Rickiesmom

I am so sorry. You did all you could for her, and it gave you more precious quality time together, though not nearly all you had hoped for. Rest in peace sweetheart, you were truly, deeply loved.

Cletus you are just the sweetest, funniest dog ever

Your tribute and photos are beautiful. Especially love the one of River on a picnic table, looking entirely relaxed, like it was the most normal thing. I am so sorry your lovely and perfect girl had to leave, and for the shock and grief of her sudden departure. My thoughts are with you both.

I am so sorry - it was my initial worry but then things seemed to be improving. I hope the oncology clinic is covering treatment costs for Ginny's leg (they certainly should) and that healing progresses without further complication. Sending healing thoughts and gentle kisses to your girlie.

Glad there is improvement - the IV catheters sound like a very good idea. Gentle hugs to your girlie.

Hoping the leg is clearing up and Ginny feels better.

Thank you for the well wishes, I agree about hoping the steroid/rehab combination works. I didn't mention it explicitly above, but Vonnie's lameness is in the left front. We saw an orthopedic specialist / surgeon with an excellent reputation and, bonus, greyhound experience. We were referred by the neuro specialist at the same hospital, whose MRI ruled out cervical disc causes, as well as osteo and nerve sheath tumour, but did observe the biceps tendon issue, along with a couple of related things. The MRI was interpreted by a radiology specialist so I think the bases are pretty well covered.

Vonnie has been diagnosed via MRI with "proximal left bicipital tendonopathy with marginal fraying and lateral proliferative tissue". The tendon is irritated and unlikely to get better on its own, even with rest and rehab. The non-invasive options are stem cell therapy / PRP (platelet rich plasma) or a steroid shot (this surgeon prefers depomedrol for this type of injury). We will try the non-invasive route first, probably the depo shot as surgeon's experience is that stem cell / PRP is not very effective for this injury. We will also do rehab. Depending on how that goes, next step could be arthroscopic surgery to sever the biceps tendon. According to the surgeon, this relieves pain and does not materially affect gait. Recovery is 4 - 6 weeks of rest, and rehab following that is recommended. While cartilage degeneration is a known side effect of steroid shots, Vonnie is almost 10.5 and the degradation is slow enough that she wouldn't be affected in the short to mid-term. My thinking is to give that a try, so that she is comfortable and mobile during the warmer weather, and defer surgery, if we do that at all, until winter when keeping her quiet during recovery won't be a big deal since she won't want to be out in the cold much anyway. If anyone has experience with any of the therapies, including the surgery, I would be very grateful if you would share. Thank you! ETA: I did do a search in H&M, most recent post on the subject is from 5 years ago. The treatment information in those threads is consistent with what I was told and one hound had a consult at Angell. Vet we saw is familiar with their work and in fact copied an article published by their staff on this subject. However, none of the posts included any experience with the surgical option.

Hope things are going better for your girlie today.

I've never had this happen. I'd take her back to the oncologist, or to an emerg centre that has oncology among its specialties (probably on call on the weekend) to get an opinion. My concern would be whether or not any of the chemo agent had leaked at the site. If that happened, then it needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. ETA: cold packs might help, wrapped in a dishtowel or similar, and applied for as long as she'll let you, up to 10 minutes.

Trevor, you are well loved and very missed. Happy bridge birthday sweet boy

She is just lovely

Great gifts you got there Cletus! Hippie Chick

I am so sorry your Zelda is gone, no matter how long they are with us, it is never, ever long enough.

What a gorgeous boy! Congratulations!