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greytdecals

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About greytdecals

  • Birthday 07/24/1969

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    http://www.skinnyhounddesigns.com
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    Lorain, Ohio

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Jr Grey lover

Jr Grey lover (5/9)

  1. Avon Lake Animal Clinic on Miller Road. We take all of our greyhounds there and I know several others that take their greyhounds there too. Highly recommend them. btw...welcome to the West side!
  2. Depending on where you are in Cleveland.... Avon Lake Animal Clinic http://www.avonlakeanimalclinic.com/
  3. So sorry to hear about your Lola Our Maggie-Mae had osteo in her toe. It is very rare. We opted to bone biopsy the toe and then decided which route to take after the biopsy. If it came back as osteo, Dr. Couto suggested full leg amputation, if only bone infection, then toe amp. Even though the bone biopsy is painful....it was the necessary evil to decide appropriate treatment after diagnosis. It would determine the difference between toe amp and full leg amputation. I know it sounds so extreme to do full leg amp, but in the long run, it means a better chance of survival! Osteo can spread further up the leg from the toe that the tumor was on, even after toe amputation. I know that every case is different from the next, but if we had to do it all over, we wouldn't change a thing! After leg amputation and 6 rounds of chemo, Maggie-Mae survived 5 years and 2 months!! Dr. Couto had given her a 6 month to 1 year prognosis, but he only had 2 other cases of know osteo in the toe to compare to and both were still alive at the time of Maggie's diagnosis. Maggie-Mae lived a full and happy life after losing that leg. Unfortunately, on January 11, 2014 we had to let her go. She started developing hind end weakness in 2013 and we did everything possible to help her continue to live a good quality of life, but in the end, her body failed her. It was her spine that was the problem. She was 11 years old. We couldn't have asked for more. We were blessed with the amount of time we had with her after diagnosis. She was our miracle girl. Whatever you choose for Lola is not wrong...you choose what you think is best for her. I can only hope and pray that if it is indeed osteo, that Lola can follow in Maggie's footsteps. Best wishes for you and Lola.
  4. So sad to have to tell all of you that we had to let Miss Maggie-Mae go. She could no longer walk without assistance nor go to the bathroom without help. Her rapid decline in health last week was disheartening to see...we let her go while she had some dignity left. We did everything we could to assure her comfort. But since last April, her health was on a slow steady decline. She lived 5 years and 2 months post amp. We couldn't have asked for more. We were blessed to have her with us that long. She was an inspiration to many and I hope she can continue to inspire even though she is not with us here on this earth. She went peacefully. And while our house feels empty without her, we know she is at peace and whole again. I hope that all of your osteo hounds can continue on the same path that Maggie took and live way beyond any prognosis given. Love and hugs, Suzie and Brian
  5. Hi Everyone...Suzie here, dropping in to give you a brief update on Maggie-Mae. On November 11 we celebrated an amazing milestone, 5 years post amp! For those of you unfamiliar with Maggie's osteo journey...she was diagnosed in November of 2008 with osteo in the metatarsal region of her foot(very rare) and had her rear left leg amputated on November 11, 2008. She had 6 chemo treatments consisting of Carboplatin/Gemzar. Maggie was given 6 months to a year survival rate and here we are 5 years later. I don't want to give anyone a false sense of hope, because this is not the normal with osteo. Why has she survived this long? I don't know, we have no real answers for that. Was it because it was in her foot? Was it because she had an infection at the incision site after surgery? Did we catch it early? No one will ever really know, but what we do know is that we are blessed to have her with us and treasure every single moment! Maggie is 11 years old and has slowed down a lot. She struggles with hind end weakness. We are currently taking her for acupuncture treatments which are helping to keep her stable and still able to move around on her own. She also takes 100mg of Gabapentin a day. At this point we are only trying to keep her comfortable. She eats well and still goes outside on her own, she still has a greyt attitude and till she says otherwise, she's not going anywhere! Maggie's message to everyone is to never give up Hope!! Keeping all of you in my thoughts and prayers. Osteo is evil but every now and then it can be beat!
