Sick dog :( --- Update and puppy pictures... [Archive]

Steve1968LS2

03-31-2008, 07:27 PM

Our 10 year old Whippet went in today for an MRI. Over the last 3-4 weeks we've noticed her back leg getting weaker and that she doesn't want to put any weight on it.

Went to the vet weeks ago. They give her metacam which is a anti-inflamitory since they thought maybe she pulled a muscle. Seemed to get a bit better then worse again. Go back in and then they do an x-ray and don't see anything. They give steroids for two weeks. No change.

They take more x-rays. nothing.. they send us to a neurologist and after an exam he orders and MRI. That was last week so we got her in first opening (today).

They found a golf ball sized tumor in her back hip area. Tomorrow our main vet will get the MRI scan and we will see what we can do. It sucks because other than that discomfort she is super perky and full of life. I know it's going to be expensive, but I don't care. She's family.

I'm sorta mad that the vet couldn't have found this sooner and I'm surprised it didn't show anything on exam or x-ray. She had a COMPLETE blood work and everything was perfect, so I don't think it's cancer.

Just sucks.. she is so loyal and sweet. Besides, I know she would do the same for me.

She just got back and woofed (pun?) down a bowl of rice and chicken.. Funny how us humans get so attached to another species..

Anyways, had to vent.

Athena.. the wonder dog...
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2yellow69

03-31-2008, 07:57 PM

We know the feeling. I hope she does OK. Our Akita was very sick when he was young and the medicine he was taking weakened his ligaments and he tore his knee up. I didn't care how much it was gonna cost. Like you said, they're family.

Matt

class67

03-31-2008, 08:03 PM

I don't want to get all sappy, but I had a close call / scare with my 10 yr. old yellow lab back in December. I thought we were going to have to put her down for sure but she bounced back after some meds for a few weeks...I know exactly how you feel, keep your spirits up though, especially when with your dog, they say animals can sense your mood.

dropit69

03-31-2008, 08:13 PM

damn that sucks hope all goes ok Steve i was playing ball with my american eskimo last night when she broke a toenail. she was yipping and wouldnt let me cut it off so i just had to see her limp till pain went away and was able to help her today .. was hard to watch her in pain though..

ProdigyCustoms

03-31-2008, 08:29 PM

Oh man, we understand your feelings. Lisa and I have a couple little dogs and if anything happened to them.................They go everywhere with us.

At least with good blood work it seems like something they can fix! Let us know.

6fastback7

03-31-2008, 08:46 PM

she`s a beautiful dog..hope she gets better!

p.s after seein that pic im convinced my pouch is part whippet..same body and similar spots.

Steve1968LS2

03-31-2008, 09:34 PM

We will find out tomorrow.. She keeps trying to run around even though the leg isn't working that great. Since she is physically fine except for the localised issue we're hopeful that she can undergo surgery.

Our surgeon is going to look over the MRI tomorrow and we will come up with a course of action. Athena isn't a complainer, but it's hard to see her not being able to lie down comfortably.

It's amazing how far animal medicine has come.. the place she went today was state of the art and the MRI unit was super high end. Thanks for your thoughts, we will keep you updated.

The place:
www.avmi.net

Vegas69

03-31-2008, 09:38 PM

Good luck Steve.

Damn True

03-31-2008, 10:17 PM

If the Dr. throws out the option to simply remove the leg, do it. Honestly, it's a lot easier on the dog than chemical cancer treatment. 3-legged dogs do just fine.

monza

03-31-2008, 10:21 PM

Best of luck for Athena!!

"Did you ever notice when you blow in a dog's face he gets mad at you? But when you take him in a car he sticks his head out the window?"

-unknown quote

The Rook

04-01-2008, 01:57 AM

trapin

04-01-2008, 02:59 AM

Good luck and wishing you the best. We take ours back in today for the three month checkup after knee surgery. $3000 later and good as new. We went with the DSE Quadra-Link setup. The dog loves it, but the stickers won't stay on him....
:lol: :lmao:

You see, this is what my Wife and I fear the most about getting a dog. Our boys have been hounding us (no pun intended) to get a dog for a couple years now. I'd love to get one for them but the thing I worry about the most is the kids will naturally get attached to it and then just our luck something goes wrong and we gotta plop down $1200-$2000 for some life saving surgery. With a 3rd kid on the way we won't be getting a dog anytime soon.

