My girl is sick.

[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

[maillotpois]

Big hugs to you and Jane. I couldn't really read your whole post at first. The fact she's a rottie just hit too close to home.

My rottie, Meg, went downhill very quickly in June 2001. It was so rough on the whole family, but mostly on me. It was a financial hardship for sure - 3 weeks of dialysis for her. (In TE terms, easily the cost of a very nice new bike.) She seemed happy, though, relatively speaking. But I wondered at the time if it was too much - I know the guilt on all sides.

Then one day when I came home, and she looked at me - her eyes were suddenly sunken. I just knew it was time. I think you'll just know when it's time, and when you're doing "too much". My vet referred me to a vet who makes house calls for euthanasia, and she died in her bed in our living room, her head in my lap.

It's such a big responsibility, and presents so many hard choices. But the love you get (and give) makes it completely worth it.

[smilingcat]

Hi Aly,

If its joint problem, it may take a week or two before she starts feeling okay. A lot of dog owners firmly believe in Glucosamine. You can find it in health food store, like whole foods and GNC. Add a recommended amount into Jane's food and see if it helps.

Since it came on suddenly after a good work out, I think she is just hurting a lot from over exertion. When she gets better, its probably best to go really easy on outdoor activities. She is getting old and maybe suffering from athritis as well.

I work with cat rescue group and my partner used to work with Golden Rescue of So. Calif. One dog we fostered was an older golden. He had issues, nightmares, sad nightmares, and he had athritis. We put him on glucosamine and his stiff hips became more fluid but we never walked him beyond 200ft. He wanted to play so we played him in our living room no jumping, nor running but he was really happy. We matched him to an older woman who suffered from athritis so they both understood what the other one was going through. Brycee is about 13 now and still going okay. We just heard from his mom the other day. My partner had a long conversation with Brycee's mom. Brycee might last another year..
He has a really nice mom so atleast his latter half of his life turned out blissfully.

Anyway, don't lose hope. You may have to adjust your expectation of what Jane can do. Glucosamine is not expensive compared to regular drugs. It may add about $30.00/mo to Jane's food bill.

I wish you and Jane lots of good healing thoughts.
Smilingcat

[smilingcat]

just read about the reflex test. Well it might just be irritated nerve and temporary. Have hope.

smilingcat

[Wahine]

Big hugs to all of you. Especially Jane.

My bullmastiff had degenerative myelopahty and eventually we had to have him put down. It was heartbreaking.

I'll be thinking of you and your fur family.