Rickiesmom

Heartbreaking. God speed Belle.

Awww, welcome home Harold. You look like a very sweet boy and you are in for a lot of love.

Just seeing this now - glad T is OK. We only have one venemous snake in this area - the Mississauga rattler, and they aren't all that common, thankfully!

Great news - Maddie will be as happy to be home as you will be to have her back with you!

Sending good thoughts for your little girl. We'll be watching for an update later in the afternoon.

Thank you Judy. I am sorry if my question was insensitive, I know Andy's was an especially hard loss.

Thank you all for your ideas. Judy, what did you end up doing about Andy's corn? I got Rickie a Therapaw boot but it's hard to keep on.

Rickie, my 13 year old whippet has been limping - left front leg - for some time. He has corns on that foot that are hulled regularly. He has had x-rays - it's not arthritis. Two experienced vets saw some swelling at the elbow joint. A follow-up exam found nothing. We are going to see an orthopedic surgeon next Thursday - the one who did Rickie's remarkable leg cancer surgery (rear right) and skin flap in 2009 for those of you who might remember. Before the rads ruled out arthritis he was put on a combination of metacam, tramadol and amantadine (a nerve block like gabapentin) but still limped. That's a lot of pain med to break through. I am turning to the collective experience of GT for ideas "outside the box" before next week's appointment. This surgeon is someone I trust implicitly - his record is remarkable, and he is greyhound / sighthound knowledgeable, but I would still like to go in with some ideas. Thank you for helping my little man.

Heather I am so happy she's getting her legs back under her. Hope she eats for you soon - it is so frustrating when they turn down things they'd normally jump through hoops for. (OK, not literally .)

What a sweet face. I am so sorry, for the loss you feel, and for his family and friends.

Heather i am *so* glad to hear Bella is making progress. Hopefully she'll succumb to your good cooking soon!

Just checking in as I was out much of today. Hoping the lovely Bella (and her people) had a better day today.

Poor Bella. Hopefully it is vestibular disease, hopefully it passes quickly and doesn't return. In the meantime she's in good and loving hands making her as comfortable as possible. Be well soon sweetheart.

Bethany I am so sorry. The pictures of your Diamond are wonderful, thank you for sharing them. Sending healing thoughts to all of you.

Robin I can only imagine how empty the house and your heart must feel right now, this all happened so fast. Phoenix was a real sweetheart, I am so, so sorry.

What a shocking, tragic loss. I am so very sorry for Calypso's family and all who knew and loved her.

What a good life you gave Darlin, and so many bonds - with her owner, her hound family and with you. I am so sorry for your loss.

Pat, all who read this share your tears and grief. I am so sorry.

You could put Healthy Mouth in his water - it has been clinically shown to reduce plaque by something like 70% IIRC. We use it in conjunction with brushing but even alone it should help. You have to purchase it through a vet.

Robin, I am so sorry. Really hoping the needle aspirate will provide a different answer.

For anyone who hasn't seen this old chestnut Beet Pulp - A Cautionary Tale

When Jaynie was sick the internal med specialist was also dead set against raw. He said there was too much bacteria for a compromised system, and that may be Doolin's vet's reasoning as well. I know there are strong convictions on both sides of this question, but I decided to go with his recommendation.

Persistent problems like this are so discouraging. Hugs to both of you - hope the vet can come up with a better answer for you.

Just seeing this Diane - hope your special man is OK.

No osteo Robin! No experience with Adequan but there may be other meds / combinations that would work, and in addition as some have mentioned, gentle chiropractic and / or acupuncture. Rickie has arthritis in his left front leg, and for what it's worth, my vet said that research is showing that a lot of pain meds are aimed at reducing short term pain due to a trauma, for example. With chronic pain (and I am going to get this technically wrong but hopefully convey the idea) the pain transmission sort of rewires itself such that the standard pain meds become less effective. He mentioned a name for this which I have forgotten. The treatment approach is to combine meds, and, assuming they work, see after a period of time, if two will work alone if one is withdrawn. Rickie is just starting a combination of Metacam, Tramadol and Amantadine, which I think is similar to Gabapentin (a nerve blocking agent). We will withdraw the Amantadine in 3 weeks and see how things go. We will check his bloodwork every 3 months to ensure we catch any organ issues early, and I think I'll pick up some milk thistle for his liver in the next day or so. Fingers crossed for Phene!