kickchick2000 Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Milky Way, almost 13, has been diagnosed with Laryngeal Paralysis. It's getting worse and worse and I'm facing a tough choice in the very near future. Our vets(one of whom studied at OSU and knows greys) DO NOT believe he is a candidate for surgery because his back end is also failing and getting weaker. His hind end issues have been ongoing and we've tried several things including steroid injections but nothing seems to really make a difference. In general all his nerves seem to be giving up It's so heartbreaking because Milky Way is still very much alive, last night he wanted to go for a walk but barely made it to the end of the street before his breathing became so bad. He still eats, he still goes potty, and he still loves me so much. However he has trouble standing for longer than 1-2 minutes, has started to occasionally pee on his own leg, and when he is stressed his breathing is terrible, I'm SO scared he will suffocate; which the vets said is a real possibility. Thankfully I do have a very strong sedative injection to give him in case his breathing gets out of control. Is there ever a time old age just wins?? Is it ok to let him go?? Milky Way is my first dog so I've never had to make this choice before. Any advice/ reassurance is appreciated. Quote Alicia and Foster Yoshi ( pit bull) Always in my heart: WV's Milky Way 6/25/2000- 4/22/2013, Hank ( St Bernard/Boxer) ???? - 10/3/2017 and Sweet Pea (English bulldog) 2004 - 6/19/2019 www.etsy.com/your/shops/MuttStuffnc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KF_in_Georgia Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 My Sam is much in the same boat as your Milky Way. Ask your vet about Doxepin for the LP. It's been helping Sam. As for your larger dilemma, I'm in the same boat as you. I've lost two girl greyhounds: one threw a blood clot, and the other was in the hospital, still failing after four days of treatment, and it was a much easier decision. With Sam (he'll be 13 in May), I'm afraid I'm hoping he'll just go in his sleep one night or that something really definitive--but not painful or scary--will happen to make the decision easier for me. It helps some that I'm working from home these days, so I'm not having to come home daily, hoping to find him fine. Quote Kathy and Q (CRT Qadeer from Fuzzy's Cannon and CRT Bonnie) and Jane (WW's Aunt Jane from Trent Lee and Aunt M); photos to come. Missing Silver (5.19.2005-10.27.2016), Tigger (4.5.2007-3.18.2016), darling Sam (5.10.2000-8.8.2013), Jacey-Kasey (5.19.2003-8.22.2011), and Oreo (1997-3.30.2006) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgomum Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 No advice from my side.Our boy Tex has the same issues, just not as bad yet.For me there is are a few things I take in consideration and most important one is, if they has several good years with me, I rather be a week too early, than 5 minutes too late.My personal preference is to let them go in peace, rather than when they are struggling for breath.Others may disagree.2 things I learned after all this time, dogs live by the day and they don't hold a grudge.If I can let them peacefully go at a good day, I will.To me that weighs more heavy than keeping them around for me. Quote ~SAGE~ Save A Galgo EspañolPetra Postma Photography Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 It's always an awful dilemma but when they have had a good life and the vets are saying a dog's prospects arent too good, there is no blame whatsoever in sonsidering euthanasia. A vet wrote these guidelines: "When Considering Euthanasia ask yourself these questions: 1) Is the dog free of distress, pain or discomfort, and could the pain be controlled?2) Can the dog walk and balance fairly well?3) Can the dog eat and drink without vomiting?4) Is the dog free of inoperable tumours which are painful?5) Can the dog breathe without difficulty?6) Can the dog urinate or defecate without difficulty or incontinence?7) Does the dog have an owner who is able to cope physically andmentally with any nursing that may be needed?If treatment is not possible then answering 'No' to any of those questions means there is no blame in having the dog put to sleep." Next, ask yourself if it was yourself in your dog’s situation, would you actually wish to continue living? Better a day too soon than a day of misery too late. Then ask your vet if they think it is time to consider letting the dog go. If not then how long and what to watch out for in the quality of life equation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Why isn't he a candidate for surgery? I'm not suggesting that's it's not a difficult decision to proceed as I'm not sure there's a right or wrong answer here--I'm just unclear why you feel a weaker hind end would sway you from surgery. It's a very tough call---the surgery could result with complications (aspiration pneumonia) and on the other hand the LP itself may in fact cause a life ending crisis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest undergreysspell Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 This link has a nice quality of life evaluator. You have to click on the pdf link in the center of the page. http://www.lapoflove.com/Quality_Of_Life Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MnMDogs Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I'm not offering advice, but just want to share that Mork had tieback surgery at 11.5 (2 years ago now), and he is doing very very well. He also has LS, and is getting steadily weaker, but without the surgery, I think we would have had to let him go quite some time ago. It's a very very difficult decision, and we were certain we would never have the surgery for him. Then we had a pretty scary event, and minds were changed. Good luck to you and your boy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