Good luck with your canine there, Steve. Hope it all works out.

jstix

04-01-2008, 05:55 AM

I wish you and your dog the best. One of our family pets developed a bone tumor, which has now been diagnosed as bone cancer. She doesn't really complain alot, but use of her leg is slowing down. Hopefully yours will have a better outcome. Something some of you guys may want to consider is insurance. I have it through petfirsthealthcare.com on my other dog. If you get them checked out prior to getting the policy and no pre-existing conditions are noted it can provide a great deal of help with vet bills. Just a thought..

Steve1968LS2

04-01-2008, 06:17 AM

If the Dr. throws out the option to simply remove the leg, do it. Honestly, it's a lot easier on the dog than chemical cancer treatment. 3-legged dogs do just fine.

I agree... although, and I'm no doctor, I don't think it cancer give the super good blood test results. I think it's a fiberous tumor that is putting pressure on a nerve or joint and causing her not to want to use the leg. Also, if it gets bigger it could cause problems since its in the area of the intestines.

Waiting anxiously for the vet to open so I can run down the scans and let them get cracking.. My wife is super anxious and couldn't sleep much last night.

TonyL

04-01-2008, 07:05 AM

Wow. Good luck Steve. I know your pain. I had to nurse our Rotty back to health after being run over by a Honda. (200lb dog under a honda?) His whole leg was nothing but an open wound for a while. Dogs are tough. Here's hoping its nothing serious and can be removed.

70bird

04-01-2008, 07:43 AM

Hey Steve,
Sorry to hear the sad news. I wish your dog the best, and will include her in my prayers for a succesful and speedy recovery.

We have gone through this twice in the past 2 years with our German Shepherd. She had a huge lump on her rear leg, and after tests, it turned out to be a fibrous tumor. We had it removed, and all was well till it came back again. We had the vet remove it yet again 6 months ago, and so far so good.

The good news is that this type of cancer remains local and does NOT spread. But, has a higher likelyhood of reccurance. As long as the affected area is in a operable area, you can have it removed yet again if it returns.

Our Vet suggested amputation as an option, but we declined due to her age (not the Vets LOL) My Son says we can change her name to tri-pod.:) We figure if we need to, we will do it once again and let her live out her golden years with all her limbs attached. As of now she is as healthy as the proverbial horse.

Hope this provides some encouragement

tones2SS

04-01-2008, 09:50 AM

Sorry to hear about your situation Steve. That is TOUGH!!!
Nothing like having your dog sick. Been there, done that. I hope the outcome is good.
BEST OF LUCK!!!!

Bulldog68

04-01-2008, 11:35 AM

Keep up the positive thoughts, Steve. I've been through similar situations with a few of my family's prior dogs and it's never easy. The good thing is you have the right attitude and realize that money is no object when it comes to helping another member of the family. Good luck!

eville

04-01-2008, 11:46 AM

Good luck Steve.
My lab blew her ACL in September and partially tore the other around the same time (I wish I knew how). It was about 3k surgery with a 16 week recovery to fix the blown knee. TPLO surgery they call it. Most people thought we were crazy to not put her down. She was 15 months old at the time.
She's recovered perfectly. Her bad knee is now her good knee. She's as happy as if she had good sense. She was miserable before the surgery with the lame leg.

I assume we'll have to have the other knee done in the future.

buickfunnycar.com

04-01-2008, 12:01 PM

good luck to you Steve,hope it all turns out well for you all,that sure is a beautiful creature and I know I couldn't live without my indoor & outdoor animals...

Damn True

04-01-2008, 12:26 PM

Roxy says, "Get well soon!"

69Nova

04-01-2008, 12:49 PM

Good luck Steve.

I have a Daschund that had a birth defect. BUT when I purchased him I was not told about it! So I had him for two months before we found out. At the time I defintly did not have the money to pay for the 3,000 dollar surgery but family helped me out. It broke my heart when the vet told me how much the operation would cost and I had only had him for two months not ten years like you dog.

By the way his name is HEMI

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bwhinnen

04-01-2008, 01:11 PM

Good luck Steve. One of our dogs (Libby, short for Lady Liberty) goes in for surgery tomorrow. She is less than 1 year old and has to have part of her femur removed due to a disease (basically causes the top of the bone that joins to the hip to become necrotic and the bone dies). Apparently it is common in small dogs. She is a Jack Russel (3/4) cross with a Maltese. She is the youngest of our three dogs and is really starting to show her personality now (other two are a 8 year old Foxy cross and a 5 year old Border Collie).

