Ranger's Osteo-amputee Journey

[Bevd]

Checking in for news on Ranger the trooper

[Fiona3]

Sending prayers and lots of good thoughts for Ranger. We all hope the antibiotics and treatment will get him on the road to healing.

 

:hope

 

 

[Batmom]

Thinking of you this morning.

[duncan41]

Anxious to hear how Ranger is doing this morning. Praying non-stop.

[Guest IrskasMom]

This is so Upsetting to hear about sweet Ranger . Please God , let him be allright. So much Heartaches

 

Will be checking in for Updates Regularly

Edited February 7, 2009 by IrskasMom

[crazygang]

OH NO......RANGER JUST HAS TO GET BETTER........

 

Sending positive healing prayers for your special boy we all love him to bits

[Guest RSD_Ranger]

I don't know where to begin. So I will begin in the middle, and then go to the end and then back to the middle I'm sure.

 

At 10pm on Thursday evening, DH came home from work and we noticed Ranger coughing. It was that icky cough where you think they are going to throw up, but nothing comes out. Almost a gagging. He kept doing this, and we took shifts throughout the night to try and find some way to comfort him. In our sleepy stupor, we tried some silly things. We created beds out of blankets that elevated his head, elevated his rear, elevated everything. We thought he just had some business in his throat that he couldn't clear so we even (doG help us) gently squirted some water down his throat with a turkey baster. We let him wander the house throughout the night in hopes he would find a comfortable position. Finally, at 4am on my shift, I laid down in the living room next to him. His breathing was labored on every breath and something was just terribly wrong. We called the VCA and they requested we bring him in to check it out.

 

We got there at 5am. We had the whole place to ourselves (ha!) and they took him back to get an xray of his chest to see what was going on. We had the scary talk in the car ride there and had decided we would not put him through any more surgeries or major testing. We knew he was a fighter, we knew he was a great friend, and we also knew we had to honor him by making the best decision we could for him and his quality of life. When we heard that it was just pneumonia and could be treated with a 2-week bout of antibiotics, we were thrilled!! His right lung was not looking good on the xray, so that was the Dx. Three hours later, we walked out into the sun (which had since come up).

 

He was restless on the whole drive home. I rode in back with him, hoping to make him more comfortable, but it just wasn't going to happen. At home, he could not find a comfortable place. He seemed to be in pain whenever he laid down and so he would just stand there looking miserable. We tried everything (again!) to find a comfortable position. Something was not right. We knew that the drugs may take 48 hours to offer relief, and we had been given the ok to give him some tramadol to help ease him into sleep. The poor little guy just could not lay down. His breathing upon laying was like he was drowning. He struggled to take a breath and we became alarmed. We thought we just weren't finding a good laying position. We called OSU to see if they had any ideas since they are so greyhound savvy. They suggested we call our vet again. So an hour after we arrived home, we were headed back to the VCA.

 

More chest xrays revealed something bad. There were no mets in his lungs, and I was terrified and waiting to hear that word. It never came up. He had somehow gotten air on the OUTSIDE of his right lung. This lung was now collapsed. I had mentioned earlier to the vet tech that he may have some slight swelling in his chest because I couldn't fasten his sweater velcro very easily. We then noticed some swelling on his rear leg, which I had attributed to all of the work that poor little guy was doing without being able to rest. They recommended a chest tap to remove the air and hopes that the lung would reinflate and that there was no leak. He responded well to the chest tap -- they pulled out a whopping 3 liters of air. We then went over our future strategy. We were ok with hospitalizing him for one day in the ICU to have him closely monitored. We were all hoping for a healthy lung to just pop back out. His lung recovered and did pop back out!

 

We went to visit him before heading home and he was out of it. Drugged on a serious opiate, he was laying on a green blanket in the ICU area. He was out of the way, but also right among the nurses. Exactly where he would want to be ... I know my little man He had a long mess of vet wrap covered with a plastic leg bag on his right front leg with an IV line or something attached. He barely knew we were there as he lolled into la-la land with his tongue hanging to the side. They had shaved his right side for the tap, and I remember thinking, "Dude, you are never going to have full hair all over your body again!"

