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 !
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?
Quote from: Tipsy Gypsy on May 14, 2008, 06:22:35 PM
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 !
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. :)
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.)
Candles lit and prayers on their way. Hugs to you and yours.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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 !
Quote from: Lady Renee Buchanan on May 17, 2008, 08:09:13 AM
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 !
Quote from: Moiramcleod on May 17, 2008, 01:01:11 PM
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 !
Quote from: lady amy of york on May 17, 2008, 06:21:16 PM
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.
Nothing you said sounds silly at all Amy. Makes perfect sense to me. I know exactly how you feel.
Our dog is a rescue dog. We have had her for going on 7 years now. She is like my best friend. There is no cost I would spare for her. She's family plain and simple.
I do not think It is silly I myself have asked for help with my dog and found that my prayers have been anwsered. I don`t think that anything that moves our heart to pray is small thing or silly. For the things that move our hearts I think are imporant to God as well. I believe that all our prayes are heard.
My husband talked to the vet today. We have to options. One is for Bonnie to have ssurgery done her locally at the vets. This would involve putiing some stitches in around the torn ligaments to help keep them in place. This is the less invasive procedure , ( still costly though ) , but the vet said that their is no gaurantee that the ligamens would not tear more.
Then there is the the other option, which is to send her to cornell. The vet sais this would eb a more invasive and more risky surgery, with possible complications. They would go in and try to repair the torn ligaments along with tyring to repair her damage knee. There was also mention of scraping away the bone and bone tissue.
This procedure as i already sais is more invasive and costs more, but has more of a sucess rate, although the vet did warn there can be complications.
The vet is suppsoe to be sending us lierature in the mail to read over.
So now i am undecided what to do, i want the best for Bonnie, but I don't know if i want to put her through an invasive, risky surgery unless absolutely necessary and just what complications could there be. I will have to read through all the literature.
So far she is hanging in there...the pain meds make her pretty sleepy.
Thanks for the well wishes and support ! :)
Oh, Amy I'm so sorry to hear about your puppy. I wish you all the best, whatever you decide to do! :)
I'll keep praying for you and your puppy!
Lady Amy I refer to my 4 dogs as "My Boys" or "My Furkids" and believe me I would have a heck of a lot more garb were it not for them however they are totally worth it. THEY on the other hand have a great leash collection!
I am quite certain you will make the best decision for your entire family, know we pray for the best for your furkid!
Lady M
Hi AMy.. I feel your pain. I have been down this road many many times.
I have mixed feelings about all the procedures they do now on animals. I had my beloved collie's let amputated in an effort to save her from cancer. well, after suffering for a few months after the surgery and learning to adjust to 3 legs, the cancer had spread and we had to put her down. I still feel guilty over that. I would never do that again. Last year, I had my other old collie put through xrays, only to have him take a turn for the exreme worse right in the vets office! we had to put him down that day! more guilt. all i am saying is that i have gone through extreme measures for my animals but i think a lot of it was for selfish reasons b/c i was not ready to let go. Your dog is still young and can have a few more years so some action should be taken. IMHO I think the invasive surgery sound a bit much for you and the Bonnie. Maybe the other way would be better.
either way, my prayers are with you! and your precious pooch! LF
An update :
We have decided on the less invasive surgery for Bonnie. She will have a procedure where they put stutures ( spelling ) in to help support the torn ligaments. Our main vet who we like very much told us this is what she would do if Bonnie were her dog. She said the other procedure was very invasive and very risky.
So Bonnie will be having the procedure done here locally instead of going to Cornell. She is scheduled for June 9.
I'm sorry to hear your fur baby has not been doing well - please keep us posted. In the meantime - hugs & healing thoughts to you & your baby.
Furbabies are family too!
*lighting a candle, and saying a prayer*
I hope that the surgery will work well for your dog so she can get back to her normal self soon.
Bonnie goes in tommorrow for her surgery ! Praying everything goes okay. I'm a nervous wreck, cause she is my baby girl, but it has to be done. She is in so much discomfort. She sits around and whines in discomfort, and her breathing is very fast and labored. Poor baby. So please pray that her surgery goes okay, and that it helps her ! Thankyou ! :)
Lady Amy and Bonnie....prayers going up.
Our four legged children are so important.
Blessings for your love and care of her.
Lady Amy.......many thoughts and prayers go with you tomorrow. I do hope the surgery is a success!
irish
Bonnie's surgery went well. She had torn the meniscus ( spelling ) in her knnee and ligaments around it. They said they repaired both. She is doing well. she is at the vets hospital overnight. They called and said she is trying to get up and play so that is good news. Thanks for all the prayers! ;D ;D :) :) :)
At church, during the prayers of the people, I entered Bonnie's name. So our entire church prayed for her, too. Glad she's doing so well after the surgery.
