My girl is sick.

[aly]

I just returned from the vet and my heart hurts. Our Rottie (Jane) got sick. She's in the hospital and we're doing what we can, but the prognosis isn't good.

Jane has only been our girl for about a year. When we first found her (collapsed on the street), she had trouble walking and had some health issues due to the fact that she was seriously neglected by her last owner. The vet said that she was one of the sadder cases he had seen- he also said that her personality was amazing (especially considering the obvious abuse and neglect she had suffered). However, she flourished once we got her cleaned up and loved. She had arthritis and dysplasia, but she could run and play without too much of a problem. We knew there would eventually be problems, but didn't think it would happen so fast. She is the sweetest, easiest dog you can imagine. She's special and we bonded instantly. My BF and I loved her so much that we moved in together just so that we could keep her. We had only dated briefly and people thought we were crazy, but we felt it was worth it.

Last Sat, we played at the dogpark. She ran and had lots of fun. Sat night, she was stiff and a little withdrawn. Sunday morning, she wouldn't eat or drink and had trouble standing and walking. She was breathing had and was in obvious pain. Our vet was closed, so we took her to another vet. This vet suspected pancreatitis and gave her pain killers, antibiotics, fluids, etc. Jane could still walk, but barely. The vet also took x-rays, but couldn't see anything except scarring from years of bronchial infections. She considered hospitalizing her, but decided against it.

In the middle of the night, Jane became obviously uncomfortable and her legs stiffened up. We tried to help her calm down and keep her weight off the legs. It seemed like she was just getting stiff from being still too long- and she couldn't take her arthritis meds in case she had pancreatitis. After a bit, she went back to sleep and stayed calm. The next morning, her demeanor was back to normal and she ate and drank a little- but her lags had stopped working. Every now and then, you would be able to tell that she was in pain. We took her to our vet as soon as he opened. She has been there since yesterday morning. Despite steroid injections, antibiotics, pain meds and so on, there has been no improvement.

The vet believes she either had a ruptured disk or degenerative myelopathy. Both are bad- especially since she isn't a good candidate for surgery. We go back to the vet tomorrow morning to see if there has been any change. She's still so sweet and alert, but her body is so sad. And I'm so sad and my BF is so sad and my little chihuahua is so confused. Although there is some hope, there isn't much. I manages to stay positive for two days, but it isn't really working for me anymore. Especially since our visit today.

Thanks for listening. I know there are tons of pet people on here and I figure you would all understand... I figured I would distract myself with TE, but that didn't work, so I thought maybe I should just embrace it and post... Thanks.

[OakLeaf]

(((((((((((aly & jane)))))))))))

that's so hard

But if Jane is acting like she wants to stick around, is there a veterinary acupuncturist or chiropractor in your area, or a vet who will do adjustments with the little plunger thing? My Measle had spine problems, and adjustments really helped him for a while.

Anyway hugs to both of you.

[Pax]

So sorry your fur-baby is hurting, I know her pain hurts you as well. You and Jane will be in my thoughts.

[teigyr]

I am so sorry for both you and Jane. Hopefully this is temporary...at least I will try to think positive thoughts.

If you need specialist info, let me know. My parents are in SoCal and have been through a lot with both cats, dogs, and a pony. They've found some wonderful clinics that have made things work when supposedly there was no hope.

(((((((aly & jane)))))))

[makbike]

Aly,

I'm so sorry about Jane - it is never an easy decision. Did the vet x-ray her spine? Does it show signs of disc problems? Blood work? Were values normal or were her pancreatic enzymes elevated?

I know what you are going through, I'm sending lots of positive energy your way. You, your BF and Jane are in my thoughts and prayers. Hang in there and keep us posted. WE do care.

[SadieKate]

Aly, I feel for you. Izaak the Wonder Poodle has an inoperable malignant tumor on his shoulder. He doesn't seem to notice it yet so we're just having a good time together until whenever. We'll have some Nilla Wafers and think of you and Jane.

[malaholic]

How heartbreaking! My heart goes out to you and Jane and I am sending healing thoughts your way. I think Oakleaf's suggestions about acupuncture or chiropractors are definitely worth a shot. Please keep us posted on how she's doing - and how *you* are doing - and know that you are in our thoughts & prayers!

[aly]

Thanks... We're still hoping that things will take a turn for the better. My vet is very open to alternative treatments, so we've done some discussing. If she regains any movement over the next day or two, there will be more options. If not, things look bleak. We're somewhat limited by our pocketbook, but will do what we can. Unfortunately, just over the last two days, we've put a couple thousand dollars into tests and treatment and are reluctant to keep going indefinitely if it isn't likely to help. I think the thing that will limit us even more than money is Jane's age (she's around 8) and her other preexisiting problems. We'll know more in the morning. My Jane is a tough cookie and has already overcome some crazy odds. Maybe she'll do it again.

[aly]

Sorry Makbike, your post came up while I was typing. Her pancreatic enzymes were normal (funny how it seemed like such a bad thing at first, and now I wish she just had pancreatitis). They did extensive lab work and the only things off were her thyroid (somewhat low) and it looks like she has a bladder infection. The x-rays seemed clear except for her arthritis and dysplasia (which is pretty severe).

There are many things that we had thought were caused by her hips/ back, such as toe dragging, difficulty standing, random falling and tripping. Now it looks like they might have been due to DM. She has some movement in her back half, but it also appears that she isn't responding to most of the reflex tests. There are other tests we can do- they are super expensive- but they may not even tell us what's wrong.

What makes this so difficult are the guilt feelings. I'll feel guilty if I don't do "everything", but I'm also going to feel guilty if I make her go through more than I should when she is so compromised.

I'll keep you all posted.