 

We drove home ... again. Since neither of us had slept the night before, we were both exhausted. I finally got a shower and felt renewed. DH came to get me after the shower. The vet had called.

 

Ranger's lung had collapsed again. We had approved another chest tap before we left, but had said to call us if they continued to fail. The next step would have been a chest tube, which required surgery. The second chest tap pulled a liter of fluid from his LEFT lung this time. They were calling to ask what we wanted to do. We knew we had to make a horrible decision. One that neither of us were prepared for, even though we had just had the scary talk earlier that day. We cried, we yelled, we were quiet. It was so unfair to our baby. So, so, so very unfair. This little pup had been born into 3 years of a tiny cage and a will to run. We gave him 3 years of freedom until humans again interfered and cut of his leg. We could not do this again. We couldn't. We just couldn't.

 

This pneumothoracic whatever it was, was unrelated to the osteosarcoma. We had caught it as fast as was possible, but without invasive treatments that had little guarantee, we knew our hands had become tied. Any further treatment required surgeries, invasive testing, etc. We could not do that to him. He deserved to quit being poked and cut and prodded.

 

We drove back to the VCA for the third time on Friday, February 6, 2009. My mom and aunt joined us as they wheeled our big guy into a nice visiting room with sofas. He was in a big plastic wagon and looked like the leader of a parade. I loved him so much in that moment. The techs took him out of the wagon so we could visit with him. His entire abdomen was swollen and puffy looking. His eyes were clear and he was alert. We looked at each other and knew it was time.

 

Our last moments with the dog who changed my life were spent in prayer. We sent him to his faithful, yet un-grey sister Kelsey, who would help him find any secret sources of people food. We sent him to Kodi, a brother he had never met, but who I knew would take him under his wing and show him where all the people scritches were. And we sent him to my dad, Papa, who loved him as much as any of us did. Papa would guide him safely and would make sure he rested every once in awhile.

 

In the vision of his freedom from leashes, fences, and only three legs we let him run free. I know he will forever love us as we loved him. I have had a great life with wonderful dogs to surround me for almost all of it. This will be the first time in 16 years that our house will be quiet. I miss him. I see him in a shadow over by the sunny back door. I hear his tags jingle and his funny sighs. There are so many reminders of him in every room of our house. They have no become little land mines of shocking memories as we come to the realization that our gentle man, the one who chose me, has moved on.

 

I thank all of you for supporting us in this journey with our big guy. I know he touched your hearts too. I believe he knows of all the love that was sent to him throughout this. I hope he will come to visit you all in the form of a bright rainbow on a sunny day, or a cool quiet moment during a walk, or in the love you feel from your own pup.

 

A last story of how we found a greyhound, because it seems fitting at this time.

 

Kodi was a gem of a dog. He was a shephard/golden/setter mix of some sort. Kodi was the best dog I had ever known (no offense to my other pups, but you guys put me through the ringer!) Kodi never, ever messed in the house, would come on command, did tricks after learning them in 5 minutes and was the most loyal I had ever seen. He laid next to you with his head on your foot so he would know if you were leaving the room. He was a gentle giant with beautiful golden chocolate eyes and the softest (NON-SHEDDING!) fur I had ever felt. Kodi battled an auto-immune disease until his time with us was cut short. He was 5 years old. We mourned Kodi's loss in July of 2005 like no other. A friend of mine on the east coast had mentioned a greyhound, as she had one. I looked into it, but knew it was too soon. I decided to fill out the form at USA DOG to even see if I qualified. Everything from calls to my previous vets to a fence check was done and I passed

 

