3DogNite

9/7 wednesday - 28 days since his collapse! I thought, one more update on this thread before I start a new one! and Dare I say, crisis over ???? we go tomorrow morning for a follow up, ultrasound of Lazer's heart he has been alternating eating and not eating,, driving me crazy! I did weigh him last friday, he was at 74.5lbs and i'm hoping for close to 78 tomorrow!!! his low was 69lbs , normal ~ a skinny 81, (should be 84) he will chase bunnies, then lay down, looking so sad and about to give up on life. the roller coaster is a wild ride, and i'm sure he feels it too. supplements and oils and prescribed meds are all going down the hatch well, that's one good thing, I've never had to fight him to pill him. We have stopped all additional fluids. another good thing. he was getting sore from me poking him, but he is doing well without the sub Q fluids.. i have some on hand just in case. so, look tomorrow for a new thread hoping, praying, fasting, dreaming, crossing all fingers and toes and arms and legs for positive improvements!!!! feel free to start chanting thanks everyone! How will i get any sleep tonight!? Lorinda and Lazer 8/31 Wednesday Lazer is hanging in there,, actually doing better than that. He is just so picky about his food. i have to coax him to eat enough thru the day. we are just barely getting the daily required amount in him,,,, and he is still trying to gain back from the first horrible week when he didn't eat anything, so he can't afford to skimp on his food. Of course he eats treats -- just wish the food tasted that good to him. He is still happy, and trotting around the property looking for bunnies, and generally tolerating the heat pretty well. supplements are going in him morning, noon and night. prescription pills,, morning, noon and night,, One good thing,, my cardiologist asked a compounding pharmacy to make plavix for us.. $50 for one month rather than $200 from wallmart ~ DEAL!!! oils being administered morning, noon and night fluids every afternoon It's a full time job! we did make another mini-ultrasound apt. with the cardiologist for NEXT friday. 8th. that will be 2 days shy of the 1 month mark from his collapse. i am sooo hoping and praying there is a visible difference in the size of the clots ~~ it's what i dream about, it's all i think about. please think 'EAT' thoughts for my boy -- eat lazer, eat lazer, eat lazer, EAT!!!! thanks for your continued support! lorinda PS.. this picture is a year old,, but he is still just as cute.. and he really does have ears.. guess i could have found a better pic. 8/27 17 days since his original collapse -- he died in my driveway,, i gave him CPR, revived him,, and started praying,, i haven't stopped !!! Its been 17 days since the first ultra sound showed us the clot in his heart. I never thought Lazer would make it thru the first weekend, then he lived thru a week of hell. i couldn't get him to eat anything, he was a walking skeleton. the second blow was seeing an additional clot in the second ultra sound --- after a week, he now has 2 clots one in his aorta, one in his pulmonary artery! then, I believe, with the help of essential oils, herbal supplement, sub q fluids and the allopathic medicines ~~ he started to slowly feel better. started eating, and being present in life as we know it! He was getting better.. then came the third punch to our gut,, the diagnosis of PLN. ok, change his diet, add different supplements, support kidneys, liver and cardiovascular... IF he can continue to thrive,, and not throw blood clots,, we will be doing good -- but a ticking time bomb is happening in his heart --- I have a friend who is a holistic nurse, she has a contrast phase microscope,,(that thing is sooo Cool!!) sure, she said, I can look at dog blood, bring him over. we almost couldn't get Lazer to bleed for a simple little blood smear. His blood is soooooo THICK! it clots almost instantly. he has more toxins, fungus, and bacteria floating around his blood than he does actual red blood cells. and the red blood cells he does have are oxygen starved and moving like they are suspended in pudding! my poor boy.. oh, the 4th punch in our gut,, he actually has tested positive for Valley Fever. a really low titer, but it's there --- What more can my poor sweet boy endure. Food mom,, his eyes are asking for more food. oil mom,, sure, let me roll over, put it on my tummy,, oh and don't forget to kiss my nose while you there! sure thing lazer-dazer,, anything you want! bunnies,, mom, look at the bunnies!!! he is alive and living life! not 1/2 dead anymore! not waiting to go to sleep,,, he is active and participating in life,, even when he HAS to feel like crap!!! you should see his shelf,, full of 11 different supplements to detox and get rid of fungus,,,4 prescribed medications, 18 different essential oils, my boy smells like an EXPENSIVE HIPPY!!! i have a diffuser going 24/7,, i know where to get the least expensive