Prayers for Hanky

[spindizzy]

Sending an ear scratch to Hank and a hug to you.

[Biker Jo]

Big hugs to you and Hank!

[Wahine]

Smurf!! That's a terrible thing to have to go through. I'm thinking of you and Hank and sending out lots of healing thoughts. As for the laser... we have one where I work, it's not clinically proven but it's also not harmful. Anecdotally I can say that it does seem to facilitate healing in some conditions, fractures being one of them. The inflammation seems to go down faster and range of motion increases more rapidly. But I have also seen it do absolutely nothing for some people. My advice, see how it goes without and if he doesn't continue to improve, think about going back in for another treatment. You should not have to commit to a series of treatments, you should be able to do it as needed.

[smurfalicious]

Home from work today and Hank is just dopey and lazy which I guess is good. He's awful quiet for the little acepromazine he's getting. Just half a 25mg pill before and after work. He seems a little confused and wobbly but I'd rather that because he is one bouncy boy under normal circumstances so resting is good.

I got him some aspirin in the interim because the vet couldn't bother to call me back about the pain killers until 6 or 7 hours after I called. Gee, thanks, not like my dog is hurting, it can so wait. Hopefully the aspirin helps a little because he is way swollen.

He has lost his appetite which is sad. I did sit down with him and keep shoveling wet food into his bowl. Hey, the little prince can be spoiled rotten for a few days, fine by me! It did break my heart when he only ate half of his favorite duck breast jerky treat.

I'm gonna talk to the vet in the morning when I get the pills and follow up and make sure he's doing okay. I also want to ask a little more about the whole laser thing. I don't think it will kill him to wait until Saturday or Monday, and I'd rather spare him the trouble of loading him in and out of my truck until he's had longer to heal.

Thanks again for the warm fuzzies, I need them, so does Hank.

[Deborajen]

Hope Hank is feeling better today - poor guy. We had a four-year-old Siberian Husky go through some awful stuff about ten years ago. He had lots of problems and one was a ruptured disk. He literally screamed in pain when that happened - it was horrible - so I know you're going through a nightmare.

I don't know if you've checked into this or the likelihood of it working, but have you contacted your state's veterinary school? When Han, our Husky, had a degenerative bone/joint problem with a leg and the local vets couldn't figure out what was going on with him, I contacted the veterinary school at Oklahoma State University and they expressed interest in his case and seeing him at their clinic. We never ended up taking him there because our vet in town ended up sending some biopsies to Kansas City and eventually to Boston and got some answers and a treatment plan. I don't know if vet schools have reduced cost, but as an educational facility and with government funding I would think they might - ? It couldn't hurt to check it out.

I do hope he's feeling better. Hugs and warm fuzzies from our group.

Deb

[ikkin]

oh! poor hanky! vibes to him and you!!!

[BethG]

Augie sends a get-well tennis ball:



(but he'll hold on to it until Hank's up for playing )

I don't know if this will be helpful, but http://www.dogwise.com/forums/ has a health and wellness forum. Some of the posters there are quite knowledgeable. They might be able to help you sort through treatment options and/or point you to other places you can do research.

More hugs {{}}

[smurfalicious]

Augie sends a get-well tennis ball:



(but he'll hold on to it until Hank's up for playing )

I don't know if this will be helpful, but http://www.dogwise.com/forums/ has a health and wellness forum. Some of the posters there are quite knowledgeable. They might be able to help you sort through treatment options and/or point you to other places you can do research.

More hugs {{}}

Awwwwh! He's so kyoot! Is he a blue heeler/mix? I love heelers, had a blue heeler/springer spaniel growing up that was a total nut case but we loved her.

Hank seems to be motoring on much better. Ace be damned he was going to show some enthusiasm when I got home tonight! He still only wants his wet food, such a spoiled brat. I'm gonna see if the Merrick rep will hook up some freebies in light of the situation.

I checked out that forum and hopefully will get some feedback on the laser in dogs. I read some posts and it sounds like conversations from the natural pet food store I work out. Good group of people.

Anyway, here are some pictures of Hank when he's his normal self.


Can't catch me! I'm the stinky cheese man!


Oh neener neener, right over ya!


Surrender to the cow dog stare!


This is how I say "I love you."


Your campsite, I guards it.

[nancielle]

Who's the interactive chew toy that Hank is playing with?

[Aggie_Ama]

Smurf- Any updates?

[LoriO]

Harley and Efan want to know how Hank is doing?

[smurfalicious]

Sorry guys, life has been nuts and I got caught in a vicious cycle of work/sleep/work and nothing else. Thanks to all your healing energy Hank is doing AMAZING!!! His back is totally normal looking and seems to think he needs to chase squirrels. He's still getting both pain meds and sedatives but I had to bump the ace way up because he's "pushing past" it. The vet said at this point he would seem a lot better but still need to stay quiet.

So good to see him returning to his normal Hank the Couchdog self. His appetite is coming back but the kindly Merrick sales rep is sending me free case coupons too so that will help out.

Now onto the business of paying mom back, ugh!

[DDH]

I'm just reading this, and am so glad to hear that he is doing better. I hope he continues to heal and do better.

My thoughts and prayers are still with you, for his complete healing and your peace of mind.

[Wahine]

Great news Smurf!! I'm so happy Hank is doing better.

[smurfalicious]

Who's the interactive chew toy that Hank is playing with?

Ha ha! That is absolutely priceless! I think when people ask at the store for interactive toys I'll tell them they are available at the humane society!

The chew toy is Lucky, she's a terrier mutt I got at the pound a few years before Hank. I went in looking for a Hank type dog, and all they had was a border collie puppy that was abused. We spent about half an hour trying to catch her in the kennel, and all the while Lucky was watching and following us in the next kennel as if to say, "Hey! Pick me!" Turns out she was there nearly three months and we hit it off immediately. She is totally defiant but I love her to bits.

Anyway, more good news from today. I was manning our booth at the Boulder Home Town Fair and we were right next to a chiropractor. He does laser treatment and yes, he works on dogs. He's running a special right now for $50 off the first visit so Hank is getting adjusted and lasered for $25!!! Hurray! Everything, everything, everything for a reason!