I asked them if they could keep my information on hold, as I was still mourning the loss of the best dog in the world. They said, "Sure, just let us know when you are ready." Then something happened that no one could have expected would have any impact on a girl in Chicago adopting a greyhound who had raced in Wisconsin ... Hurricane Katrina. When Katrina hit, every rescue shelter was inundated with calls of "Can you take our dogs?" The northern shelters and rescues had to quickly move their current dogs to homes to make room for these poor lost souls from New Orleans. USA DOG called me and asked if there was any way I could take a dog a bit earlier than I had planned. So, in early October of 2005, Ranger chose me. The plan of events was out of my control: Kodi had gotten sick --> Katrina had done awful damage --> Ranger had found a new home. All I can think is that Ranger will now guide me into finding the next chapter of our book.

 

Ranger taught me that there can be more that one "best dog in the world" in someone's life.

 

The verse we read to him on his way to the bridge:

 

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27:14

 

Ranger, you will forever be in my heart and I will honor your memory every day. You made me a better person and I love you so very much.

 

Ranger (VJG Howler) 9/16/02 - 2/6/09

Edited February 7, 2009 by RSD_Ranger

[Batmom]

My heart goes out to you.

 

Fly away on angel's wings, beloved Ranger.

[DaisyDoodle]

I'm so sorry.

 

DD

[Neighsayer]

I'm so sory. Hugs!

[RobinM]

No no no no. No.

[Guest SoulsMom]

Nooooo. No. I can't believe I'm reading this. Can't stop crying . . . I'm so, so sorry

[DustysMom]

Tears for you. I am so sorry

[Guest greydogluvr]

I am so sorry. I can tell you that you did the best for your sweet boy. I just went through the same scenario with my non grey. She displayed the same symptoms (days of chest taps to remove air,like Ranger liters at a time, pneumonia...). She is 3 so we did proceed with treatment but is was long and very invasive. She ended up having a lung lobe removed and had to be confined to a crate for weeks to allow healing. There were many complications along the way including extended hospital stays due to difficulty healing internally which created the need for her to be on a pluravac (continuous suction chest tube) for days. So.... I know Ranger is looking down on you with a huge smile and thanking you for letting him run free.

 

Ranger is one special boy and after all he gave to you, you were kind enough to give him the greatest gift of all by allowing him to begin a new journey free of pain. Run free, sweet boy. You have touched many.

[Guest RSD_Ranger]

We are both crying here. We just can't believe he is gone. It is just too sad.

[Guest RSD_Ranger]

I am so sorry. I can tell you that you did the best for your sweet boy. I just went through the same scenario with my non grey. She displayed the same symptoms (days of chest taps to remove air,like Ranger liters at a time, pneumonia...). She is 3 so we did proceed with treatment but is was long and very invasive. She ended up having a lung lobe removed and had to be confined to a crate for weeks to allow healing. There were many complications along the way including extended hospital stays due to difficulty healing internally which created the need for her to be on a pluravac (continuous suction chest tube) for days. So.... I know Ranger is looking down on you with a huge smile and thanking you for letting him run free.

 

Ranger is one special boy and after all he gave to you, you were kind enough to give him the greatest gift of all by allowing him to begin a new journey free of pain. Run free, sweet boy. You have touched many.

Thank you so much for telling us this. Had Ranger not been an osteo boy, our decisions may have been vastly different. Any time you have to make a decision like this for another, it is so hard. You constantly second guess whether you are doing the right thing, acting in haste, or dragging your feet too much.

 

Your response has taken a burden from my heart and I will be forever grateful for that knowledge.

 

I also meant to write that our doctor yesterday did her clinicals at Ohio State with Dr Couto (small world, eh?). She consulted with both our local oncologist and Dr Couto's team regarding any suggestions they may have because of their close work with osteo greyhounds. For all of you out there with osteo boys and girls: Dr Couto could not recall another time when an osteo pup presented with this. It was a fluke and had no relation to Ranger's potential osteo outcome.

[Rickiesmom]

My heart grieves with yours. I am so very sorry.