Lactated Ringers for subQ fluids,, DON'T eat THAT hamburger, it's for Lazer for taking his pills.... OMG!!! it would be COMICAL if it weren't so dire. we are doing ok. Lazer is happy to be here, happy to have food, and happy to go outside (when it isn't 117 degrees) he is happy!! I will keep doing this, until he's not happy anymore,, or until fate takes him away... Until then ~~ my miracle boy!! he's so sweet,, I'll take a picture soon, so you can see his soft, sweet soul in his eyes. he is my boy! Thank you all for the continued prayers and support... sorry this is long,, Lorinda 8/24 Wednesday Good news: Lazer feels Good!!! no coughing, he is eating, gaining weight,, pooping and peeing like a champ. feels good!!! bad news,, I know why he is creating blood clots: PLN In severs cases of glomerular disease, nephritic syndrome can result due to the extreme urinary protein loss. high blood pressure, tendency to form abnormal blood clots and edema are problems he is showing complications of this disease.. his specific gravity of urine is normal,, however the UPC is really high = 6 (normal about .2) his albumin is really low,, this is a protein,, about the same size as anti thrombin 3 ~ anti thrombin 3 running loose in the blood, as i understand it, is what is causing the clotting.. it is not being controlled by the kidneys,, it is escaping and causing the blood to clot. PLEASE ~~~ IF THIS SOUNDS WRONG TO YOU,, I WANT TO KNOW ,, THIS IS WHAT I AM BEING TOLD IS WRONG WITH MY BOY!!! i don't know what it worse, the clot = death PLN = not fix able, but can treat for some time IF i can control the protein that is creating the clot. the holistic, essential oils that we have been doing, and the testing all show a HIGH level of toxins. IF we can get rid of these toxins,,,, the million dollar ????? CAN THE BODY (kidneys) HEAL ITSELF ? he is still taking Plavix, enalopril and deltiazam, i was told to add aspirin,,, however essential oils will do the same thing, without the load on his kidneys which are already having issues. so. That's what I know anyone out there with PLN success stories you'd like to share.. what did you do to make life easier, food taste better,, life last longer???? sooo many updates, and still it seems like a dire outcome. trying to stay positive, but now,, seems like we have hit a wall Lazer,, i have to remember,, is HAPPY right now. eating and loving life. he has come along way in the last 2 weeks. from deaths door,, literally,, to asking for food and wanting to play with stuffies.. i just want to have a magic wand,, fairy dust,,,, I promise ~ I'll share!!! Lorinda - feeling deflated 8/22 Monday the weekend seemed good, then as i thought about it, saturday was a good day, sunday was a mediocre day,, this morning was iffy,,,, but this afternoon, Lazer seems to be doing really well. the roller-coaster ride continues,, I promised, If he lived to today, we'd get blood work done,, so off to the vet we went. Lazer has GAINED 2.5 lbs since last monday!!! blood work, urinalysis will be back tomorrow and valley fever results will be in mid week. Lazer will try to eat 1/2 can dog food at a time,, and about 1/2 lbs raw hamburger/egg mixture at a time,, so I think by the end of the day, he is actually almost getting the nutrition he needs to survive. i'd like to see him eat an extra 1/2 can a day, but i'll take this for now. i was real down this morning and didn't want to transfer my ugh energy, or lack thereof to Lazer,,, I feel better now, and am back to my continuous chanting and prayers for my boy! i'll let you know what the results show when i get them Lorinda 8/20 Late we had a good day.. reassessment of the essential oils this morning, we are increasing the oils to help to the lymph, kidneys and liver to get the toxins out of his system. and continuing with all the other essentials.. and herbal supplements..... Lazer is doing well. and definitely better every day! he ate a full can of dog food, like a real dog today. and he ate some filet mignon, and french bread soaked in juices from the BBQ.. he was in heaven and more! he is happy, alert and follows me everywhere. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.. this along with the holistic,, and the regular medicine.. i hope we are doing the right thing. Can this really be working? in awe and amazement of the wonder of essential oils Lorinda ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 8/19 930 am Today is the day we were planning on saying good by to Lazer ~~~~~ HOWEVER on the 16th I started all kinds of essential oils, subQ fluids, and other holistic things --- just to try and keep him as comfortable as possible for the remaining week... I don't understand really how all that works, but let me just tell you,,, IT IS WORKING! Lazer has been eating small amounts thru the day he breaths easier he isn't running a high temp. he rests comfortably his eyes are alert and he is HERE In the moment,, not far away like earlier this week. in my mind,, i don't understand all of this, I'm assuming the clots are still there,, I also am assuming the oils are doing their cellular level things, cleaning toxins, aiding in liver/kidney/heart support. Can the oils and other enzymes, cardiovascular support really do what modern medicine can't? (lazer is still on all meds. prescribed to him) He is not in pain or discomfort and as long as he keeps eating ~~ i selfishly want to keep him with me! i'm trying hard to stay focused and to not get my hopes up too high,, but ,, i'm going to give him every chance to beat this thing Let's Prove the Veterinarians/Cardiologist WRONG!!! Lorinda, still keeping the faith! 