When it rains it pours...or, snows
What I didn't mention in those posts, since I just wanted to talk about her, was that Abby's loss was only one of a series of disasters. About 3 weeks ago Gertie the Beagle slipped a disk in her back. Apparently this is super common in beagles. She now has a partially paralyzed back right leg  , and is on 6 weeks (SIX WEEKS!  ) of "crate rest". She may never regain the full use of the leg, depending on whether the nerve is pinched...or actually cut. We have no clue how it happened, but timing-wise it could not have happened at a worse time, since it was on a weekend in the middle of the worst blizzard we had had all winter. We were actually snowed in to our house and couldn't get out till Monday morning. The delay getting to the vet may have made this much worse than it could have been  . She IS improving...but is not really out of the woods just yet. Our vet and the veterinary surgeon who was to do her operation both agree she is a risky candidate for the surgery and are trying to get the swelling down with steroids. Please cross paws for her recovery!  Abby feel ill very shortly afterward, and we let her go on the same day that Gertie had her second (once a week) check to see if she was improving. About a week later (in between bouts of crying) I noticed that Bert had an obvious ear infection. He's super prone to them, so no big deal. I made him an appointment to coincide with Gertie's usual check the next day. Unfortunately...the night before the appointment he somehow managed to shake/scratch his ear SO HARD that he BROKE the cartilage in his ear!  So...we rushed him in early, and now he has 12 stitches in his ear and is in the dreaded CONE for 2 weeks.Oh yeah...and its snowing. It has been more or less non-stop for days. Its MAY 4th!?  Seriously...What the heck???This has been a ravenmoonart whine...tm  |
|
|
| Oh Laurel, what a series of disasters! I'm so sorry to hear what's going on for you guys. I know how tough it is to lose a furkid and that is really all anyone should be asked to deal with. I hope it's true that things come in threes and you're done for a good, long while now. As well as offering my sympathy I wanted to let you know about our first beloved furkid who we lost about 11 years ago. He was a kelpie and slipped (bulged) a disc in his low back in an accident. The first vet we went to would not listen to me when I tried to explain the injury (it was a weird one) and told her that Morf was usually a very stoic dog so I knew something extra bad had happened. She insisted he had a muscle tear near his shoulder. We woke up to a dog who could barely get up off his bed or walk the next day. So I went to a different vet. They anaesthetised to take and xray and phoned to say they couldn't see anything and to come and get him. Even they were shocked at how much he'd deteriorated whilst he'd been with them for 4 hours. Cortisone injection and sent me home with him. Next morning he was completely paralysed. The vet was so concerned that he came to us and with the history and increased reflexes diagnosed the disc injury in the low back. The next bad news was that off the then 5 orthopaedic vets in Melbourne, 4 of them were at the same conference on a tropical island and the one left behind holding the fort was booked out 5 days ahead even for emergencies. More and stronger coritsone and a wait and see game. Morf lay in his hammock bed with lots of towels and I did mountains of washing of those towels. He wasn't off his food and as long as lots of people came and visited him he wasn't too bored, so once he got over the shame of not being able to go out to pee and poop he was kind of ok with things. In the end it was kind of a blessing that the ortho vet was so busy because by the time we finally got to the appointment Morf was getting some movement and sensation back in his legs. I massaged his back and legs every day and over the next 8 or 10 weeks he could walk again. Within a few months he was back to normal except that he always had a stiff low back. He lived a long and happy life but the arthritis in his low back got too bad in the end. Fingers crossed and prayers for the same or better outcome for Gertie. |
| wow so sorry try and hang in there hugs to you |
 Bless your heart. What a chain of events to keep your stress level on high throttle. I'm sending white lights and healing prayers for the pups... and a big hug for you ! Keep us updated on their conditions... cause you DO have a tendency to disappear!  |
| Oh, Laurel! How awful and frustrating for you! Fingers and paws are all crossed here for full recoveries for Gertie and Bert, and an end to your snow. And some stress relief for you as well!  |
| You have had a bad run. Spring will come and things look better. Hope Gertie recovers or the pain is lessened! Yeah, Paige was good for a blown ear every so often. She had so many ear procedures she had cauliflower ear......good thing they were well haired. I assume the boy has been checked for allergies to food or something in his environment. Hopefully not your art supplies. Snow.......final insult, just when you need sunshine and warmth. Remember you weren't the only ones under snow. Friends in No. Colorado got 13 inches and further east someone got 20 inches of the dreaded white stuff. With the higher sun and longer daylight, it melts quickly. ( send us anything wet, snow in July would be welcome) |
| I am so sorry you and your doggies are going through this. It is so true, when it rains/snows it pours. What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, at least that is what my Mom used to say. I hope ole Gertie starts feeling better soon. I'm sure she will with needing to rest all the time. They say the best thing for back injuries is rest, so crossing fingers they are right. I'm sorry about Bert's Ear issues, been down that lane with Violet as well in the past. Violet is in the twilight of her life so I really do understand what you're going through. So now the snow better stop, Gertie and Bert get better and your Art Fairs start and are successful. Let us know how everyone is doing. |