win4profit Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 (edited) I lost my Logan to LP. Unfortunately, I did not learn what is was until months after he was gone. Evidently the emergency vet didn't recognize it either. It was terribly tragic and is a very painful memory for me. I agree with galogomom, it is better to let them go 5 minutes early than to see them suffer as my poor boy did. Edited March 18, 2013 by win4profit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesiRayMom Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 I'm so sorry.......this kind of decision is the hardest thing ever. I let my angel Kenton go on a "good" day.......but the night before was one of the worst nights ever, and I told her I just could not bear to ever see her suffer so much again. Quote Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 As I often say in these types of cases, there is no right or wrong answer, just a personal decision based on what is best in your situation. However, like tbhounds, I have to wonder why an unrelated condition would make him not be a good candidate for tieback surgery. Is his hind end weakness so bad now that it, in itself, would make you consider euthanasia soon? If the laryngeal paralysis went away tomorrow (which would essentially be the case if he had a successful surgery), would his quality of life improve to where you'd feel you might have a good bit of quality time left? This post is in no way meant to 'push' the option of surgery. I just feel that everyone should be well informed of all the options in order to make the most educated decision they can. Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racindog Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 IMO you should just sit down with Milky Way in the quiet and explain to him what the vet says all about his situation is and ask him what his desires are about treatment or not or when/how he crosses over. That is what I would do. Look in his eyes and listen to him. If you have trouble with it since you two are so close-and sometimes its just that way because of the emotions involved- I would have a good animal communicator help me. I just believe they are smarter and know more than we give them credit for and that they deserve to at least have their wishes considered. At any rate this has always helped us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest alannamac Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Been there.....Bandit was about the same age too. Besides the hind end weakness, my decision was also influenced by the fact that he was terrified of the vet. A two day stay at an out of town vet facility and the possibility of many more vet visits from pneumonia issues post op were also a huge influence. But I must also say that helping him pass was one of the most difficult things I've done in my life and I still cry over it. The outcome was inevitable but me making the decision was absolutely awful. He was suffering and it was a kindness to let him go but I had no idea how awful the guilt would be until after he was gone. But also, in this case, I would make the same decisions again. It's very personal at your pups age and you must consider both your pup's comfort and quality of life at his age and your own emotional health because this one's a toughie. LP is awful. Wishing you strength. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MnMDogs Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Sorry for another post, but with our vet, we brought Mork home that night... He is also not good at the vet, and they thought he would best recover at home. By the next day (less than 24 hours after surgery) he was essentially normal. We've also had no issues with aspiration in the 2 years since surgery. But all dogs are obviously different. Apparently there was a dog who had the surgery the same day as Mork, who immediately aspirated and was pretty sick for a while Been there.....Bandit was about the same age too. Besides the hind end weakness, my decision was also influenced by the fact that he was terrified of the vet. A two day stay at an out of town vet facility and the possibility of many more vet visits from pneumonia issues post op were also a huge influence. But I must also say that helping him pass was one of the most difficult things I've done in my life and I still cry over it. The outcome was inevitable but me making the decision was absolutely awful. He was suffering and it was a kindness to let him go but I had no idea how awful the guilt would be until after he was gone. But also, in this case, I would make the same decisions again. It's very personal at your pups age and you must consider both your pup's comfort and quality of life at his age and your own emotional health because this one's a toughie. LP is awful. Wishing you strength. LP really is awful. Is so sorry you lost Bandit to it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 Summer 2010 issue of CG magazine has two articles about LP. One is the vets point of view, the other is owner point of view. Contact the Greyhound Project to see if you can get a copy of that. I can send you the owner POV article if you PM me your email addy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickchick2000 Posted March 19, 2013 Author Share Posted March 19, 2013 As I often say in these types of cases, there is no right or wrong answer, just a personal decision based on what is best in your situation. However, like tbhounds, I have to wonder why an unrelated condition would make him not be a good candidate for tieback surgery. Is his hind end weakness so bad now that it, in itself, would make you consider euthanasia soon? If the laryngeal paralysis went away tomorrow (which would essentially be the case if he had a successful surgery), would his quality of life improve to where you'd feel you might have a good bit of quality time left? This post is in no way meant to 'push' the option of surgery. I just feel that everyone should be well informed of all the options in order to make the most educated decision they can. Milky Way's back end sinks to the floor after only a minute of standing, he can hardly eat his food, sometimes I have to hold him up. So I could see that euthanasia could be a reality in the coming months regardless of the LP. Milky Way has had back issues for almost 3 years but we've managed it with meds and he's had a few steroid injections. Sadly now he seems to have hit a point where his end keeps getting weaker. Quote Alicia and Foster Yoshi ( pit bull) Always in my heart: WV's Milky Way 6/25/2000- 4/22/2013, Hank ( St Bernard/Boxer) ???? - 10/3/2017 and Sweet Pea (English bulldog) 2004 - 6/19/2019 www.etsy.com/your/shops/MuttStuffnc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
