macoduck

The toe gets to stay. Dr Feeman, the gash is right along the joint, upper outer side of that right rear foot. Other than one staple coming out, the tissue looked good today. My vet cleaned it, put some powder on it, and re-wrapped it. We are to return Tuesday to have the dressing removed and I am to continue with the Cephalexin. I guess Gracie wanted professional treatment. She didn't like my wrapping her with a baby sock and vet wrap. She hasn't even tried to lick the adhesive wrap the vet put on today.

Gracie has an outer toe on her rear foot that she keeps cutting. We think it's caused by her running into the house and either clipping the patio edge or the one step up from the garage to the house. She gashed it a few weeks ago, not deep but open. This is on the furry part. I put antibiotic ointment on and wrapped it. Very little blood oozed when it happened. It had completely healed. Monday she whacked it open again, blood everywhere, exact same location that had healed. Regular vet was closed so we tried a different vet. It was shaved, cleaned, 2 staples put in. We were to removed the bandage the next day. There was no sign of swelling. A few hours later I noticed one of the staples was partway out. Put a baby sock on and secured it with vet wrap. When we get home today the sock is off and the loose staple is out (found it on the dog bed). The remaining staple looks to be securely in place. It is at the lower end of the cut. Above it, where the other staple used to be, the tissue has parted very slightly but is not oozing. The sock and wrap are back on. Tried to get pictures but didn't realize they were blurry until I had wrapped her up. Except for one dash we've kept her from running around. There is no sign of infection. I've got some antibiotics from a previous boo boo that I'm giving her. At what point do we say the toe should be removed? I don't want her to go through an unneccessary procedure. She's also about due for her dental and I worry if we do that and the toe at the same time will she have been under anesthesia to long? I plan to take her to our regular vet tomorrow. Since Gracie tolerated getting the initial 2 stitches without flinching, should I ask them to put stitches in instead? Would that be as easy for her to tolerate as the staples without anesthesia?

Looks like she was at Parkway Vet in Burke VA "Gloria T. Santamaria, D.V.M. Veterinarian Dr. Santamaria is the newest member of our team at Parkway. She completed her undergraduate studies at George Mason University and went on to receive her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine at The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. In her spare time, she enjoys working out and playing with Mocha and Java, her 2 cats."

For you Northern Virginia folks - Do any of you have experience with a Dr Gloria Santamaria? She has moved to my town here in NC. My regular vet was closed today so I took Gracie to a walk-in clinic for a gash on the side of her toe. Dr Santamaria did a good job giving Gracie 2 staples. She mentioned she had greyhound clients at her practice in northern Virginia. Anyone know of her?

I just dropped some urine to do the urine protein creatinine ratio and urine specific gravity tests. Vet has shipped it to Idexx and we should hear something by Tuesday.

I misspoke: it's $4 for 30 pills. We do two a day, so for us that's 15 days worth. ETA: Is this the Greyhound Blood Work link you're looking for? Looking at Dr Stack's info, Wally's got 2 other higher readings that would have been normal for other dogs: TP 7.3 GLOB 3.3

Thanks for the info so far - keep it coming. This is Dr Feeman's article that I was referring to: kidney disease

:yay

Lesa, what lovely stories about your Penny. May you cherish them forever. She was a beautiful girl.

Wally is 8. We've only had him since August. His previous medical record showed many vet visits, mostly diarrhea, nothing serious. Very few lab values were recorded for his previous owner. Contacted the clinic and they have nothing more either. So Wally goes for his heartworm test Monday and it was OK. He'd been skipping breakfast most of the week but would eat in the afternoon. Pees and poops fine. Had some ear mites, on drops for that. Since I wanted his thyroid re-checked (he's on .8 soloxine) and they were drawing blood, vet said let's run a panel. His T4 was 2.1 so he'll stay on his Soloxine. However, Wally's got a few highs on the lab results: BUN 28 CREA 2.1 ALB 4.0 TBIL 1.4 Vet said this could be the beginning of some kidney problems and by later in the year he may need to go on a KD diet. I just read Dr Feeman's paper on kidney disease and it said these values can be slightly higher in a greyhound and not mean there is kidney disease. He recommended some urine tests. Vet was in no hurry to re-test any time soon (which is good for my wallet). And I'd told him Wally would be back in October for his annual vaccinations and re-check. Wally does have a bad habit of not wanting to go out to potty before bedtime and has no problem holding his bladder overnight. Do these values look alarming to anyone? Any harm in waiting til October to re-check? Should I insist on a urine check now?

You done good. If vet money is an issue, just have something worked out before you dogsit again.

Be prepared for some bruising to show in the next day or so, and if it does bruise it will then pool to the lower part of her chest.

I'm curious to see what this is. Gracie has one front toe that seemed to change overnight. Yet there is no limping or licking or discomfort whatsoever. Is it all of Chloe's toes or just one foot?

Wally is on thyroid meds: Soloxine. half of a .8mg pill twice a day. Since he is due for a yearly heartworm test I want his thyroid checked too. We've only he him since August and he was on thyroid meds then. He is 8 years old. His test last year did show low thyroid findings. I thought the blood draw for thyroid testing needed to be done within X number of hours after eating and taking medication. I just called the vet office and they said no. Also, is Soloxine not designed to be given as one whole pill daily instead of splitting the dose? Confession here, no flames please: Somehow I got in the habit of giving one whole pill each morning for the past 6 months. When I realized it the other day I began splitting the pill as prescribed. Since then Wally has not wanted to get up for breakfast. Could that be a reaction to my dosing? He tries to hustle cookies in the afternoon and will eat his dinner. If a dog has low thyroid levels but no physical/behavor problems, shouldn't they be medicated anyway?

Great news!

Sounds like a mild seizure or vestibular disorder. With the vestibular disorder you might also see his eyes moving quickly side to side. My vet said the initial episode of the disorder can last 20-30 minutes with subsequent episodes lasting longer. Fortunately Oliver did not have a repeat episode. I don't remember if medicine was given, but I know we were to check his temperature and if he overheated to bring him in pronto. It is scary because it looks like the dog's sense of balance is all screwed up. Oliver wanted to go outside but had no idea what to do once he got there. If it's a mild seizure that's a whole different thing.

What time are you going tomorrow Trish? We'll do some special meditating for Sam then...provided I remember the time zone difference.

Sending hugs to Dallas

Good luck Mr Toby!

Thank you!

Sam, don't scare your mom, honey. Everything will be OK.

You should not judge yourself. You are not a veterinarian. You are not a pyschic. You did what you thought was right. You tried. You cared. You loved. Otis knows you loved him. Otis would not want you to feel guilty. Otis loves you.

Mahogany, keep eating sweetie. Diane, take care of yourself too.

I am so sorry.