My little Maggie Bear!!

My poor little Maggie bear went to the vet today because we realized she hadn't been eating. She had lost 5 lbs which is huge on a miniature schnauzer. They did a blood panel and discovered her kidneys and liver are failing. It is the first time in my life it has been hinted one of my kiddos might need to be put down. The dogs is already blind and 9 years old with thyroid problems. But the vet wasn't ready to give up because even with all that she is a little love bug.

The second option was IV fluids all weekend and recheck the levels. It will be a pretty penny but we have to let our baby have a chance to fight. DH was adamant about giving her a shot. My other dog Heidi is so upset we didn't bring Maggie back. I just hope Monday we can. With her age and history as a breeder (from an awful breeder) I don't know how much they can do. But she has fought before, the vet wasn't very optimistic about her chances if she does improve, he said she will not likely see the older age of Schnauzers but she could keep us company a while longer.

Why is it so hard when our four legged friends are sick???

((((((((Amanda & Maggie))))))))

Praying for a good outcome.

I'm so sorry. I know just what you are going through....it's tough all right.
I hope things go better.

Sorry to hear, positive thoughts sent for Maggie. Unfortunately I know how stressful it is when your pets are ill.

((hugs))

Big hugs and lots of special thoughts for little Maggie Bear.

Clock

{{{{{Maggie & Amanda}}}}} I hope Maggie comes home on Monday, too.

Prayers for both of you!!!

little maggie and her mama--we've been there and wish for the best...

love, sweetpea and her mama

My Kali girl sends you a gentle kiss and we're keeping our fingers and paws crossed for your little Maggie bear.

(((((((((Maggie & Amanda)))))))))

Hugs and head bumps from me and Nala - we've been there too with one of Nala's house mates. It's never easy. Maybe with those fluids Maggie will be feeling better on Monday morning. You know how lousy you feel when you get dehydrated....

All our best to both of you. I so hope you get good news.

Pam

(((((((((Aggie_Ama)))))))))))

I truly feel your pain. We've lost 2 this year (a kitty and a pup), and our other kitty has bad kidney levels, is anemic and has high blood calcium. We're treating to see if it's an infection, but it's more likely cancer:(

Give Heidi extra hugs and treats....

CA

I'm thinking very positive thoughts for little Maggie that she'll come through and have some more time with her loving family. Poor baby:(


Thoughts are with you and Mr. Aggie Ama also.

Aw, Aggie. I'm sorry.

We hand our whole hearts over to our animals in a complete way we would never do with fellow humans. No defenses, no holding back, no protection. That's why it's so hard. But I would still do it, every time, anyway. I bet you would too.

So sorry to hear about your little one. Sending lots of healing vibes and good karma your way....

My terrible trio of golden retrievers - Maud, Maeve, and Fiona - send Maggie lots of K9 love.

Aggie: So sorry about your little girl. Nine isn't very old for a Schnauzer, but it sounds like she's had a rough life prior to you rescuing her. I really hope it all comes out ok. Be sure to ask about Leptospirosis... don't know if you have it there, but we are seeing more up this way. It is a bacteria that can infect liver and kidneys. Likely they are using some sort of penicillin on her anyway, which is the treatment for Lepto. Just a thought.

I wish you the best... We'll all be rooting for her.
Jes

Thanks for the all the cyber hugs and puppy kisses. The vet we use has really awesome policies of calling daily 2x a day for status updates and said we can drop by today when the Vet Tech comes in for the nightly check up (don't know if we can though).

Maggie is doing a bit better, she wants to eat but hasn't held it down yet. They are still trying though. She is a pretty mellow dog so the tech admitted she is having a bit a trouble reading her but she seems to have perked up a bit. With her being blind she at first had no interest in the yard, now she is starting to wander around a bit. I am trying not to be too optimistic but as DH said "What else can we be?" We gambled quite a bit of money hoping to save our little one so optimism is all he has. I hope tomorrow it has paid off.

That sounds like she's perking up a bit -- great news! Crossing my fingers (and Mac has her toes crossed for you).;)

Aggie, that all sounds so very promising.................am sending a few more cyber hugs.

Maggie sounds like a real feisty little dog.

Massive hugs

Clock

Best wishes to you and your Maggie.

Oh I hope I am not overly optimistic but our little bear looked so much better when we went by. She was so excited to hear us her little body was all wiggly and tail wagging. The fluids seem to be helping but I am waiting for my trusted vet to get in tomorrow and look at her. I hope her blood levels are down and she comes home tomorrow, we all miss her! The black one is her, the white one her best buddy Heidi.

The vet just called and while her blood values have dropped it is not significant and not what they were hoping. She cannot come home tonight and they just can't say if any more treatment will help. It could but neither of the vets in this morning are too optimistic about it. They think she could get well enough to go home and then crash. Of course the vet will never tell you what you should do if one would just say she had a good life but we need to put her to sleep I would but they say "We can try...." UGH!!!!!! I am so upset I just want to go to bed but no, I am working.

I am crying as I read these posts. I am so so sorry!! This is the worst thing we, as humans, go through.

I'm praying for a miracle and also praying for your comfort during this time.

(((((((((Amanda & Maggie)))))))))

There is the unfortunate point when there's no fight left. Rereading these posts, it seems that Maggie didn't even start life with good genetics, and you at least gave her the gift of a lovely home. Is she comfortable? Can she eat, drink, pee & poop? Does she have something that resembles a quality of life?

I write these questions and think about my own old dog, and how rotten I felt when I saw her legs collapse under her yesterday when she went to get out of the car after a ride to the park. Planning for the end is never easy.