8/15 8 pm What a day,, i'm heart broken for DH and me,, and for my young beautiful boy! the ultra sound today showed the "main" clot has doubled in size,,, AND the artery that feeds blood to the lungs,, is almost completely blocked with more clotting! this is new from wednesday's ultrasound. gown while on all the med's he's on. In my heart, I wanted to be hopeful,, but instinctively knew Lazer's time was short with us.. DH is having a hard time with all this,, being an Engineer/Scientist/Entrepreneur,,, he wants to invent the thing that fixes everything! god bless him! he is wonderful, but this is not the time for inventions. We could do hospitalization, major drugs (that are proven NOT to work well in animals) and hope that he doesn't throw a clot,, or bleed out.. but he has something else wrong, that we may never know... Why does his blood create the clots to begin with???? PLN is what the cardiologist says is the most common reason..... well, Lazer did have a 3+ protein in his urine in march,, but all other blood work up looked good,, so I'm not convinced it's that.. ultimately we would be chasing a snow ball down a mountain wishing it would get smaller but watching it grow, and grow, and grow my boy, only 5 years old. I wish i could make it all go away i wish i never did CPR on him,, he'd have passed, and yes, we'd have wondered why,, but now this,, watching, knowing the ticking time bomb in his heart that is growing. Lazer is down to 69lbs.. he has always been 80 lbs.. and looked skinny even then.. skin and bones.. it makes my heart hurt to look at him. we will love him, and tell him what a wonderful boy he is,, and let him go,, sometime this week. personally, I wanted sooner rather than later, but the engineer is still planning his break-thru miracle thing. Thank you all for your support. my heart is breaking,, and well you know. there is never enough time ~ they go when they are called. L- [small improvements with Lazer all day today! I'm afraid to even hope,, but I think the antibiotics are making him feel better ~ and the food i've pushed into him has to make him feel good too! tomorrow cardiac appt. at 2pm.. i'll let you know how it goes. L- 8/14 940am Lazer again slept well ,, only one potty out at 4am.. He had a fever of 104.8 last night. got that down with cold compresses. this morning he is hovering around 103.. I emailed with the DVM who did the ultrasound, he said to start cephalexin.. so that is added to the mix today. He has an appt. tomorrow with the Cardiologist,, the DVM pulled strings and got us in to the original place. Lazer still doesn't want to eat ~ I have to push small bites of food into his mouth to get food in his tummy. but if he has had a fever this whole time, no wonder he doesn't want food, on top of everything else that is going on with his little body! poor guy. Power and Spirit took off right in front of Lazer - chasing a bunny,, Lazer actually got a little trott going before I could say no, stop! so, tomorrow we will know more. i will keep the faith !! push the food, pills, cold compresses, water and potty breaks. thank you all for your kind words ~ it really helps !! lorinda 8/13 9am Lazer is hanging in there. Once I get him to lay down, he can rest comfortably for several hours, which is what his body needs. when he is up and pacing and panting and coughing, that's what is hard to watch.. i am beginning to question my choice of CPR for my beautiful boy! I want the medications to work NOW! not later! i don't want my boy to suffer, and i hope DH and i can unite on our decision of quality of life for Lazer. I want to give him every opportunity to beat this..I just don't know if i'm strong enough to watch what he has to go thru to get there. feeling down and trying to stay strong for my boy! L- 8/12 9am Dh got home last night. Lazer was sleeping and didn't get up ~ but didn't complain either when DH went over and loved on him for 45 min or so! Lazer had a calm night, only one potty break, and right back to bed. This is a huge improvement from the first night when he paced and panted endlessly. so we both got good sleep. unfortunatly, He is coughing more. and he has a hard time getting comfortable laying down. i have to really convince him to stay laying down ,, he did eat a little bit this morning, and continues to drink lots of water. that's it, i guess i'll take it for now. i'm not necessarily defeated,, but i'm not filled with hope either. watching and waiting with guarded emotions. lorinda 8/11 730pm Lazer has had a good, relaxed day. He finally ate a small bit of food this afternoon, and he continues to drink lots of water. The cardiologist called to check in on him, I told him of the cough, he just said to try and keep him calm. I think the enalipril will help to get rid of fluid retention. The cardiologist wants me to bring lazer in for a consultation with a Sr. Cardiologist,, to have a second opinion, second pair of eyes can't hurt, well maybe just the wallet for a second. I was told the first 24 hours are the most critical, we made that, and am so happy laser is still here for DH to come home to. Thank you all for you support! The power of GT is real!! L- 8/11 7am we made it thru the night. Lazer seems slightly better. his ears perked up once and he is looking around the house with more interest, less like the walls are going to fall in on him. he has not eaten since yesterday morning. In the last 2 weeks, he's lost 6 lbs. Lazer is always on the skinny side, but he now looks painfully thin. he had a 3 hour calm sleep starting @ 2:30am. it was almost too calm.. i kept waking up to see if he was still breathing. he is drinking water like it crazy, not taking any treats of food. I cooked rice and chicken for him anticipating the lack of appetite with the med's. i hope he will eat soon. one (more) scary thing ~ he's started a cough. deep rumbling cough. the cardiologist asked me if he'd been coughing, and at that time I answered no.. but now, the cough and It cannot become a heavy cough. right now it seems like he is trying to clear his throat I haven't talked with DH yet! he had a big presentation yesterday and hobnobbing with the movers and shakers,,, i didn't want to upset him... he comes home tonight late. now I can't decide if I should tell him on the phone, i'm dreading his update call or just wait until he gets home. looks like Lazer is ready for a nap, think i'll join him. If i can keep Power and Spirit from crawling out of their skin,, they really want a walk, and can't figure out why Lazer gets to put on the leash overtime he goes outside! Thanks for the support and prayers!! lorinda ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ sorry this is long! and maybe jumbled This morning Lazer was fine, he ate his breakfast with more enthusiasm than what he has had recently. after a breif nap post breakfast, potty time. I let him and Power out together, I went to put on clothes to work in the yard for the day,, and I hear the dreaded scream.. only one, and that scared me! I ran out, not fully dressed, and Lazer is laying on his side, not moving,, power is looking at me,, innocent Lazer was out cold,, had already lost his bladder and was laying it it and then i notice he wasn't breathing,, and then i noticed his heart stopped beating!!!!!!!!!! and his tongue was turning blue ~~~ I gave him CPR for what seemed like forever, probably only 45 seconds,,, Lazer gasped for air, opened his eyes. but didn't lift his head or anything.. IT WAS AWFUL!!! to put it mildly after a few minutes, i got him up, he walked on his own, very unstable, looking around weirdly. i hosed him off,, I thought to cool him.. and he was laying in pee. and then drove to the vet. thankfully opened at 7:30 and I only beat them by 2 minutes. Lazer was is Atrial Fibrillation --- his heart was like a bowl of jelly, trying to get the blood moving, but without a clear pump beat. They referred me to a Cardiologist, for a heart ultrasound. apt. at 10:30 I get there, and vet techs are waiting for us, and take us right back ... ultra sound shows a Mass or Clot in his aorta,, left ventricle we did a ultra sound of his abdominals, everything looks great took exrays of his lungs,, they are perfect so,, it now looks less like a Mass (hemangio sarcoma) and more like a clot he is on analapril Diltiazem, to help regulate his heart Plavix, to stop the clot from continuing ,, UGH!!!!!! We are guessing part of the clot came loose and that's what caused the episode this morning.. We really don't know. so now what Lazer is having a really hard time breathing, I know his heart is not beating right, and that his circulation is bad because of this his coordination is off. I'm afraid to blink! we are in a wait and see approach. My vet said, if the clot can absorb by itself, and if we can get his heart rate back to normal he will be ok. IF!!! HAS ANYONE BEEN THRU THIS??? to make matters worse: DH is out of town, this is a new vet for me,, in a new town with none of my usual greyhound support system at my fingertips! Looking for anything, or maybe nothing,, just needing support from the wisdom of GT Thanks! Lorinda he was fine this morning at 7am!! he's only 5yrs young!!! 8/11

