Prayers for my puppy-update--just found out she may have a brain tumor

[Lady Amy of York]

okay..this  is  going to sound  silly, but this  dog  is  more  then just a dog  to  me.    Anyway   my seven year old  female  yellow lab has been limping  for  weeks now.  she is just getting worse. can barely walk or  lay down.
So hubby took her to the  vet.

.  Husband  and dog just came back from the vet.  The dog has a messed up knee and  torn ligament which is  going to require surgery.Plus her other leg has arthritis  in  it. ( if she does not have surgery  the vet said  she will only get worse  and probably would  have to be  put down ).

unfortunately since  she is considered a large dog  , that means  they do not do the surgery at  the  vet clinic.   they would  send her to cornell university.

so do you hear  big...big  expense......ugh.....


but of all my dogs  i  have  ever had  i am the  closest  to her. i raised her from a pup.     rescued her. she  had bben abandon and  tied  up , left to starve.

she has  sen me thru my misscarrage, my difficult pregnancy,  been a babysitter  to my son, seen me  thru the last three years of my health issues...she has been a loyal friend....i can't let her suffer.... 
    so  it is  pay  for  surgery  or  put her down.....i don't even want to think of  the second   choice.........
   it never rains  it pours.   Here i am  recovering from my surgery, and  just receiving the bills  for  it,  and  now  this.I tell  you life is not easy  !
           So this  may sound  silly, but please keep her in  your prayers.  She is  a good dog, and i hate seeing her suffer !

[Tipsy Gypsy]

I so understand! I have a 12+ year old lab mix who's my heart and soul. We've known he has arthritis since he was about 3-4 years old, but he does pretty well most of the time with glucosamine/chondroitin supplements from Sam's Club, and a dose of Carprofen (generic Rimadyl, a canine NSAID) when he's having a bad day.

Talk to the folks at Cornell about payment options. Texas A&M's vet school actually wrote off part of a huge veterinary bill for us once as part of some charitable donation/community service-type program. It's worth a try.

What's your sweetie's name? Healing prayers will be sent for her, and prayers for faith and strength for you. Hang in there, k?

[Lady Amy of York]

I so understand! I have a 12+ year old lab mix who's my heart and soul. We've known he has arthritis since he was about 3-4 years old, but he does pretty well most of the time with glucosamine/chondroitin supplements from Sam's Club, and a dose of Carprofen (generic Rimadyl, a canine NSAID) when he's having a bad day.

Talk to the folks at Cornell about payment options. Texas A&M's vet school actually wrote off part of a huge veterinary bill for us once as part of some charitable donation/community service-type program. It's worth a try.

What's your sweetie's name? Healing prayers will be sent for her, and prayers for faith and strength for you. Hang in there, k?

Her name is Bonnie.   The vet sent her home  on  Pevrocox ( spelling? ).    My other dog  Hogan (  a golden  Retriever ) who is 12  is on it and it works  for him.   I was told by 6 different vets  that Hogan had the  worst hips  they had  ever seen   (  he was another dog  i rescued  when  he  was 2...previous  owner beat him ),
  but you should see hogan  try to run and play in his play yard sometimes.   
     So  praying  for  a similar  miracle  for  Bonnie !

  I have been researching knee surgery on the internet, and trying to find out as much as poosible on it.

  Yea, i wonder if cornell has payment options.   

Well, our vet  is suppose to call us on friday and  then we shall go from there.

   I'm in a better mood  then i was earlier. Just hit  me  kind  of hard.   I  love  all my pets.  They are not pets  to me, they are part of  the family,  my children.

  As i said  before i have  9  children :    my husband,  my  son,  2  horses, 2 dogs, and  3  cats  !   

  Thanks  for  the well wishes  and  hugs !

[Lady Amy of York]

Call me crazy, but i have had this notion in the back of my head...

  I  got Bonnie  when i lived In California.   The house I lived in there was a fixer upper  that my husband and I  brought.
   I have often wondered  if    there was something we were exposed to in the house.
    I  suffer from neurological symptoms  and  some arthritis...

        Bonnie   had surgery back in December because   the muscles in her face were being attacked by some  nerve disorder,  and they actually had to sew part of her eye open, cause it would not close right,
     and now  she has  these problems  with  her legs....
                 just makes me wonder..you hear all the time  about toxic  mold   and stuff.
         Anyway  i appreciate the prayers  and well wishes  for   my dear faithful companion.

[gem]

My babies just turned seven.  It's way too young to think about losing them to degenerative disease!

For the arthritis, speak to your vet about Adequan injections.  They've worked miracles for our Nelly, who has severe arthritis in her hip due to a shattered pelvis when she was a puppy (before we had her).  It works kind of like glucosamine to help cushion and lubricate the joints.  She only needs one shot every three months.  Adequan has allowed us to give Nelly Rimadyl only twice a week instead of daily.

