My girl is sick.

[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.

[fastdogs]

so sorry for the old girl, I'm hoping she bounces back. Spinal injuries can be tricky, but also pretty surprising when they recover. In any case, I am wishing you the strength to make any decisions you may end up making- don't second guess yourself because our wonderful dogs live in the present. When you picked her up off the street you gave her a wonderful life and that's what she knows now- love and caring. It's so hard when they are alert but the body isn't working; I'm sure she'd tell you what she prefers, if she could, but it would never be easy anyway.
I'm hoping it's just bruising of the spinal cord, or something transient. Keep us posted.
vickie

[makbike]

Aly-

DM is a tough one to deal with. I lost my buddy of 14 years, Hondo, to its effects 5 years ago. Has Jane been showing signs of DM over the course of the past few months/year? From your description it sounds acute as oppose to chronic which does not sound like DM - more like a disc problem. Is it possible that her hip/joint issues are really the source of pain? Sorry for all the questions.

How are Jane's spirits? If it really is DM have you guys considered one of the carts they advertise in Dog Fancy. We once had a client who purchased one for her little dogs (back legs did not work at all). When the owner would strap the cart on that little dog came to life and would zip around like there was absolutely nothing wrong. The little dog did not seem to know her rear legs were not working. Both the owner and dog loved the cart.

Again, I hope you get some positive news tomorrow. I'll keep you guys in my prayers. I know this is a very stressful and sad period in your lives at the moment. Hang in there!

[Brandi]

Big hugs and prayers from our home to yours. She is very lucky to have someone like you and not the one's she was with before. At least you care how she feels and not wanting to put her through more then she needs. Whatever you decide
she I am sure has had a wonderful year maybe one of her best ever! Take some sompfort in that thought maybe.

[yellow]

Aly,

Hang in there. It is so difficult to watch a creature you love so much change so dramatically like this.

We adopted a beautiful 7 year old lab about a year ago. About 4 months after we got her she suffered some sort of neck injury, we don't know what or how. One day she was running through the grass and the next she was in horrible pain.

She ended up having a disc that had slipped out, turned sideways, and was pressing up against the spine. An Xray did not show this. It could only be seen in an MRI.

The vet felt positive that it was something he could fix, but we understood the risks. By this time all 3 of us--the dog, me, and Mr. Yellow--were all pretty torn up about everything and no one slept for several days (she ultimately ended up in the hospital on morphine until the surgery could get scheduled). We elected to have the surgery (the other option was euthanasia) and have never regretted the decision once. She recovered beautifully for an old girl and is so happy, sweet, and grateful (or so I tell myself). She was no spring chicken and had an unknown history. Many risk factors.

The money part is hard, I know. It all affected our resources for quite some time. Would it have been worth it if she didn't make it? Absolutely. We loved her then and we love her now and a little debt was a small price for us to pay. That's not to say everyone should or can do it that way. It worked for us, and we were lucky enough to have a good outcome.

Send her all the loving energy you have. My thoughts are with you. It's really, really hard. I know.

y

[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.