bug bite

My boy, Power, has a calcification of the biceps tendon,, It causes him to limp and occasionally will give him extreme pain, after he runs too hard, or tweaks it somehow.. From what my vet said, this could be surgically removed, but would more than likely come back. there is also a "pulsed laser" of some kind that is supposed to break apart the calcium.. we haven't tried either of these, and have had luck with regular supplement dose of Yucca Intensive (from Greyhoundgang.org) and glucosamine. could your boy have calcification of the tendon ? i don't know anything about bursitis ,, just a stab in the dark here. good luck! oh, my guy went thru the nerve pain pills, steroids, and anti-inflamitories and the only thing that really pulled him thru was the Yucca Intensive,, and strict rest.

Yep, I found this at the one at Arrowhead Mall area ALTHOUGH --- This bag i just bought,, my dogs DO NOT LIKE!! and they have been eating this for at least 6 months now! so I don't know,, did they change the recipe ??? i'm actually thinking about changing foods for them altogether... just to get them to eat!

I have experience with this: my angle Rascal.. he tore BOTH Achilles tendons in a fun run. he had surgery to repair them,, then another surgery by a BETTER VET! (first one wasn't done right) he had 6 weeks in a ridged hock casts --- remember BOTH LEGS AT THE SAME TIME!! then after a year of rehab, physical therapy, water therapy, he had another surgery to cut the tendons on the underside of one foot,, that Achilles tendon was too tight, so we released the tension from under the foot. Rascal was a champ all the way thru this ordeal. I learned how to do bandage changes on my own, and re-wrapped his legs every 3 or 4 days. then weekly,, He was a happy boy, and after the rehab, never missed a walk : he even did some hikes with me in the mountains,, he trotted and even ran in the back yard, I sure miss Rascal, he went to the bridge last May. good luck!

Good luck! Lazer goes in this morning for all ad these same things. A low dose Prednizone is what I'm hoping for.

That sounds like a Staph infection of the skin. We've had a few fosters with that. We hit them hard with antibiotics as well as use Chlorhexidine shampoos and sprays. We have had a few of these infections pop back up after a few weeks off the antibiotics, seems they were hiding and then flared up again. Good luck. Lindsay, thank you for your reply. Did your fosters lose a large amount of hair rapidly? Kevin is now quite thinned-out all over and it's gone on his chest and haunches. The hair easily pulls out. Did you also experience this epilation? I will mention the shampoo when we pick up the anti-biotics today. Kisses to Chase and Sophie!! Yep, Lazer had red rash, sort of bumps that occasionally oozed.. My vet never used the term Staph Infection,, but said skin infection.. probably the same thing, with clumps coming out of his skin. He is starting this routine again,. His fur is so thin that he is looking bald. he doesn't have the "infection" that i can see, but the lethargy, limping and off his food. so I'm headed in today or tomorrow to start him on Pred. again. I hope your boy gets to feeling better soon. I did find a anti itch spray that seemed to help Lazer. Benadryl spray,, and Hartz Hydrocortisone spray,, both from the grocery store. The Hartz is greasy, but it did help. good luck!!

My boy Lazer went thru Massive hair loss early this year, in Utah, while it was still really cold out! he was running a temp. all very strange. he also had severe itching He also was very Stiff and limping , stretching a lot, and off his food. He was on a week or so of antibiotics for a skin infection,, got rid of the itching but everything else was still off. My vet concluded auto-immune issues possibly auto-immune poly arthritis. He then went on a low dose of Pred. He perked right up. started eating, and drinking more (side effect that was welcome) the stiffness, and soreness seemed to go away, and within a week, his fur was not falling out anymore now several months later, he is starting down that road again. we are about to do another round of pred. he might have to be on a low dose for a long time --- good luck with your boy! it's hard when they are off, and have weird issues, and no cause is immediately found.

for get up and go supplements... and another for Yucca intensive,, yes, it has a horrible taste, but it really works,, if you can get them to take it! call Claudia,, she has a wealth of knowledge and information!!