(And trust me, no matter what the vets tell us, we've wondered about the house, too.  Three of us have wound up with thyroid disease, which seems more than statistically likely.)

[LadyOren]

Candles lit and prayers on their way.  Hugs to you and yours.

[Annastina]

My poochie-pie, Tanda, will be 11 in August.  She's a Bouvier des Flandres and 15 is about the max age we can expect.  When life and the universe get a little too hectic and crazy, I can always trust Tanda to be there, constant and true.

Cornell does good work - trust them and your heart.  Between you all, you'll know what to do.  Saying prayers and sending warm, fuzzy, healing thoughts to you and Bonnie.

[Lady_Lily]

I totally know how you feel. My baby...Jessee...is just that.

I don't know how many times we've saved her from something...but she's been worth the expense no matter what. Bonnie is in my prayers.

I don't know if it works or if it's worth it or what not, but they have pet insurance now...maybe that is worth researching.

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

Prayers are heading upwards for your dog.  Having rescued dogs throughout our married lives, I know how you feel about them.  Currently we have four, and the joy they bring us is worth every penny we spend.  And it costs a fortune.

When people say "How can you afford the costs like vet bills, shots, food ?"(and we give them organic, it costs a lot, but their health has improved dramatically), we answer that we don't go to movies, don't buy videos, don't go on fancy vacations, aren't shop-a-holics. 

We choose to spend our income on our animals, giving them better lives than when they were abused (and of course, going to faires!).  They are not just animals, they are part of our family.

Our youngest golden retriever, Malibu, age 5, the most abused of any of the dogs we've rescued, has a congenital heart defect.  Before being spayed at 1 year, she had to go to the University Clinic in Madison for extensive testing to see if she would survive the surgery.  She did, but you can imagine the cost of that, besides the spay bill, because they had to do extra procedures because of her condition.  They were nice enough to accept payments, though.  She has just started on 2 kinds of medication because her heart has gotten worse, but she isn't in pain, thank goodness, just gets short of breath after running around a lot.

So, Amy, your request isn't silly to the animal lovers among us.  And I will pray for a good outcome.

[Tami MacLeod]

i have 2 yellow labs...

i look at it this way. The dogs are like our kids. and we would have the surgery if it was our child, well to some, dogs are our kids too.
With all the loyalty they give us, and the forgiving they give us, i think we owe it to them to take care of them in their time of need.
If the out come will make their life better.
I would do anything for my dogs, no matter cost.. Most vets will let you put some cash down and make payments as well too.
But money is no object when it comes to my babies.
I hope all goes well, no matter what path you take.
I will put her name up on the doggie prayer forum. Others will light candles for her too.

There are many things that can happen to labs.
I'm thankful i take mine to get their pen cert. but that doesnt say 100% they wont get something.. I wont sell any puppies unless they are hip and elbow checked and Pen Certified. I see to much of this in labs, young and old.
My Baileys hunting drake, call name hunter, and Risky's Magnum girl, call name maggs, will be breeding in 2 years, if your intrested in one then, let me know and you can have one of their litter. I do not breed alot, i only breed my girls once and they get fixed, so it will be her only litter.

Just a thought, and a offer to a friend, thats all.
just let me know if you want to see pedigree
i wish i could do more to help you.
hope all goes well
Tami McLeod
aka moira mcleod

[Hoowil]

Furkids are kids too. They deserve all we can possibly do for them. They make our lives happier, and more fulfilling, and all they ask is that we care.

One of our dogs was a freebie, picked up from a box in front of the local pound. Since then, she's been into the vet more times than I can count.  About 3 years ago she stopped eating, and this dog normally has enough of an appetite that she will eat anything, and I do mean anything. It wasn't that she was acting not hungery, but whenever she tried to open her mouth, she would wimper and cry. We took her to our vet, and they ran some test, but could not find anyhitng. They reffered us to the local vetinary research and student training center (UC Davis), for further tests. It all came down to one final blood test before needing multiple series of x-rays and CT scans of her head, to a tune of about 3 grand. Thankfully the blood test picked it up, but we were fully prepared to pay.
The poor dear has an imune disorder that misidentifies a protien that for some reason only appears in the facial muscles of dogs as an infection. So her immune system attacks her face. She'll be on medication every day for the rest of her life, and has to go into the vet for check-ups every 6 months.

She's worth it. I'm sure your girl is too. Warm thoughts of peace and well being to you and you pup.