montgomery2524 Posted March 19, 2013 Share Posted March 19, 2013 We had a 13 1/2 yr old live with us for only 2 months and we lost her to LP. We hoped we would have more time since the weather was still cool and the LP didn't seem too bad. Then one Sunday she had an episode and to see her gasping with her tongue turning blue was horrible. We got her to the vet and she actually started breathing better a block from the evet. Sadly her heart rate was 250 and with meds they could only get it down to 180. Every time she would start to come out of the drugs her heart would ramp back up and another episode would start. We loved her and kissed her and told her about all the dogs waiting to show her around the bridge and we said goodbye. I miss her everyday but would make the same decision again. To see her suffering as she struggled to breathe was not what she wanted and was not the life I promised her. I told her I would protect her and love her until it was time. Then I would let her go with dignity and love. Your decision will be the right decision for you. Quote Mom to Bella, Trinity, Cricket, DB, Dabber and Sidewinder As well as Gizmo, Miles, Pumba, Leo, Toby, Sugar, Smokey, Molly, Jasmine, Axel, Billy, Maggie-Mae, Duncan, Sam (MH King 2019), Bambi, Stella, Bay and "Gerty the cat" at the Bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msjpk Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Please explain the symptoms of LP and how was it diagnosed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MnMDogs Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Please explain the symptoms of LP and how was it diagnosed? http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/SmallAnimalTopics/LaryngealParalysis/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickchick2000 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 (edited) After doing more research and reading several old threads here on GT I put in a call to my vets and got an estimate on LP Tieback surgery. One of the vets at the practice we go to is a surgeon so they can do the procedure in house. The estimate was resonable and within our limit so pending nothing disasterous Milky Way is set for surgery next week. Milky Way does have hind end weakness but he can still get up on his own, he still wants to play, go on walks, eat his food etc... I could not say goodbye, he isn't ready, he's still full of life. Thank you so much to everyone on here, your info, experiances, and points of veiw made me look at every angle. Edited March 21, 2013 by kickchick2000 Quote Alicia and Foster Yoshi ( pit bull) Always in my heart: WV's Milky Way 6/25/2000- 4/22/2013, Hank ( St Bernard/Boxer) ???? - 10/3/2017 and Sweet Pea (English bulldog) 2004 - 6/19/2019 www.etsy.com/your/shops/MuttStuffnc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgrey Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Sending good thoughts that Milky Way's surgery is a complete success. Quote Cynthia, & Cristiano, galgoAlways in my heart: Frostman Newdawn Frost, Keno Jet Action & Chloe (NGA racing name unknown), Irys (galgo), Hannah (weim), Cruz (galgo), & Carly CW Your Charming Princess http://www.greyhound-data.com/d?i=1018857 "It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life, gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are." -- Unknown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krissn333 Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Sending good thoughts for Milky Way! Quote Kristin in Moline, IL USA with Ozzie (MRL Crusin Clem), Clarice (Clarice McBones), Latte and Sage the IGs, and the kitties: Violet and Rose Lovingly Remembered: Sutra (Fliowa Sutra) 12/02/97-10/12/10, Pinky (Pick Me) 04/20/03-11/19/12, Fritz (Fritz Fire) 02/05/01 - 05/20/13, Ace (Fantastic Ace) 02/05/01 - 07/05/13, and Carrie (Takin the Crumbs) 05/08/99 - 09/04/13. A cure for cancer can't come soon enough.-- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MnMDogs Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 (edited) It's such a hard decision. Like you, we'd thought we'd never have tie back for Mork. But I'm so glad we did...feel free to PM me at any time if you have any questions. We're lucky in that we had zero complications. Edited March 22, 2013 by MnMDogs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 My 11 yr old Onyx had the tie back. She passed at 15 and 1/2. I will send Milky Way lots of prayers next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJNg Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 How is Milky Way doing? Did he have surgery last week? Quote Jennifer & Willow (Wilma Waggle), Wiki (Wiki Hard Ten), Carter (Let's Get It On), Ollie (whippet), Gracie (whippet x), & Terra (whippet) + Just Saying + Just Alice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macoduck Posted April 2, 2013 Share Posted April 2, 2013 Hoping to hear good news on Milky Way. Quote Freshy (Droopys Fresh), NoAh the podenco orito, Howie the portuguese podengo maneto Angels: Rita the podenco maneta, Lila, the podenco, Mr X aka Denali, Lulu the podenco andaluz, Hada the podenco maneta, Georgie Girl (UMR Cordella), Charlie the iggy, Mazy (CBR Crazy Girl), Potato, my mystery ibizan girl, Allen (M's Pretty Boy), Percy (Fast But True), Mikey (Doray's Patuti), Pudge le mutt, Tessa the iggy, Possum (Apostle), Gracie (Dusty Lady), Harold (Slatex Harold), "Cousin" Simon our step-iggy, Little Dude the iggy ,Bandit (Bb Blue Jay), Niña the galgo, Wally (Allen Hogg), Thane (Pog Mo Thoine), Oliver (JJ Special Agent), Comet, & Rosie our original mutt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.