I'm sorry to hear your little baby isn't improving much, poor little puddin. :(

hugs (((sweet Maggie)))

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that!!! More prayers, cyberhugs and doggy love from Jimmy to Maggie!!!

Oh Aggie, I hate to hear this. :( :(

When my Jodi Bell got to where she rarely ate, drank, and played, I knew it was time to let her go. It doesn't get easier, but I do have a sense of relief when they take their last breath and their suffering has come to an end. Sometimes just making the decision to let them go is the hardest. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Amanda,
My heart and thoughts are with you. I am way overdue for a trip to my vet w/ my older girl kitty...she is not dropping weight fast, but has lost weight over the past few months. I think I just don't want to hear anything and I HAD to get thru the holidays.
These 4 legged creatures are our children...the are so wonderfully loving and giving. I am sending you good thoughts. And what ever time this buys you w/ your lovely Maggie, I know it will be good.
I've had some amazing aniamals beat the odds...I hope this is true for Maggie.
Keep us updated! Take care. (I have 6 critters...so I'm make sure they send critter prayers!)

K

Well the good thing about being Aggies is we have a friend that is a DVM. He isn't local but he told my husband he had time to discuss Maggie tonight. The DVM was my husband's roommate and a groomsman in our wedding. He will shoot us straight but also has the education to understand what the vet is saying. My husband and I both just wish the vets said "the best thing at this point is to put her to sleep". Maybe they do and she isn't quite to that point. We have an appointment this evening to discuss her current condition with the vet since it is hard to relay it to my husband when the vet calls.

Before she got sick she was eating and pottying. She doesn't play since she is blind but until the past week or so she would come and ask for attenion. It is so hard because even as bad as she feels she is happy to hear our voices. Of course when they take her off that IV how good will she feel? That is where the vets are pessimistic, what will happen when she is off the pump and fluids.

(((((hug)))))) to you ! It is hard when the kidney and liver are giving out. I have gone through this myself with a furry friend. it was hard but all they wanted to do to her to keep her alive was to much. Yet she was 18 yrs old so as you can understand she was very old and I didn't want to keep her around just for us. I thought that was being selfish. I hope your furry friend let's you know when enough is enough. Ours did and i respected that and let her go. But your is still young so things could be much different for you then it was for us. Good luck and thank you for keeping us so posted.

My first gsd died just 3 days after her last frisbee toss. She let me know when she was ready to go. I had the greatest sense of peace when we spent the last hour together. I will always be thankful for that.

AGGIE: I really hope your hubby's friend was able to help you guys figure some things out. It's hard for us as vets to give up, too. And we hate to push you there if there is even a small chance that things could come out ok.

If you need any clarification on anything, feel free to ask me -- I can do my best to answer your questions, as a DVM but "not YOUR DVM"... it's always much easier from the outside of the situation.

Otherwise, just know my thoughts are with you guys. However it goes, you know you will make the right decisions for Maggie. Hang in there.
Jes

Jes- Our friend concurred with our vet which made us feel more confident. He said the same thing as you, unless he knows there is nothing he can do he always gives the option. He himself had to recommend an owner put their schnauzer/lhasa to sleep yesterday and he said it really stunk for him.

See our vet's office has grown and the founder is the one we have always seen but Maggie got assigned to a newer guy Friday so it was a little stressful with her being so sick. With my husband's buddy saying the same opinion as the vet it made us more confident in the new vet. Didn't hurt to warm us up the new vet is a proud product of the Aggie Vet School, the founder of the practice is not an Aggie. ;)

Maggie's levels (BUN, CREA and PHOS for those who know about these things) are still elevated the BUN is 3x the normal value but we are giving her two more days to try to bring them down. The vet said he put her at about 35-40% chance given her levels. He said we weren't at "a shot in the dark" she would improve but we need to keep realistic expectations. She did pig out while we were there so that is an improvement. We will just see what happens when they pull the blood values tomorrow, if they are still not dropping it likely means she cannot be sustained off the IV and we will have to discuss putting her to sleep which stinks because on the IV she is our normal little bear but I know she was very sick without it. Thanks for all the warm vibes and support, I just wish our kiddos didn't have to go through so much!

Thanks for the update Aggie.

Please whisper to her, that people the other side of the world are sending her lots of love and good wishes.

Am thinking of you too.


Clock http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/...962e52f8_o.gif

that's so crap you all have to go through this (including Maggie, of course!)

So many of us here have gone through similar things and obviously have so much empathy for you.

I know no words made me feel better when my puppy died. It hurts like hell, and will for a very long time afterwards, but know that if/when Maggie needs to go and you've had time to grieve, your heart will open for another Maggie who needs you!

I wonder if you could do fluid injections at home? Sometimes that's a possibility (and not something animals mind too much). Just a thought.

Continued hugs and healing thoughts...

CA

Just wanted to say you're in my thoughts. I grew up with schnauzers (and actually had one named Maggie, in fact) - they're great little dogs!

Coming from a veterinary perspective - I work part-time as a vet tech while in grad school, and we have A LOT of clients who give subcutaneous fluids to their pets at home. It really isn't hard to do, or a big deal, but it helps the animals a lot.

Well as you all said our little guys and gals can be their own miracle workers. The vet called this morning and said her numbers improved "significantly" and she needs to go home then come back next week to pull a blood panel again. They are still guarded on her condition and how long she could go before relapsing but think she may have bought herself more time. I am headed to go get my little bear! :D

That's fantastic!