greytdecals

oops, I wasn't saying you were wrong or anything...it very well could be! There would be no other explanation for Alan's extreme fuzziness, except that we keep him locked up outside all year long (just kiddin')

I am not sure the Thyroid meds have anything to do with it, but you've met Alan, he's very fuzzy! He's been on thyroid meds for 4 years now. We always get the question "Is he a German Shepard mix?"

Maggie-Mae is 7 years old and 15 months post-amp for osteo and she doesn't let having 3 legs slow her down! She runs with the 4 leggers and keeps up! Most importantly, she is enjoying life! Every day with Maggie is a blessing.

Poor Miss Echo Glad to hear she's all fixed up! I bet that bled a lot! Sounds like you were there to quickly stop it. I know when Maggie-Mae nicked her ear it bled like someone was stabbed 30 times, blood all over...I didn't see her do it and did not know how long she had been bleeding!

Our boy, Alan, was paralyzed in his rear legs from a FCE. High doses of steroids within a few hours of the stroke should be given. Hydrotherapy worked wonders for Alan! He went 2 xs a week to walk on the underwater treadmill.He only has about 85% use of his rear left leg but he regained full use of his rear right leg. We set him up in an ex-pen in the kitchen when he first came home from the hospital because it was close to the door to go outside. My husband and I took turns sleeping on the kitchen floor next to him! It was a struggle for many months but he's doing greyt today, just walks with a limp. Don't give up, there is hope. Your persistence with care will mean all the difference in your hound's recovery.

Many hugs for you, Chrissy! I really miss your Speck stories. You have lots of good memories with Speck and Gino. That photo of Speck on the red couch is my most favorite ever! Ironically, I was just in the basement working on a project and Petey came down to see me, which in and of itself is amazing because he HATES the stairs. They really freak him out. So, I was surprised to see him. He climbed up on the couch down there and was lying on it almost in that exact same pose as Speck! To make it even more wild, our couch has a cover on it and it's pretty much the same red as your couch! Wish I would have taken a photo! Miss Nellie's 12th Birthday would have been on December 10th. I really miss her and I often wonder what she would have been like as on "Old Lady" just as Gino would have been your "Old Man" Keeping you in my thoughts, always

So sorry for your loss, Xan I know that time is the only thing that will heal your broken heart and soon your tears of sadness will turn to tears of joy as you remember all of the "Happy" times. Keeping you in my thoughts...

We are going through this with Petey right now...only his lumps are in his face above his mouth and they are bi-lateral. I would go to the Vet and have a fine needle aspirate done to see exactly what you are dealing with. You would definitely not be running there for nothing. Any lump, IMHO, that does not belong is not normal. Petey's are reactive lymph nodes caused by infection. Good luck Sobe!

Having been through this twice now, I can say it was worth it! While it was worth it and right for our dogs, that's not the case for every dog. Miss Nellie, we got 5 months with amputation and 6 rounds of chemo. Now we have Maggie-Mae, going on 1 year November 11th! Amputation and 6 rounds of chemo. There is life after amputation! We that do the amputations are not being selfish...at least I don't look at it that way. I look at amputation as a gift from us because once they take the leg away, the pain gets taken with it. Bone cancer is extremely painful. That then allows them to live out the rest of their life relatively happy and pain free. My happy tripod, Maggie-Mae...she's really loving life and not missing that leg at all! Prayers for you and your girl...she's still so young.

Some light of hope for you...it is very rare to find bone cancer in the toes or metatarsals. Dr. Couto, Oncologist at OSU Vet Clinic, said that in all of his career he has only seen bone cancer twice in the metatarsals out of all of the greyhounds he has treated for bone cancer(which we all know is way too many)....one of those is our Maggie-Mae. They too thought she had a bone infection in her toe, but we had to put her through a bone biopsy to make sure it was indeed bone cancer. If it is bone cancer, then the rate of it spreading is slower than if it were up near the hip or in the shoulder. The closer the tumor is to the body, the more likely it is to spread quickly. Recommendation of Dr. Couto was to amputate the entire leg not just the toe. If you take only the toe there is a chance bone cancer will show up again in that leg and then your back to amputating the entire leg anyway. But, as always, each case differs from the others. I do hope and pray it's not bone cancer.

Cost for amputation varies from case to case but I think on an average you can expect to pay around $1200. However, if there are funds available in the Greyhound Health and Wellness program, you may be able to receive help. All you need to do is ask Dr. C if help is available. Chemo is usually free if not at a reduced cost. Good luck!

Tom is correct. Dr. Couto says the limb can weigh in upwards of 10 lbs sometimes....so take it away and that's a 10 lb loss immediately. I think that scale is wrong. A front leg may weigh less than the rear leg. Maggie-Mae weighed 65 lbs before amputation and 56 after. She was very ill for a month after surgery and did not gain any weight back for a long time.

Oh no, Little Weany I am so sorry, Suzy and David. I am glad I had the honor of meeting and knowing Little Weany. Godspeed little one.