I hope all goes well for Athena! I really can understand how apprehensive you will be feeling at the moment and know that you only wish the best for her. We do grow very attached to our pets don't we, specially when they have been with the family for a long time.

7TSS

04-01-2008, 02:06 PM

Good luck and best wishes for a swift recovery.

Steve1968LS2

04-01-2008, 02:50 PM

Frustrating.. our vet won't be back in until Thursday so we have to wait for a consultation. I know it's only 48 hours but still.

Will keep ya all updated... thanks for the well wishes.

buickfunnycar.com

04-01-2008, 03:11 PM

got our fingers & paws crossed over here Steve...:twothumbs

Denvervet

04-01-2008, 05:08 PM

Steve1968LS2

04-01-2008, 06:29 PM

Steve,
I hope it all works out well for her. BTW unfortunately bloodwork doesn't tell us much about whether or not a tumor is cancerous or not. Only a biopsy does that. Considering the region you referred to don't worry about all the suggestions of amputation.....that wouldn't be an option in that area. But hopefully it is benign or something like a migrating foxtail causing an abscess. Did the neurologist "feel" any kind of lumps in that area? Anyway, best of luck ....and remember the technology for treating even cancers are much better these days.

Not really, they just saw a strang shadow on the x-ray. Her nerves in her leg are good but it must hurt to put pressure on it.

The mass is in the pelvic region and is sorta spread out. Not a good thing. We have an appointment with our vet Thurs morning to go over the MRI and an oncologist, just in case, in the afternoon. We took her out tonight and got her some cheese at the In-N-Out drive thru.

If it's operable then we will try. If not we will make her comfortable, fight the discomfort and spoil her rotten for a while.

Man, I'm supposed to be this bad ass magazine car guy and this stuff just make me tear up like a baby..

We've had Athena 8 years now. Back when I worked from the house she would hang out with me, keep me company and even go on sales calls with me.

Like they say, hope for the best and prepare for the worst..

Thanks again guys.

andrewb70

04-01-2008, 09:01 PM

Good thoughts for your family, Stephen...

Andrew

TonyHuntimer

04-01-2008, 10:14 PM

Having a family "member" with health problems is not good. It's especially hard when you see them in pain, because they can't do much about it or tell you what or how they feel.

Take care Steven.

Tony~

Steve1968LS2

04-11-2008, 12:51 PM

Update:

The MRI showed a rather large and spreading tumor, most likely cancer. The surgery to MAYBE remove it would be to radical, we don't want to put her through that. It's also starting to mess with bone in the area and chest x-rays show possible leasions on the lungs. Not good :(

But, she is hungry and full of life so we are going to give a bit more time to run in the grass and enjoy the summer sun. Today she went for the first of 5 days of radiation treatment along with Chemo and a medication to strengthen the bone and stop any pain.

But this isn't a cure, it should drastically slow the growth of the tumor, decrease swelling and by her some time. Nobody should have to die when spring is just starting up. Hell, I get all teared up just typing this.

She is family and we took on the responsibility to keep her well, even when it's not convienent or cheap. I can go without a fancy new toolbox or a drywalled ceiling in my garage.

In happier news we added to the "pack" with another Whippet. We figure Athena can help train her to be a good canine and it will make things much easier on our younger dog Stryder.

Introducing Daisy (I named Athena, so my wife got to name this one. lol) -- I was pushing for Anubus but she nixed that idea.

Daisy and Stryder.. Daisy is about 4-months old...

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Damn True

04-11-2008, 01:02 PM

Damn cute poopers!

The Rook

04-11-2008, 01:41 PM

Sorry to hear the news Steve. It's a wonderful thing you're doing to give her a few more days to run in the sun and roll around on the green grass, we are all going to want that some day. Thoughts and prayers for you and your family.

skinnyboy67

04-11-2008, 05:21 PM

Frustrating.. our vet won't be back in until Thursday so we have to wait for a consultation. I know it's only 48 hours but still.

Will keep ya all updated... thanks for the well wishes.
I wish you and you family all the best. Our prayers are with you....I lost 2 of my buddys recently (labs). one from old age 15yrs. had to put him down..toughest day of my life :((....2nd one was 1-1/2 years old.
We lost the young one 24hrs after a surgery to correct a torn ligament in her knee..she didnt look right one night and the vet would only see us by appointment at 2pm!!!! even after we called and said something was wrong!!!! never made it.. Hate that vet!!!!
They think it was from the anethisia?? twisted stomach?
I rambling now...want I want to say is know we have 2 new terrors.
rescue labs and we looked into pet insurance (VIP pet insurance)
Best idea ever!!!
1rst year we had new dogs it covered-shots-fixing both-any medications...I think we paid into it $300 for both for the year and
got back $350 once all receipts were turned in-I MADE MONEY.
I highly recommend pet insurance to anyone..
I hate the feeling of deciding if I can afford to care for my buddys when it really counts.

