HELP!!! Canine Related HELP!!!

[Ex-MA Hole]

I need help, y'all.

Please.

One of my dogs, which is really my first child (she's even hairy like me!), is sick.  Not the "has a hang-nail" sick, but rather "Kidney's are shutting down, will probably need to euthanise a 5 year old dog" sick.

Yes, I said she was sick.

Started out with a bum leg out of the clear blue.  Figured that my other dog (She's hairy like me, too- go figure) stepped on her funny and sprained/ tore something.  Brought to vet, said, yup, she sprained/ tore something.  Let's give an anti-imflaminent, and send her on her way.  Before we do this, let's do blood work to make sure said drug doesn't mess up anything.  Good thing.  Kidney function was off.  Put her on three anti-biotics, did more tests, determined that she had Protein in her urine.  Also tested + for lyme disease.  Two days later, she went down to one working leg.  Brought her right to the vet.  The put her on Prednisone.  Worked wonders.  Phew, out of the woods, probably.

Four days later, followup.  Kindey levels off further.  NOW being told that she probably won't make it.  Be prepared for a quick decline.

Made and appointment for Wednesday with the Kidney Specialist.

Anyone either a vet that can offer input, or had something similar and has suggestions/ other ideas?  I gave the VERY abbreviated version- if you want specifics, just ask.

She is one of my kids, but I also understand that life can be cruel (yeah, in the last 13 months lost a cat to cancer, an Uncle to a car accident (53 years old and 4 kids) and Grandfarther (Old age, heart failure, etc.))- if there is no hope, please be honest.

Thanks,

Mark

[TarpleyG]

I know how you feel.  One of my dogs had heartworms last year and me and my wife freaked out.  You dog's problem is more serious.  I know it sounds cruel but if you cannot find a quick, real solution, you should put him down.  No sense for him to suffer like that.  Sorry I cannot add more, maybe someone can come along with a better solution but vets are the pros and usually know best.  Good luck to you and the dog.  Hope he pulls out.

Greg

[Stand_watie]

I will tell you what. I think the only one who knows whether there is hope or not is the veternarian. I wish I could send you to mine, who is gruff, but competent and will tell you straight out whether or not your dog is likely to live and what the cost of treatment will be for what % of chance that the animal will live. Farm vets are like that.

That said, see my post on the dog thread below about my dear 9 year old shepherd mix. He is limping in the mornings now from arthritis. I know that I'm going to grieve pretty good when he goes, and it won't be too long. I'll pray for you.

Do dogs go to heaven my friend? My daughter wants to know. "Isn't everyone in heaven happy? They must have dogs."

[BryanP]

ex-ma hole,

I'm sorry to hear about your dog.  All I can say is that you have to be honest with yourself about when you're only keeping her alive for you.   If she's suffering and she's not going to get any better, treat her to a steak dinner (or whatever her favorite treats are) with a tranquilizer inside and then have her put down.   I had to do that to a dog of mine.  Satch was my buddy.  He was 80 pounds of black fur and muscle and a big slobbering tongue and I loved him more than anything with 4 legs and more than most things with 2.  


Hey Standie_wati,

Your farm vet may or may not know this, but vets are now prescribing aspirin to both cats and dogs for arthritis.  We had a cat who was on 1/2 of a baby aspirin 3 times a week and it helped him quite a bit.  I'd check with a vet who is familiar with this and can tell you the proper dosage for a given animal size.

[Moondoggie]

ex-ma-hole;

Ditto what BryanP said.....we had to put our beloved Lhasa Apso to sleep 3 weeks ago; rapid onset diabetes which caused her to go blind and kidneys to shut down.  I also cared for this dog more than any other critter (and there have been lots of them) and way more than only a very few people.  She (and her mate who we still have) had travelled more than 500,000 miles with us in our 18 wheeler.  She had been to all 48 states.  I'm still grieving over her, and can't wait to see her again when I get to whatever the afterlife is.

When we were going through the vet process (about a week) before we learned that she was in kidney failure my best friend said something that made everything clear.  He said "She's depending on you to do the right thing."

She got a great meal and 2 hours of unlimited "face lickies" before we took her to the vet that last day.  The procedure was quick, painless, and stress-free for her...she just thought they were drawing more blood for tests.  I'm tearing-up as I type this.

On the subject of arthritis, we're pretty sure the other dog who is 9 has it.  Not so willing to jump up on stuff, and would groan a little when we'd pick him up.  We started sprinkling a little MSM on his food and the symptoms disappeared in less than 48 hours.  He's obviously feeling better...way more bouncy and perky.  We're into supplements big time for ourselves, so we had MSM on hand.

I'm very sorry to hear about you dog.  Just make sure that you focus on what's really best for him.  I know how hard it is.

[grislyatoms]

I was in your shoes 10 years ago.

Zack was my best buddy.

Vet found signs of kidney failure when I took him to see about "the flea pill" medication.

The vet gave him six months.

Every night I had to give him saline under his skin to keep him hydrated. He never batted an eye, except once, when I stuck the needle a little too deep. I had just undergone radical back surgery, so we were both laid up and taking care of each other.

He slowly became more and more lethargic and began vomiting occasionally. The next to last night he was with me, he passed out and fell off the bed. The next day at the vet, I was told it was time to put him down.

I asked the vet if he could come home for one more night.

The vet seemed to think he wasn't suffering or in pain, so he agreed.

That night Zack got fried calf's liver (his favorite) and turkey breast for dinner, and we went for a short walk around the block.

The next day my Mother gave me a valium and drove us to the vet. Zack had had it. You could see it in his eyes.

We got him on the table and he wagged his tail when the vet came in. The vet shaved a little patch of fur off of his paw and inserted the needle. He asked if I would like to hug him goodbye and I did. I thanked him for being the coolest dog ever and apologized for the times I ignored him. I told the vet to do it.

He was gone in a split second. As soon as the vet pushed the plunger on the needle, Zack slumped against me. I held him and cried rivers.

My Mom got an old blanket out of the car and we took him home and buried him. We planted a pine tree over his body, so in a way he still lives on.

R.I.P. buddy.

[Ex-MA Hole]

Just to update-

The level of (apparent) discomfort was cut/ ceased by Aspirin and Prednisone (currently off of the latter).  She was her usualy abnoxious self.  To be honest, denial was setting in- she was so "normal", how could she be sick?

She had a 3 Kidney Biopsies on Thursday.  Prelimenary results look good.  It APPEARS that we caught it early enough, and the Kidneys seem to look good.  We will not know anything definate until next week when the Biopsy results are in.

She will be on a special diet (Low protein) forever, as well as some meds for a duration.

WHEATON TERRIERS are prone to this (as well as stomach disease and High Blood Pressure).  The Lyme disease is what (they think) set it off.

She is a little punky this morning, but was in REAL good spirits yesterday.  She was even begging again at the table.  I NEVER thought that I would miss this as much as I did.

Keep your fingers crossed...