I am so sorry for your loss It's never easy saying good by, even when you know it's the right thing to do

:hope poor old gal ~ praying for calmness and peace for Heart,,

I just wanted to give you all a good update: Power has had a week of really good days. No pain pills only crying out once or twice, while on bunny patrol i am holding my breath, and watching him closely for any signs of change. with the offending "C" possibility in his vertebrae, there isn't much more i can do other then pain management when needed. So, we are on watch, wait and pray mode. Thank you for all of your support. GT is the best!!!

I'm afraid to say this out loud.... Power is 100% BETTER!!! no crying out, no pain pills, head is up, ears are up, he can lay on either side (before it was only on the left) NO LIMPING! I just don't know. all the experts say, could be cancer, looks bad, but we can't confirm cancer, but it could be..... We had another set of X-rays taken the other day. It shows lungs clear,, it shows the space between the vertebrae is really small,, like the disk is collapsed or mostly gone,, that could cause the pain! it shows the area being static and old looking...instead of active or mothy.. the blood work is perfect! no tick disease, kidneys and liver perfect.. still waiting on the VF, but the vet is pretty sure it will come back neg...... this morning in talking with the vet, she said that they were talking about Power, and looking at his X-rays again, wondering if it could be a blood clot, that doesn't sound good to me, but she said, it could be dissolving, and it would present itself in the way Power has been acting. Well,, IF Power gets painful again, we will go to Prednizone or Rimadyl. treating for inflammation first,, This morning i had a hard time keeping the boy from doing ZOOMIES in the yard,, that's how good he feels!!! Does cancer have this roller coster? If it's cancer, he'd be in pain,, all the time, right, in varying amounts,, but not this 100% better thing??? Well, i said it all out loud, I hope i didn't jinx it.... crossing all toes, fingers, paws and anything else that can be crossed,, i'm crossing it! :goodluck

another update,, post 1

These are all VERY good questions to think about. some I have rolling around in my brain, but it is good to see it on "paper" like a check list,, makes it easier to think thru. Thank you! Power goes in tomorrow for a chest X-ray, and if clean, , we will do a full blood work up, with tick panel and valley fever test. I don't know how far we will go with all this, but this is a good start and will give us a more clear picture........ I think a glass of wine is in order we'll take it from there, and i'll let you know what we find out. Thanks for the support and prayers! lorinda

update post 1

I'm sorry for your loss! Run free Icarus

The other day, My boy Power started crying when ever he'd lay down or got up,, started to favor his left front leg,, to me it seemed like the problem was in his shoulder. he had been diagnosed with a calcium deposit on his bicep tendon in February,, i figured acupuncture will help this flare up,, maybe he's been too active recently. X-rays show 2 vertebrae between his shoulder blades have suspicious areas. the vet (new to me cause we just moved to Phx.) is 99% sure it's bone cancer!!! The place of it though is so weird to me,,, Really in vertebrae? can this really happen there????? i've heard of rib bones, and of course in any leg, even in toes.. but I can't amputate a vertebrae.. can't even really get to it for a bone aspiration test very easily. Poor guy is most comfortable, if there is comfortable with bone cancer,, while standing up.. it's a real chore to get him to lay down.. seems like the location has pressure from either side while laying down,, so, he is wandering, pacing, panting, whining, and occasional crying out... X-rays are being sent to Dr. Couto today! and to an orthopedic guy in SLC who i love and would trust his second opinion. he is on tramadol and gabapentin,, since the pain is coming close to the spinal column and the nerves are an issue, this pill helps with nerve pain.... this is so hard. new vet, no history with them.. don't know much about them at all,, other than I do really like them and they have very good equipment. and my sweet boy is hurting! and my heart is breaking! 6/27 received word from Dr. Couto,, to my vet. He could not confirm osteo from the X-rays!!! now what,, CT scan with bone biopsy to get a confirmation = 2k full blood panel, with tick disease and valley fever ,, much less that 2k do nothing ~~ treat for the pain! this seems like management by hope, and not what i'd call pro-active. Power has been mostly comfortable. sleeping thru the night, eating well, enjoying treats and trotting around the yard exploring for bunnies. but he is in pain, some times considerable and that makes my heart hurt!! 6/28 the last several hours have been a roller-coaster - I talked with my trusted Orthopedic specialist in SLC,, he said,, oh that looks bad, and there isn't really anything to do for it in that location. It's really invasive to get in surgically for a biopsy and to what end.. will actually knowing it's cancer make much difference? pain management is what he suggested. In the mean time, I had decided to have chest X-rays and full blood work up done, to rule out Lung mets and VF and tick disease... we did that this morning.. Different Vet again, the one who diagnosed had the day off... so new Vet,, and this one said the area on the vertebrae in question looked "old and static" not active or mothy, but had the malformation of cancer... Lungs are clear,, and on a side note,, I was in awe of the size of his heart!!! we talked about other options (not many) but decided to do the VF test and once that comes in we will know what kind of anti-inflammatory to add to the daily pills. we are just going to try and see if Power gets any relief from anti-inflammatory meds. that's about it. I went from no hope last night,, to some hope this morning and then i look at the X-rays and i go back to less hope, trying to keep my stomach from tying in knots. It will take a couple days to get the VF test results,, until then, pain management, and watching his coordination,, if he starts to loose his back end, then the spinal column is getting involved, that of course would NOT be good! 6/30 I'm afraid to say this out loud.... Power is 100% BETTER!!! no crying out, no pain pills, head is up, ears are up, he can lay on either side (before it was only on the left) NO LIMPING! I just don't know. all the experts say, could be cancer, looks bad, but we can't confirm cancer, but it could be..... We had another set of X-rays taken the other day. It shows lungs clear,, it shows the space between the vertebrae is really small,, like the disk is collapsed or mostly gone,, that could cause the pain! it shows the area being static and old looking...instead of active or mothy.. the blood work is perfect! no tick disease, kidneys and liver perfect.. still waiting on the VF, but the vet is pretty sure it will come back neg...... this morning in talking with the vet, she said that they were talking about Power, and looking at his X-rays again, wondering if it could be a blood clot, that doesn't sound good to me, but she said, it could be dissolving, and it would present itself in the way Power has been acting. Well,, IF Power gets painful again, we will go to Prednizone or Rimadyl. treating for inflammation first,, This morning i had a hard time keeping the boy from doing ZOOMIES in the yard,, that's how good he feels!!! Does cancer have this roller coster? If it's cancer, he'd be in pain,, all the time, right, in varying amounts,, but not this 100% better thing??? Well, i said it all out loud, I hope i didn't jinx it.... crossing all toes, fingers, paws and anything else that can be crossed,, i'm crossing it! :goodluck