CarlC

04-11-2008, 06:42 PM

Steve,

Sorry to hear about this. It is not something that is easy to deal with.

I had a dog given to me as a young teenager. Bandit was a great dog, accompanied me everywhere, and was a great companion. Unfortunately, his health started failing quickly in his later years as a result of a youthful experience with a box of snail poison.

Though it was very hard to do I chose to have him put down before his health was to the point that it would have made him miserable all the time. As the years go on I'm sure that it was the best for him, and still miss him a bunch.

Dogs don't complain a lot, so it's our responsibility to treat them and make hard decisions with the same respect and hope that we would like for ourselves.

Daisy looks like a great addition to the pack!

class67

04-11-2008, 08:02 PM

I'm speechless, except to say I'm sorry to hear. I think we all can relate in some way, hang in there!!

trapin

04-12-2008, 08:39 AM

Sorry to hear about that Steve, that sucks. I think the new dog will help ease the transition.

Gosh, I envy you guys that have all these cool dogs. I never got to have one when I was a kid. My Mom had two poodles that never did anything and after they died my brother and I begged for a dog of our own for a few years. Then one day my Mom tells us she's finally going to let us have our dog and that we were going to pick it up. We asked what it was and she says, "It's a Lhasa Apso" We stood there in stunned silence for a moment before asking what the hell THAT was. You wanna know what it was? It was little furry white nightmare that hated my brother and I with a severe passion. I can't count how many times that dog bit us or chased us out of the room and of course my Mom would always take the dogs side. My Dad almost killed the thing several times by booting it across the room after it attacked him. Horrible little dog. And still to this day I have not gone out and got a dog of my own.

LMDGUY

04-12-2008, 01:04 PM

Sorry to hear that Steve.. My pug is about 10 years old now. I his sight is starting to go which sucks cause he started running into the patio door and furniture. We have also added a puppy which has helped him alot.

andrewb70

04-12-2008, 01:17 PM

MonzaRacer

04-12-2008, 06:01 PM

Steve1968LS2

04-14-2008, 06:34 AM

Stephen,

You and your wife are good people for taking such good care of your dog and treating her as family. I feel the same way about my dog, Toby, and I don't know what I would do without him. He is a great companion. I see too many back yards in my town that have a fenced in kennel with a couple of dogs living in there like they were some sort of zoo animals. Ugh...Don't get me started. Keep up the great job with Athena and give her the best life she can have. (which I know you will)

Andrew

P.S. This is Toby

Cute pooch!

Yea, we had some neighbors like that.. just kept the dogs locked in a crappy dirt and weed backyard. They didn't even have a dog house. We reported thier white-trash asses to the city.

Our dogs are family and our responsibility. A dog is more loyal than any human being, they don't have agendas or hidden motives. Like the saying goes "Lord, help me be as good a person as my dog thinks I am" :)

Here's how we spent the weekend, just laying and goofing off in the backyard.

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Steve1968LS2

04-14-2008, 06:36 AM

I know how it hurts to loose a friend(animal) my first dog Bogie when I was very young got hit by car, my other dog Kokomo died about 10 or so yrs agao, my Cockatiel Isis just passed away at the ripe old age of 21 the first tuesday of March.
Hope you have many more years of fun together .

We have two Cockatiels as well. One is Cousteau, which my wife had when we met, the other is named Larry. Larry was found by a student at Jennifer's school and was about to get eaten by crows before being saved. We've since "adopted" him. They both know quite a few songs.

curly

04-14-2008, 09:14 AM

Hope all goes well (as well as it can), keep her comfortable and make every day the best it can be.

Reading this kind of story is hard... I had to put down my first chocolate lab "Nuno" due to kidney failure. He was 11 years old and it broke my heart to tell the vet to put him down (hell, it still bothers me to even think about it). We now have another lab "Zakk" and he is the meaning of the word SPOILED! He stays inside and even sleeps with us some (the wife's idea). Yes, I have named both of my labs after guitarists. Here's Zakk....

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