  6. Thanks, Wendy. I have been in touch with Dr. Couto and he feels that it is a spine issue(non-osteo issue.) We are taking her to our local vet to see what they can do to find out exactly what is wrong and if they can't help then we will take her to OSU to see Dr. Dyce. On a positive note, we switched her food to Iams Senior formula and she is eating better now. She must like the new food! Yay!
  7. Maggie-Mae had her amp and chemo and all check-ups done at OSU. Of course, that was when Dr. Couto was there. Sure miss not having him around. Her signs/symptoms resemble what our Alan had when a tumor on his heart was discovered. Alan went quickly downhill though. Seems like Maggie-Mae is gradually getting worse.
  8. Thanks, Jen! The heart was the next thing on our list to check. LS never even crossed my mind, but it is very possible! See, I am glad I asked! We might need to take her to OSU, but I haven't heard anything new on the greyhound program and what's going on with it.
  9. I haven't posted in a while but I do come over to GT to read the Osteo thread to check in on all of the Osteo hounds. Today I am posting because I am in need of help or advise for Maggie-Mae. As some of you know, Maggie-Mae is on her way to a 5 year post amp anniversary this year....which, to me, is a true miracle! She has been doing amazingly well for so long with out any kind of special diet or supplements or therapies or medicines etc... She has basically been living life as a greyhound with 3 legs, not as a greyhound with bone cancer(if that makes sense.) Well, this year she turned 11 in May and after that it was like someone pressed a button and overnight she began to show signs of weakness. She started struggling on our walks. Panting heavily without exercise. Being fussy about eating. Losing weight, etc.. We had the following done with her to rule some things out: 1. Complete cancer check-up. Lungs were clear, no mets. Blood work was normal. Heart rate good. 2. We had xrays done of her rear hip and leg and everything looked amazingly good. These are the things we have done to try and help out her weakness in that rear leg: 1. gave her Rimadyl for a lengthy time period with no signs of improvement. 2. started her on the Get Up and Go products (Chondroitin, Glucosamine, MSM, Vitamin C and Yucca) It has been over a month now with no signs of improvement....she actually seems worse. So, my question for everyone would be... What are we missing here?? We are straining our brains to figure out what could possibly be causing the severe weakness in her hind leg. We know old age is a factor and also the fact that her one rear leg has been doing the work of 2 for almost 5 years now! Could it be muscle weakness and have nothing to do with bone? What are some things you can suggest or recommend that we can do for her to help the weakness? Hydrotherapy? Acupuncture? Any other supplements? It breaks my heart to see her struggle so much, yet I know we are blessed to have her still with us! She still has that zest for life...her eyes tell me that. But she can't figure out how to make her body do what her mind wants to do. I appreciate any help or advice. Maggie-Mae does too!
  10. It's always encouraging and hopeful to read about Osteo hounds surviving longer than any estimated survival rate! Congrats to Lucy for beating the monster I call osteo! Our Maggie-Mae is 4 years and 1 month post amp! She is, like Lucy, the happiest tripod! She loves life....she never misses a meal, plays with the younger hounds and enjoys our daily walks. It's amazing to us and at this point we have to say she has kicked cancer's butt! Dr. Couto gave us a prognosis of 6 months to a year after amp and chemo. I would have never imagined in a million years that she would be with us this long. We are truly blessed and treasure every single moment we have with her. To all that have newly diagnosed hounds...my opinion is that if your hound is a good candidate for amp and is in otherwise good health and you have the funds to do amp and chemo, then do it! It's a gamble but once they recover from the surgery you will find your hound to be just as happy as ever. Losing a limb does not affect dogs as it does humans. Dogs adapt very quickly without a limb. I have met quite a few tripod dogs(limbs lost due to osteo) and they all, to me, seem like the happiest dogs ever! Almost as like they know they were given a second chance at life and are living it to the fullest! I don't spend a lot of time on GT or in H&M...but like Jess, I like to stop by every now and then to remind others facing amp and chemo that there is always hope! This was taken last week when we were putting up our Christmas tree....check out the smile on her face! That's one happy hound!
  11. Judy...you are like us, if it is strange, unusual, rare or out of the ordinary....it usually happens to us! Praying you can get a diagnosis soon and Bullit can come home!
  12. Dr. Christine Kellogg is awesome! She is a greyt addition to the Greyhound Program! She is very quick to respond to emails, just like Dr. Couto is!
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