Rickiesmom

One more thing you might bring if you have room is an adjustable baby gate to put in the door to the outside if you book a room with direct outside access. That way, no matter who opens the door or why, there is a barrier to prevent your hound from bolting. You want to place it a bit off the floor to gain height, but not so much that your girl can escape underneath. This gate is insurance only, you don't want to leave the door open and rely on the gate alone to keep her in.

Just a reminder: the auction for the 4 Legs 4 Hounds Program ends Monday, June 29 at 10PM EDT. There are over 140 items in this auction, including a number of non-greyhound items such as baby sets and a gorgeous mixed-media original painting. Also a Carmon Deyo bracelet, two Steve Wirtz sculptures (one at the top of the album, one at the bottom), irresistible hand-crocheted greytdeer snoods, and all manner of other greyhound themed things. In order to see the bidding album you will have to "join" the auction - it's a button on the auction main page, and an admin will usually respond very quickly. The About section of the auction main page provides additional program details, as well as information about the purpose of funds raised Thank you in advance for supporting the 4L4H program!

An auction is starting on Sunday, June 21, to raise funds for the OSU-based 4L4H program. Due to COVID-19 the program is in arrears, so the aim of this auction is to clear the arrears and ideally have money left over to establish a reserve for ongoing and future treatments. Details will be posted in the Auctions subforum closer to the time, but meanwhile, here are some teasers from among the 130 or so items donated to date (sorry the photo is so small):

Heal fast and well Cletus!

I am so very sorry your sweet Shine has left you.

I like Trupanion. They are expensive, to be sure, although you can control that somewhat by adjusting your deductible. They have unfailingly done what they say in the contract they will do, and generally process claims quite quickly. My regular clinic can submit a claim and Trupanion reviews it on the spot, pays them their part of the bill, and I pay the difference. No waiting for reimbursement. Any time I've called them for any reason, they've been very pleasant to deal with. As with all insurance, rates depend on many factors, including where you live. I live in a very large metropolitan area, and vet care is very expensive. So are the premiums. Makes sense to me.

Happy Birthday Miss M No virus and no rain can ruin your special day! Pretty good caterer for the party too!

OK, someone needs to dust of Skeletor - she or he (it's a bit hard to tell) can certainly outdo a St Bernard!

Although I never met Trolley, my heart sank when I saw this thread. Sending heartfelt condolences to all who were close to her, and are missing her deeply now.

Raineysmom, Vonnie was on amantadine for over a month before it began to bother her. I still don't know why, but she threw up 3 mornings out of five one week. There was no change in her diet or meds. I took her off it and there has been no vomiting since. On the weekend just past, I decided to try the amantadine again as she needs a boost in pain meds - it had been several weeks since the vomiting episodes. First day was fine, second day she threw up. We are therefore done with amantadine. FWIW I gave it to her immediately after breakfast, wrapped in wet food, kind of like dessert : ) Rimadyl is indeed an NSAID. From what I understand, amantadine is most effective when used with an NSAID, so I hope your Larry can stay on it.

Thanks. The issue isn't her tummy but her kidneys. We have a recheck with the IM vet on Thursday and I will ask about Galliprant, and options in general. The weather here is pretty messy right now, so it isn't easy for me to tell whether / how much the boost in Gabapentin is helping.

Thank you all. I had thought it was Galliprant, then decided I must be mistaken since it was an NSAID. However, based on your comments Greysmom, I will ask about it next time we see her vet.

Vonnie, who is 11, is unable to take NSAIDs. She has some tendon issues and is currently on Gabapentin, and until recently also Amantadine. We've had to stop the Amantadine because it started to make her vomit, even though she was getting it with a meal. I am almost certain there has been discussion here of at least one other pain relief medication that is not an NSAID, but I can't remember the name. If anyone has had a successful experience with such a drug, please share your it here. Thank you so much for your help.

I also had a hound with IMHA on a high dose of Pred. We had frequent rechecks, and the internal med vet looking after him ended up reducing his dose a little and also accelerated the step-down timeline as much as he safely could as a result. Every case is different but in Jeff's case there were no negative health consequences from those changes. He lost muscle mass and weight - truly was pretty much skin and bones. I put a light coat on him when we went out in part for his comfort, and in part because I was afraid someone would report me to Animal Control for cruelty. He gradually returned to good condition as the dose tapered slowly down, and the disease came under control. All of which is a long way to say, if you haven't already, perhaps talk to Max's vet about changing the dose. Why is Max on Pred?

If you decide to go the amputation route, the Tripawds website has useful forums and reasonably priced guides. I bought Three Legs and a Spare before our first amp and it was incredibly helpful, including advice on how to prepare for those first days after your dog returns home. The books can be downloaded. No affiliation, just passing along a resource that I found useful.