My Ellie died, should I trust my Vet'?
this is the 1. time I'm on this board, I just found this site a week ago! the unfortunalety is, that my Old English Sheepdog died 2 weeks ago at the Vets at 11 years old. I cant sleep anymore cause I need to ask your opinion and want to share this story with you before I can move on! I rescued Ellie 7 years ago and I loved her to bits. She always was wild, loved her walks, pinched the food and had a loads of fun! I have read something on the net that dogs do more die on the medication they get as on the actually illness! Now I started having thoughts if anything like this was happening to Ellie! Ellie did got sick a couple of weeks before which I'm not sure does this count towards her illness? She spit out only some pieces of carrots everything else stayed in her stomach. She done it on a friday where I went to the vet and got her medication and she was fine. Wednesday afterwards it happenend the same again. Again she was fine days later! 1 1/2 weeks later she started not feeling going for a walk and just layed on floor and didnt wanted to eat! The vet came and had a look, gave her some medication. On friday she still didnt got better and she stayed at the vets over night and they released her sat lunchtime!We were told to pick Ellie up. Cause I was still at work, a friend picked her up from vets. He said she was not in a state to be released, he thinks the vet wanted to "get rid" off her cause it's getting weekend and they close at 2pm! I then gone in the afternoon to another vet (cause Ellie was in such a bad state!) who said that Ellie's spine at her back popped out (for strange reasons when Ellie came out at MY vet, she could hardly walk and bend her back! When I saw her she was even shaken and wimmering of pain and couldnt lifted her head up or even straight to look into my face! - Ellie DIDNT had anything ever on her back nor when I brought her to my vet on friday when they kept her!) The other Vet said things like that can happen every minute anytime (the back!) He gave me tablets and said she will be fine, it takes 6 weeks and she's back to normal! She looked ok on the rest of sat and sunday, it tooked her a while to sit down and stand up but she did it without any screaming! But she was breathing heavily all 2 nights (I slept next to her!) and never really rested or fell asleep properly! On Monday I was told to call back at my vets which I didnt know shall I do it or not!? They told me that I "had" to come back cause they need to see Ellie cause her bloodtest from last week was not ok at all and the vet needs to have another test. There might be something wrong with her liver! The moment I went in the surgery at my vets Ellie started wimmering again, shaking and could hardly stand up her feed! I didnt realized this until now! She wasnt like this at home! Now ofcourse I wonder if all the medicine they gave her on the first place wasnt good for Ellie and Ellie knew that and didnt wanted to go back, while I thought I do the best for her?! Again, they kept Ellie, saying that the other vet was totaly wrong. How could he say the spine popped out without having a xray?! They kept Ellie overnight to start tests early next day to see whats going on with her! They made a bloodtest which was still not ok, the scan was ok, but they still wanted to make a xray of her back to see whats really going on there. I was told Ellie got heavy Athritis on her back and her back legs! (How can you get heavy Athritis in a couple of days???? )I was shown the xray but ofcourse I'm not a vet! I was also told that they saw a tumor as big as 2 golfballs in her bowl with an abszess growing in the tumor! They operated Ellie and could remove it. I was very happy and looking towards a happy future! I visited Ellie next day and she was drinking water and was told she stood up by herself and they walked her twice outside. Tomorrow they would start giving her some food and would release her on the weekend. Then I would start coming every day to check on her and treat her Arthritis! Unfortunalety I got a call next day that she gone "downhill" and if I could come over to look at her! (She wouldnt want or could go for a walk or even stand up!) When I was there she saw me and tried to grab herself to stand up which she did with the help of me and the vet and she even did made it for a mini walk outside, just for me, but then she collapsed there! The vet told me there is nothing they can do anymore for Ellie, it seems the body cant fight the infection who growed in her tumor, even if they give her all the painkillers, drips etc. etc. I told them to wait another day to see if she would get better cause I dont give up straight away. I was called then in the morning that Ellie was dead already when they arrived at work at the vets! I'm so gutted cause I dont know if my vet gave Ellie "too much" medication, did the other vet was right that only the spine popped out and I should have stayed at home with Ellie waiting the next 6 weeks what would happen? I loved Ellie to bits and I dont know if I have done the right things? I just heard that the other vet doesnt like my vet cause they give to much medication!!?? Reading now all these things on the net aswell I wonder if I have done a wrong decision to give it to my vets hand or was it just the right time for Ellie to pass away? Why did she got so many illness at the same time? Can you get so quick heavy arthritis? I'm sorry that this post is so long, I just need to talk to other Old English Sheepdog owners and ask for opinion and advice or maybe something similar happend to someone else and you could give me some thoughts so I can move on cause at the moment I cant! I cry too much and wonder what would have happend if I would have done that or that?? Thank you soo much for your posts and shares of interests! Monika, Ellie's Mum 
PS: Couldnt get yet a pic of Ellie as an avator but made an album, hopefully its visible now! PPS: Shall I have another Old English now (Ellie was my 2nd Old English!) or shall I wait til I "recover" from the pain of loss??? |
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| I am sorry to hear of the loss of your sweet, Ellie, what did they diagnose originally and what medication was she prescribed.?