[Lady Amy of York]

Thanks  everyone  for the well wishes.  I  and Bonnie  both appreciate  it.    The pain meds the vet has Bonnie  seem to have help  with the pain, but  of course they only mask the symptoms.   Poor little  girl, she forgot  that her leg was bothering her last night,  and  tried  to  run to the door when she heard my husband  come home, and  she  did a complete belly flop.
     My husband  talked to our  vet, and  she  is suppsoe to mailing us   some info  on different treatment options.
           My husband  and I love our pets dearly. They are our children.   Believe  me ,   we have  no attention of putting Bonnie  down.  I  also  do not  want her to suffer,   so  it may  mean putting more on the credit card then we would prefer, and having abit of  a credit card debt,  and   doing without      frivilious  stuff   like  new  ren garb  (   hey wait a minute.....  no  Bonnie is worth giving up  new garb  for !   but we will do anything we have  to do to make her comfortable  !

[Lady Amy of York]

Prayers are heading upwards for your dog.  Having rescued dogs throughout our married lives, I know how you feel about them.  Currently we have four, and the joy they bring us is worth every penny we spend.  And it costs a fortune.

When people say "How can you afford the costs like vet bills, shots, food ?"(and we give them organic, it costs a lot, but their health has improved dramatically), we answer that we don't go to movies, don't buy videos, don't go on fancy vacations, aren't shop-a-holics. 

We choose to spend our income on our animals, giving them better lives than when they were abused (and of course, going to faires!).  They are not just animals, they are part of our family.

Our youngest golden retriever, Malibu, age 5, the most abused of any of the dogs we've rescued, has a congenital heart defect.  Before being spayed at 1 year, she had to go to the University Clinic in Madison for extensive testing to see if she would survive the surgery.  She did, but you can imagine the cost of that, besides the spay bill, because they had to do extra procedures because of her condition.  They were nice enough to accept payments, though.  She has just started on 2 kinds of medication because her heart has gotten worse, but she isn't in pain, thank goodness, just gets short of breath after running around a lot.

So, Amy, your request isn't silly to the animal lovers among us.  And I will pray for a good outcome.

I think  rescued animals  make   some  of the  best  pets  !    If i had alot of money,  i  would buy  more  acres,  and  abigger house  and  have more  rescued  dogs  and  rescued  horses  ! 

[Lady Amy of York]

i have 2 yellow labs...

i look at it this way. The dogs are like our kids. and we would have the surgery if it was our child, well to some, dogs are our kids too.
With all the loyalty they give us, and the forgiving they give us, i think we owe it to them to take care of them in their time of need.
If the out come will make their life better.
I would do anything for my dogs, no matter cost.. Most vets will let you put some cash down and make payments as well too.
But money is no object when it comes to my babies.
I hope all goes well, no matter what path you take.
I will put her name up on the doggie prayer forum. Others will light candles for her too.

There are many things that can happen to labs.
I'm thankful i take mine to get their pen cert. but that doesnt say 100% they wont get something.. I wont sell any puppies unless they are hip and elbow checked and Pen Certified. I see to much of this in labs, young and old.
My Baileys hunting drake, call name hunter, and Risky's Magnum girl, call name maggs, will be breeding in 2 years, if your intrested in one then, let me know and you can have one of their litter. I do not breed alot, i only breed my girls once and they get fixed, so it will be her only litter.

Just a thought, and a offer to a friend, thats all.
just let me know if you want to see pedigree
i wish i could do more to help you.
hope all goes well
Tami McLeod
aka moira mcleod

I love  lab's.   Had lab's  most of my life.    I  would have a second  lab right now  except that my husband  says  7 pets  are enough.   I have 2 horses, 2 dogs, 3  cats.   But if anything should happen to either dog (   and  I  pray  not !    )  i will defffinitely    consider taking  you up  on your  offer !

[Hoowil]

Thanks  everyone  for the well wishes.  I  and Bonnie  both appreciate  it.    The pain meds the vet has Bonnie  seem to have help  with the pain, but  of course they only mask the symptoms.   Poor little  girl, she forgot  that her leg was bothering her last night,  and  tried  to  run to the door when she heard my husband  come home, and  she  did a complete belly flop.

The dog I grew up with technically belonged to a friend of my dad's who had been off continent in the service for over 10 years. When he came back, he asked for his dog back (my dad, to everyone's horror, agreed). About a year later we were told he would have to be put down as arthritis had crippled him to the point where he would not get up to eat, drink, or go the the bathroom.
We went for one last visit the day befoe he was supposed to go into the vet. When this old dog saw my brother and I he got up, stumbled back and forth across the yard for a moment, and came over to us carrying a stick. We could hear every joint in his body creak and grind with every movement he made, but he still wanted to play with us.

Wonderful animals will go through things we would not consider, in order to do what they know makes their people happy. She may not have forgotten.