Just curious as to why steroids are controversial? It is very crucial with hounds that suffer or are suspected to suffer a FCE to be treated with high doses of steroids within 48 hours of the injury. It reduces the swelling in the spinal cord. Alan suffered a FCE and high doses of steroids saved him from being paralyzed in both of his rear legs. He is now only partially paralyzed in his rear left leg. Hoping for the best for Cora!

Sorry to hear that you are going through this with Lando OSU is the BEST! I am sure you met with Dr. Couto, very nice man. Will Dr. Dyce be doing the amputation surgery? He is the BEST Ortho surgeon at OSU. Our Maggie-Mae had her rear left leg amputated in November of last year at OSU by Dr. Dyce and she gets along very well on 3 legs! She is a lot younger than your Lando, but having a rear leg missing is much easier on a greyhound than a front leg because greyhounds carry most of their weight in the front/chest. Best of luck to you and Lando!

Lena had her corn surgically removed in January. He pretty much split the pad wide open and cut it out and stitched it shut. It took her a while to recover and every so often she limps slightly, but she has no nerve damage. So, I was thinking that having it hulled out and digging a little bit deeper would not cause nerve damage. My experience tells me that it takes a looooong time for it to heal.

Oh no, Susan, I am so sorry You have been through so much with your Alan and you did everything you could to help him but we just can't beat that evil cancer Please know you will be in my thoughts and prayers. Godspeed sweet Alan....

I would have been absolutely more than willing to help you out, Patti! But, we live 2 hours away from Columbus, whereas Suzy lives 2 minutes away from OSU(well, maybe a little but longer but after a 2 hour drive it seems like Suzy is only 2 minutes away ) Suzy, you rock! I am still here if I can help in any way possible, even if I am 2 hours away! Our next trip to OSU is not for another 3 weeks. Praying for your girlie, Patti! Dr. Couto and his staff and Students take most excellent care of the greyhounds and if you did need to leave her there for any amount of time... I wouldn't think twice about it, they give the greyhounds extra special attention

We'll be back down on Feb. 25th..maybe we can see you guys then...we will be there all day again! I hope Weany is feeling better!

Our boy suffered a FCE, I would write and tell you all about it but it would take forever...please see the links below http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=170195&hl= http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=171809&hl= http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=172868&hl= http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=173794&hl= http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showtopic=175817&hl= Please do not hesitate to ask me any questions! btw...Mr. Alan is going to be 10 years old and he is doing wonderful! He still does not have 100% use of his rear left leg, but he is leading a pretty normal life....goes on long walks, runs with the other hounds, plays with the hounds...the only thing he can't do is climb stairs if they are too steep and narrow. Best of luck to you! ...wanted to add that really, the only way to say absolutely for sure that it is FCE is to do a MRI. Also, getting high doses of steroids as soon as the injury occurs is very essential in the long term effects that it will have on your hound. There is a much better prognosis for the dog if high doses of steroids are given within 24 hrs of the injury. Hydrotherapy is a greyt way of reducing muscle atrophy and providing some relief to the dog and sometimes even improve the limited mobility.

Oh no, Kristin...I am so sorry for the loss of your beautiful girlie Run free Miss Bonnie....you've joined quite an amazing group of bridge angels Dr. Couto is amazing and I am so glad he was able to help you out. I am sure he feels the heartache we do when we lose our babies. It must frustrate him but I think he knows in his heart that he is doing the absolute best he can for our greyhounds, but cancer is so evil. I saw him Wed and gave him a huge hug and thanked him for all he is doing for everyone's hounds. You will be in my thoughts as you go through this tough time.

Oh no, so sorry to read about Leeanna Maggie-Mae has her fourth and final chemo treatment on Wednesday! Brian and I will be in Columbus all day.

That's greyt news! Shall I give Dr. Marin and Dr. Couto hugs for you today? I am getting ready to leave to take Maggie for her chemo treatment today and I will be seeing both of them

OMG...Chrissy! Please tell me this is a horrible nightmare! I don't even know what to say Just as you have constantly been there for me, please know I am here for you...

We are going through this right now with our Maggie-Mae and I would recommend that if you are going to have the amputation then do the chemo! With us, there was no question that if amputation was done, then chemo would follow. Amputation is a way to control the pain, bone cancer is extremely painful, and chemo is what keeps the cancer from spreading so quickly. If the lung x-rays are clear, that just means that it has not spread yet, even though it is already in their body and it can also mean that the lesions are too small to detect. With amputation and chemo the average survival time is 1 year and I think it's only 6 months or less with amputation only. Contact Dr. Couto and it may very well be that the chemo drug would be free or at least a discounted price! Sending you my prayers. Just wanted to add that if you are afraid to do chemo because of the side effects...it's NOT that same as in humans and Dr. Couto can tell you all about that! The biggest problem is stomach upset and there are ways to deal with that. Maggie-Mae is taking a drug for her tummy and it's really helping. If your hound should have tummy problems then the Carboplatin would probably be recommended for chemo. I encourage you to do the chemo, otherwise, the amputation is almost a wasted effort except that you have removed the source of pain. I hope I helped out a little bit