The back thing sounds very unusual, if she did not have the problem beforehand and then came out of the vets like that, I would wonder if they injured her in some way, maybe she fell off the examining table or something like that. Again so sad for your loss, always hard and always tragic when we loose a beloved friend. I would be asking questions too as how this all happened so suddenly. You will know when the time is right for another sheepie to share your life, no one else can tell that, just follow your gut feeling and give yourself time to grieve too. Thinking of you at this sad time and I hope you find the answers you are searching for. Speak to the vet that was treating her and make an appointment and sit down with them and discuss it face to face all that went on, maybe there might be some explanations there to help ease the pain. If not then seek out some other vet in the future, someone you are comfortable with. The memories will flow of the good times with ellie when the pain of such a tragic loss eases. Hugs to you and bless dear Ellie. . |
| Hi, thanks for you share of thoughts!
Originaly Ellie wasnt diagnosed at the beginning of anything! They didnt know what she got when they had her the 1. stay for one night! They only knew there was something wrong with her bloodtest and they thought there might be something with the liver. On her 1. sickness the vet (and me) thought she have eaten something wrong as Ellie always did! She got a lot of medication, I got 3 pages full! The 1. time when she didnt wanted to walk they gave her 2 inj of Synulux RTU and Metoclopramide, if it does mean anything to you. I just read it from the paper! But what concers me was when I read all the other things they gave her, like 6! Baytril Injections, on the operation day they gave her that 3x, that means to me 18 Injections!?? Or am I reading or understanding the Invoice not right? I'm not a vet and so Im not sure what it means! Thanks soo much for your thoughts! I did ask the vet, why Ellie died. They said "they dont know", it could be on the operation cause she mybe couldnt make it cause she is already older and it was too much for her, or it could have been the abzsess in her tumor spread the infection long before over her body and they couldnt get rid off the infection even if they had Ellie on a drip to flush through her body! Or it was because she got everything in one go and it was too much for her age!? They also said they cant comment why Ellie had so quick the backproblems cause they "dont know"!??! why she got it so quick! So, that's whay I started wonderin if you "dont know" these things at the vets! I will wait and see if and when I will have another Sheepie. I did got Ellie 1 week after my first one, Blue, died and it helped tremendoes! Lovely thoughts back to you! Thanx again! Monika  |
| I'm very sorry for your loss.
So was the tumor that they removed in her liver? Where was it exactly? I know I have heard from vets that when senior dogs face infections or things of that sort, some times they just can't recover because their bodies are not strong to fight it any longer. Seems to me that this is what ultimately took her and not the pain meds. Very strange on the spine issues though. And as far as getting a new pup to help you heal your heart, you have to be the one to decide when the time is right. Please don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Everyone is different in how they grieve. |
| I don't have any medical advice for you, but just wanted to say welcome to the forum.
I'm very sorry for your loss of Ellie. She was an absolutely beautiful girl and it's obvious from your pictures that she was very well loved and that she loved you very much too. 
I think you'll know when you're ready to welcome another sheepdog into your life. |
| Oh thank you all soo much! I just had a talk to the vet again to put my mind on a rest also about the injections. I was told 6x injections means 1 injections but the amount of 6 (i think it's in ml). Because she was heavy (40kg) she needed that amount, but it wasnt 6 injections which puts that to a rest. But the surgeon will give me a call next week to discuss evrything with me as they can understand that I have problems to wonder why Ellie died!
But many friends did say to me too that Ellie might have died cause the infection had gone to far and she couldnt fight it any more! The tumor was actually in her tummy and they also had to cut 6inch of her tummy off cause the tumor growed into it! It must be strange that an abzsess growed in her tumor aswell. Twice unlucky!