Hi Jeff, Sorry to hear about Betty Joan! but glad to know she is feeling better!!! xoxox to her, and hugs to you Casey and i moved to phx AZ this month, email me lorindastack@yahoo.com if you need extra support or want any solicited advise.

i could find more icons, but this might do for now!!! Congratulations Ruby,, way to hang in there,, and congratulations mom and dad,, thank you for being patient and loving when things didn't look so good! ok one more

Have you tried Fat Balls make them small enough to just push down her throat. Several of my old dogs going thru medical issues LIVED on these for weeks! raw hamberger raw eggs (with shells) molases olive oil wheat germ gelatin crushed total cereal seems like there is something else in there too,, i'll have to research it: all mixed together, form small balls, feed raw - makes for easy pilling too. good luck! I'm always amazed at the determination and healing power of greyhounds!

my best friend's dog slammed head first into a sliding glass door. broke her neck. they did a surgery fusing the neck at the break, and the dog lived a happy life,,, so normally, that if you didn't know she had been inured, you wouldn't know... Anyway,, before the surgery and during the rehab time my friend made a supportive neck brace for the dog to wear and i wonder if that would help Ruby. a flexible plastic with towels for padding, and velcro to hold tight around the neck. This really did help the dog!! just thought i'd put that out there,, if Ruby can stand with some help, perhaps the neck brace will help too until it can heal. good luck!!!

just keep in mind, do not mix Prednisone with Rimadyl! i always start with Tramadol in case we have to add the pred. for any reason.

I LOVED metronidazole for my kids!!!! it was the only thing that made: firm poop kept weight on my kids, so that means kibble was being digested and used properly in their body no side effects my old doggies took metronidazole every time i saw runny poooo. within 3 days, firm poop ,, pick-up-able- poop!!! they usually took around of met. pills every other month or so??? i'm trying to remember. i just know, it was my go-to pill for my old doggies who had constant problems with runny poo and nutrition absorption. good luck!

Lazer feels BETTER!!! the Doxycicline is the right antibiotic for him! no more fever his eyes are bright and happy he is out with the other two grey's running in the yard this morning!!! now i just need to get him interested in eating again. hopefully this will happen when he's off the antibiotics. my boy is better!!!