Woo hoo! Now comes the challenge of keeping her confined and quiet until she heals. :)
Wishing her well very soon!
I need a update here...
Hows everything going???
Hows our little girl?
She is now all of ours little girl lol
tami
I have been meaning to post and update...not enough hours in the day lately ! :)
The first week after the surgery she just layed around. We literally had to carry her in and out, which was lots of fun. The next week she started limping a round on three weeks, but refused to go outside to go to the bathroom. Unfortunately all the Exits out of my house involved going down stairs or steps. ( the one thing i would have change if i had built the house :) ). we had to bribe her to get her to go out. Then she started going down the steps, but would stumble comming up them. Down she can of hobbles on three legs and drags the one she had the surgery on. She got her stitches out last week,a nd the vet said she should start using the bad leg, and that she will check her again in a couple weeks.
I think it must be healing and itching her. she licks at it like crazy.
My husband says she looks like one of the Teletubbies from the children's tv shows, because she has no fur at all on her sides or her belly. she looks like some one scalped her. But overall she seems to be doing better then before the surgery. Atleast she does not have the heavy labored breathing that she had prior to the surgery. Would scare both me and my husband at night. We were not sure whether she was going to make it some nights. But she is a strong little girl ! :) Not to mention smart too. Me thinks she may be milky this injury abit , cause she will be limping around, but as soon as you go for any food, she comes running. :)
so gald to hear she is doing better. yup, sounds like she could be milking it a bit.
whenever I go near the fridge..my ancient collie all of a sudden comes out looking like a 2 yr. old! very funny.
Excellent to hear of her recovery!! Best wishes to you and Bonnie!
Here is a picture of Bonnie. She has put on a bit of weight, since she is not very mobil yet.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t142/nobleclan_album/familypictures130.jpg
:-*
Awww.. givin' her kisses!
She's SO adorable!
Hey, she's our ren-dog! ;D
yea, she really is a cute dog and she has the sweetest personality of any dog i have ever owned or met !
Ow ... hugs from me and Mr. Cooper. Mr. Cooper sends her doggie kisses and thinks she looks really good.
UPDATE NOV 26 2008.
the last couple days we noticed Bonnie falling down the stairs. Acting like she was drunk. He fur still has not grown back in from her surgery earlier this year. Her face is sunken in abit on one side. We took her to the vet, and the vet think she may have a brain tumor. The only way to know for sure is to have an MRI done on her. But i guess all her symptoms fit that of atumor.
i am numb inside right now. She was doing so well, except for the fact that hair was not growing back in. This is suppose to be the festive holiday season, but i don't feel very festive right now. I feel like i have ben slapped in the face. after all i went thru with my own illness, etc... here evrything was finally looking good and back to normal for a change, and now this.
She is such a good dog. she is still young. she does not deserve this. She is the sweetest, good natured loving dog. I know some people have it much worse right now, but please pray fro Bonnie. My liitle boy is so attached to her. I don't want her to die and ruin his Christmas. I don't want her to die period, i should say.
Life can be so unfair at times !
Thankyou in advance. peace and love to you all.
I have gone through this and during holidays too.
Your puppy, and family will be in my thoughts and prayers.
Ferret
Sending good thoughts your way!
And ((hugs)) for you all!
A candle is lit, and white magic meditations are sent Bonnie's way. I lost my Frodo years ago, and understand...
Goodness, you poor dear! My heart goes out to you and your dog. Try to give her as much love and comfort as you can during this difficult time.
thankyou so much. The ppor thing. We got almost a foot of snow outside today, and she is having a very hard time walking thru it to do her bathroom business. The other dogs manage, so i know it has to do with her being ill. My heart breaks for her. I am trying to make her as comfortable as possible. I am praying for a miracle, but at the same time i don't want her to suffer. I pray that i don't end up having to put her to sleep.
I'm trying to think postive and make it a happy holiday season for my family, but it won't be easy. We were planning to go to my parents for Christmas. First time I have gone back home for christmas in 9 years. I was looking forward to it, but i don't want to go back and have something happen to Bonnie while i am away. I want to be here for her, if her time should come. Praying right now for a Christmas miracle !
Amy!!!
It's never easy to put a pet down, even if that pet is part of the family. But, it may in the end be the best for it, to ease their suffering.
My heart goes out to you because I love cats and had to put them down when the time came.
The vet put Bonnie on Predizone, and she is doing alot better. she is able to walk around by herself again. so keeping fingers crossed !
It is funny how she and i both experienced seizure like symptoms. Makes me wonder if somewhere over the years we came in contact with something .