| |
Mim: Thank you for the ray of hope  Our vet (who is not exactly Mr. sunshine on a good day ) has been very concerned because the steroids-only route is supposed to only have a good chance of working if they are administered very quickly. He has used the term "miraculous" already, though, to describe her improvement  . Im so glad your Kelpie recovered so thoroughly!  Abuckie: Ill do my best  . I'm just not the computer-girl I used to be . After my long bout of severe headaches, I kinda realized how much work/outside-active time the computer had been taking up and got out of the habit of hanging out on it. Its been GOOD for me, but the one thing I do miss is this forum. Finding a balance in that is challenging!Sheepie-boss: Mother Nature hates me. Its personal. Nothing will convince me otherwise  . Yes...Bert DOES have allergies. He is on a very very expensive medical diet (Kangaroo and wild potato no less! ) but he somehow manages to snag fallen crumbs etc all the time and has flare ups . |
| Oh Laurel, sending my thoughts and prayers your way. Mother Nature has not been our friend lately. Praying she gets out of her menapause state and the seasons come back to what they were. Meanwhile, hoping your guy and his disk problem get better....Hang in there Laurel...We all are pulling for you! |
| I hope things get better for you soon! Cindy |
| Wow Laurel... I'm sorry you're going through so much... hopefully things settle down for everyone soon. |
| The only thing left to say is "I'm soooo sorry". |
Thank you all for the well wishes!  Well...the snow has at least stopped!    The sun even came out for a bit yesterday!  We've decided we are going to have a party on the 19th to celebrate: My birthday(May 14th) Scott's and my 24th anniversary (May 15th) Berts de-coning day (May 16th) My young brother's high school graduation (May 17th) and Gertie's coming-out-of-the-crate day(May 20th) Gerts will still be crated at that point...but attendance at a party is probably not the first thing she should be doing after being released from crate-rest anyway .We desperately need some fun around here!  |
| That has been a string of bad luck Abby is sad enough...but then adding all the rest, not nice at all. Sounds like this May celebration is a turning point, I am truly hopeful that this is the sign of a much better trend! |
| Can't think of better reasons to throw a party. That and the snow is melting! |
| You sure have been through too much sad and really tough times. I hope everything will be better from now and that the spring and summer makes life easier up north too, and for all of us. |
| Hey Laurel, how are things going for Ms Gertie and you guys as well? Sorry if I've missed an update post elsewhere. I've been thinking of you and I'm pressed for time so not able to check out all the posts. Mim |
Mim wrote: Hey Laurel, how are things going for Ms Gertie and you guys as well? Sorry if I've missed an update post elsewhere. I've been thinking of you and I'm pressed for time so not able to check out all the posts. Mim As of her Wednesday check up...she is officially out of the woods in terms of surgery!  She still has a bit less than 2 weeks of crate rest left.Bert's still a cone-head His stitches come out this coming Thursday We are...ok-ish I had my first art fair of the season today, and had to tell a lot of people about Abby since she has done that fair with us for the past 9 years and was well known there . |
| Oh, I bet this was sad, but bittersweet to tell all your customers. But it just shows what an impression these guys make on the people who know us. They love our dogs too! |
| I'm glad to hear that you've good news regarding Ms Gertie. Hopefully Bert will be coneless soon. It must have been very hard to go to the art fair. So many people loved Abby which is lovely but it can be hard to have to keep telling people. Thinking of you. |
Mim wrote: I'm glad to hear that you've good news regarding Ms Gertie. Hopefully Bert will be coneless soon. It must have been very hard to go to the art fair. So many people loved Abby which is lovely but it can be hard to have to keep telling people. Thinking of you. This will go on all summer long, as we do different shows . All last summer I had to tell people that she was too infirm to be with us at the shows, and that was hard enough !This is the LAST WEEK of cone and crate!  I cant wait to have some degree of normalcy back again! |
Quote: This is the LAST WEEK of cone and crate! I cant wait to have some degree of normalcy back again! To say nothing of saving your shins......... |
SheepieBoss wrote: Quote: This is the LAST WEEK of cone and crate! I cant wait to have some degree of normalcy back again! To say nothing of saving your shins......... Bert is the master of the cone- butt- scoop maneuver |
ravenmoonart wrote: Mim wrote: I'm glad to hear that you've good news regarding Ms Gertie. Hopefully Bert will be coneless soon. It must have been very hard to go to the art fair. So many people loved Abby which is lovely but it can be hard to have to keep telling people. Thinking of you. This will go on all summer long, as we do different shows . All last summer I had to tell people that she was too infirm to be with us at the shows, and that was hard enough I figured that would be the case. It's going to be a drawn out process. |
Didn't find exactly what you're looking for? Search again here:
Custom Search
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|