[nettles]

 

Our hearts go out to you Kristen. We lost our Tully to osteo and he went to the bridge probably in the same room as Ranger. Maybe Tully came down from the bridge and showed Ranger the way.

 

 

Rich & Jerrie

[carronstar]

My heart is broken for you. Run free sweet Ranger.

[Guest IrskasMom]

 

 

I am beside myself over this News . Oh God ,I can't belief this. My Heart is absolutly aching and don't know if I should stop

crying , and be reliefed he is whole again or just crowl in my Bed and keep on crying. Sorry is not going to cut it.

[Guest RSD_Ranger]

Our hearts go out to you Kristen. We lost our Tully to osteo and he went to the bridge probably in the same room as Ranger. Maybe Tully came down from the bridge and showed Ranger the way.

 

 

Rich & Jerrie

I am sure they are playing together now. Ranger was not one to pass up any friend I believe that room has a special passageway to the bridge....

[Guest RSD_Ranger]

I am beside myself over this News . Oh God ,I can't belief this. My Heart is absolutly aching and don't know if I should stop

crying , and be reliefed he is whole again or just crowl in my Bed and keep on crying. Sorry is not going to cut it.

After having to deal with the unexpected death of my dad 3 years ago, I have found that crying is one of the most cleansing things we can do to help heal our hearts.

 

I have one request to anyone reading this wondering what they can do to help us get through this ... please go and hug your pup. Give him/her one of those big ol' body hugs that squishes them and makes them look at you like, "Ok, ok, I get it!" I had my special smothering way of giving the Range a hug. Often I would look at him laying in his patch of sun and not be able to resist smothering him with kisses! I would kneel near his rear end and lay my whole body over him (not lay on him, or he would let me know that I'm no feather! More like crouch low over him) I would cradle his head in my right palm and give him smooches all over his cheek and earsies. He must have loved it because he would relax his head in my hand and I could feel it's weight.

 

Give your pup a big ol' smothering hug complete with lots of kisses.

 

We are forcing ourselves to get out of the house for a bit. So we're meeting up with some friends and will try to act somewhat normal. When I get back, I have another thing to share about Ranger and music. It will hopefully make all of us laugh

[duncan41]

My heart has not been the same since first reading Ranger's story. Following his illness from the beginning, anticipating progress reports, praying that he would stay with us (selfishly - as if I were the only one!) to be our inspiration. This is just devastating. My heart is broken for you, Kristen, and everyone who had the priviledge of being a part of Ranger's life. He was much too young to leave.

Gotta go and deliver some smothering kisses to my three girls.

[Hawthorn]

[Guest SoulsMom]

I am beside myself over this News . Oh God ,I can't belief this. My Heart is absolutly aching and don't know if I should stop

crying , and be reliefed he is whole again or just crowl in my Bed and keep on crying. Sorry is not going to cut it.

After having to deal with the unexpected death of my dad 3 years ago, I have found that crying is one of the most cleansing things we can do to help heal our hearts.

 

I have one request to anyone reading this wondering what they can do to help us get through this ... please go and hug your pup. Give him/her one of those big ol' body hugs that squishes them and makes them look at you like, "Ok, ok, I get it!" I had my special smothering way of giving the Range a hug. Often I would look at him laying in his patch of sun and not be able to resist smothering him with kisses! I would kneel near his rear end and lay my whole body over him (not lay on him, or he would let me know that I'm no feather! More like crouch low over him) I would cradle his head in my right palm and give him smooches all over his cheek and earsies. He must have loved it because he would relax his head in my hand and I could feel it's weight.

 

Give your pup a big ol' smothering hug complete with lots of kisses.

 

We are forcing ourselves to get out of the house for a bit. So we're meeting up with some friends and will try to act somewhat normal. When I get back, I have another thing to share about Ranger and music. It will hopefully make all of us laugh

 

Soul and I have snuggled A LOT today after hearing of your loss. And we will snuggle some more