I think I know already that I need and want another Sheepdog cause my house is soo empty and I sit all day alone in the house and every step or place reminds me to Ellie! and I cant stop crying! It's lovely that you all share my grief with me and write me some advice and help and it brightens up my face much more! Thanks a lot!!!!! Sheepie's forever!!! |
| I am very sorry for your loss. Ellie was beautiful! |
| I'm sorry for your loss. It's always traumatic when you can't understand exactly "why" something happens. |
| I'm so sorry for your loss of the beautiful Ellie. She was an obviously well loved and happy girl. This forum is a wonderful resource, not only for information, but also for support and empathy....I'm glad you found us. |
| I'm so sorry for the loss of your sweet Ellie!
Mandi |
I'm sorry you found us in such a bad time in your life. I love your photos of Ellie - she was such a sweet girl. We all love out dogs too, so we know the pain you are feeling.  |
| Ellie was such a beautiful girl! I can only imagine your grief at her passing. I hope you get the answers you need. |
| I'm so sorry for the loss of your beautiful girl I hope you have found some comfort from us on the forum and glad you located us. Take some time to grieve. You will know when the time is right. |
| I'm sorry for your loss of Ellie |
I'm so sorry about your beautiful girl . It's so hard to know the best thing to do, especially when there are several vets involved with different opinions. I just lost my Daisy on Tuesday to a liver disease, she was diagnosed less than a month ago. If Ellie had a liver problem she likely had it for awhile before symptoms appeared. Another sheepie will come into your life when you are ready, and in the meantime Daisy and Ellie are watching over us from the bridge.
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| Thank you ALL sooo much for all your support and thoughts!
I did helped me tremendoes writing here on this forum and having all you lovely people posting me all this great and VERY helpfull messages!!!!!! 
It's great to be welcomed in such a lovely way, sharing all the same things (Old English Sheepdogs!!  ) and be able to talk about it!
I know there are many of you here too who lost a very good friend you had for life (like Daisy!!). I send my thoughts back to you!!! xxx |
| I think it's very important to have a vet that you can communicate with and have things explained to you so that you understand. It sounds like you are getting now some answers that are clarifying things for you.
Although, I prefer to use the least amount of medication possible, sometimes medicine is the best option and can't be avoided. The important thing is to have good communication with your vet so you can make the decision you feel is the best. It does sound like she did have quite a bit of health issues. The age of eleven is quite old for a sheepie and it is possible for them to go into decline very quickly when you least expect it. I had a sheepie whose sciatica nerve blew out which resulted in her back leg dangling. This occurred quite suddenly right in front of me and was horrific to say the least. Things like arthritis and hip displasia can build up gradually where they tolerate the pain and then something else can happen that will send things over the edge, quite suddenly. I am deeply sorry for your loss. |
| I, too, am so sorry to hear about your beautiful girl. It is so hard to lose a sheepie, no matter the circumstance. I think that you did the best you could, following the vet's advice. I would question the spine thing--something doesn't sound at all right about that. I also agree that you should sit down and talk at length with the vet. If you feel overwhelmed or uncertain of the medical terminology, you should try to take a trusted friend who is knowledgeable or at least, less overwhelmed by the loss. I do understand how overwhelming all of this can be. |
| Hi all,
just wanna apdate you with the news from a long conversation I had with the surgeon/vet who operated Ellie: He told me it was not a tumor with an abzsess growing inside as they first thought, it was actually a big abzsess in her bowl/tummy. He said it only could have happen when the dog have eaten something they shouldnt have eaten, maybe something sharp or so what cut the bowl inside and created the abzsess. And that's also the reason why she died at the end despite the operation! He said it's not my fault, I have done everything right and they have done everything they could. It's just one of those things when dogs (especially the Old English!, Ellie have eaten everything she could get in her mouth!) eat everything incl. sharp items, bones etc. I will remember always Ellie, she gave us such happy times and we desperatly miss her! And we thought for our next Sheepie we want to make a bin in the house she/he cant reach, even if Ellie hasnt taken anything out of the bin and it was from outside! Still a good thing to do for the next time! Thank you for all your support! Monika |
| Monika, I am so very sorry for the loss of your beloved Ellie I looked at your pics, she was beautiful Time will heal your hurt,and you will be able to remember Ellie with lots of smiles and laughter. You heart will tell you when its time for another Sheepie. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. |
| Ellie was indeed a beatutiful girl............so nicely brushed out. What an elegant lady. I'm sure she brought you many years of joy and love.
As for when it's time for another, you'll know. You won't be slighting Ellie, in fact getting another of the same breed is a tribute. Ellie was so wonderful you can't imagine another. Each dog is different, there can only be one Ellie, but the newbie will have traits of his/her own to love. I have waited anywhere from 3 years to 3 days between dogs. There's no set time. |
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