prevent a break.

I agree with Kamsmom - I don't believe it would be possible for an infection from a bite to spread and cause vegitation on the heart valves that quickly (2 days). I would suspect a previous infection (bad teeth? previous bite or scrape?) also.

Have you tried Benadryl and it didn't work? Is that why they went with the Phenergan? Benadryl is nice and cheap and can be bought over the counter...and works great. The Promethazine shouldn't cause him to be restless though, usually it causes sedation (much like Benadryl will).

Try the other type of neck collar...I've seen them made from bath towels - fold until the width of her neck, then wrap around the neck and tape (duct tape will work) in place. This would allow her to get in and out of the dog door, but unable to bend her neck enough to bite her tail. I'll see if I can find a pic on here somewhere...

Excellent!!!

Just checking for an update...

I lost my 12 year old girl last August to cardiac tamponade secondary to hemangiosarcoma. We were going to bed one night at about midnight and Dagger stood on her bed panting rapidly, I got up and was checking her out and realized she was breathing at about 100 times a minute. Got my stethoscope (I'm a cardiovascular nurse, ironically) and she had very muffled heart sounds with a heart rate well over 200 beats a minute. Immediately got her in the car and headed for the e-vet. We did an echocardiogram immediately upon arrival and her heart was pumping furiously, but not moving any blood because the pericardial sac was so filled with fluid. We let her go within an hour of onset of symptoms. Unfortunately, in her case, because it was caused by the hemangiosarcoma, the fluid would have continued to reaccumulate and tapping the fluid would only be palliative, but would not have cured her...so we decided to let her go. Fingers crossed for your pup...

I am so sorry Sheila. I know your heart is heavy...but Kiowa now runs free and with no more pain... Godspeed, Kiowa.

I remember the day you lost Iberia, and cried with you, and felt horribly for Frank after the incident. You've done well by them both. RIP Iberia

27

Yay! That's the update I was hoping for!!

No update in two days doesn't sound good...

bumping, hoping for an update!

I hate seeing our neighborhood pond ducks hit by cars in the road. For some reason, there was a period of about three weeks a while back when there was a duck killed every few days. Weird. Sorry you had to see that. Godspeed girlie ducky.

The brothers are back together. I still remember your telling of how you came to be the momma to both of those boys... I'm so sorry for your loss of Goods.

I had 27 days with my girl. She was not a candidate for amputation due to a previous racing injury that left her with a lame right rear leg. The cancer was in her front right shoulder. We were in the car on our way to the vet's office for a routine x-ray (trying to monitor the progress of the cancer so we could stay ahead of the game and put her down before a fracture) when her leg fractured in two places as we turned a corner. We sent her to the bridge within 10 minutes of the break, but it was the worst 10 minutes I've ever experienced. Unfortunately, there's just no way to know how much time you have, with or without amputation/chemo.

I'm pretty sure your health insurance is not going to cover medications or supplies for pets. I've certainly never heard of one that does!

Several people have mentioned how nice their vets' houses are - do you know if the vet is married and what the spouse does for a living? I'm an RN and, according to the numbers posted for salaries, I'm making about what a vet makes. I live in a nice house in a nice neighborhood with good school, we both drive new cars. But we don't do it on my salary alone. My husband also works and makes about the same amount as I do. I don't think it's fair to say somebody is "overpaid" because they live well. Maybe they have a second income. Maybe they budget well. Maybe there are many reasons that you don't know about. Just because the vet lives well does that mean he should scale back on his home spending so he can offer free or reduced-cost veterinary care? How is that right?

I just wanted to play with this and see what it looks like!

I thought of FullMetalFrank's story as soon as I read this. What a horrible tragedy. Please don't blame yourself, though I know it will be hard. And it's doubly hard because you've lost two in one night. I'm so sorry for your losses.