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 Sat night, she was stiff and a little withdrawn.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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

[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!

[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