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I came home to an empty house tonight and found out, only a few minutes ago, that my parents rushed Lily off to the emergency vet. She was turning circles and screaming. The vet thinks she may have had a stroke. Me and my mom are staying up until midnight to call and get the blood work results as soon as they are available. I'll keep you updated.
We just found out that our Mandy has Diabetes. We may have to put her down next week. They are family members. Hope everything comes out well for you.
Oh, no. One of my grandpa's dogs, Heidi, had diabetes. They didn't need to put her down right away, so there's hope.
It's so hard. My first dog, right before Lily, lived 15 years and just sort of fell apart a few years ago. I ended up being the one talking sense into my family and begging them to put her down. I never thought I'd be strong enough. But it never did stop hurting. I grew up with her. And it was tough letting Lily in. My mom even trained Lily to do things my dog used to do, like run to me to comfort me when I was sad. Well, the first time she did it I threw something at her and went out of my mind. I feel bad for that now.
Sorry, I'm rambling. Lily's only four, she's been with us two years. And she's my mom's dog. I'm not sure who I'm more worried about, Lily or my mom.
We just talked to the vet. Nothing strange showed up in the blood test and they are sending her to her normal vet tomorrow. She's still going in circles and they think it is something in the spine. The vet is leaning further away from a stroke. They're going to do x-rays to see if maybe it is a spinal infection. But "neurologist" keeps getting mentioned. We're hoping for an infection that can be cured and nothing too serious. If it means a lot of pain for the long term or can't be cured, mom is going to put Lily down. Mom's really down about it, thinking the worst and assuming Lily's end is near. So I am very much hoping it is something the vet can fix. This vet managed to give my last dog an additional five years of quality life where everyone else just wanted to put her down because she was old. So I'm putting a lot of faith in this guy right now. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers, we're hoping it's just an infection or less. And besides, I'm really not sure what it'll do to my mom if the worse shows to be true.
Prayers said. Let us know how she does.
+1Quote:
Originally Posted by tnoisaw
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Consider it done young lady.
Prayers for you.
Watching a dog in pain is one of the hardest things to do.
WM
Prayers and good Vibes headed your way.
:smt1099
Mom brought Lily home today. She is still far too drugged up for them to run any tests to verify a stroke, but it seems a stroke is highly possible. Lily is paralized on her left side. She's unable to walk on her own, so my father carries her outside and we hold her up with towels so she can do her business. I hand fed her this evening and she wasn't managing to swallow most of it. And she only knew the food was there if it moved suddenly (like rolling in my hand).
It was promising though to see her get excited when I came home. She was in her little bed in the middle of the living room and her tail was wagging wildly when I came in. She even tried to stand up. She is able to roll herself over, which the doctor thought she wouldn't be able to do and we'd have to do it for her. But her left legs both curl under when we stand her up and sort of drag along. Her right legs are over compensating for the left.
I sat down tonight and scratched her all over (she's a very itchy dog and she can't scratch herself) and her eyes rolled back in her head. She also smiled. Yes, our dog can smile. LOL! Her eyes are still bright, too, and she is obviously trying to fight this.
The vet says she'll never be the dog she was ever again. Her days of running laps around the house with me are over and she probably won't be able to roll in the grass anymore. And the part that will really hurt her is she can't play with the kids in the neighborhood anymore. But they think if we keep at her leg excersises we'll have her walking again in a few weeks. I may be able to take her down the park again next summer if all goes well.
I'll keep you updated. She still has the hook up for an IV in and she is expected back at the doctor on Monday I believe. Her vet doesn't think she needs a neurologist, so that's good. But we'll know for sure what happened in a few days, I hope anyway.
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. If you think of it, please keep her in them for a while.
Thanks for the update and consider it done.
Hoping and praying things work out for your little friend.
Hope everything works out for the best. :smt023
Ma'am: for you "Lily" and the family; Prayers are the order of today.
My prayers are with you. The hardest part about loving a pet is to know when it's time to lay them to rest. I feel if they are going to live in pain or their quality of life is no longer good, then it's our responsibility to do the right thing. I pray for you to have that wisdom and only you will know when that is.
If and when that time comes you will have such good memories. I'm in my office and have pictures of four dogs that were a big part of my life. Each with their own personalities and goofyness. Each one has touch me in a way to make me a better person. I am spending most of my time right now with Mandy and she knows it's her time. It's so dam hard. I have another dog that should live another 6 years. That will be it for me because I'm getting up there in age and any new dog will outlive me and I don't want that.
Enjoy ever minute you can with them.
I was, shockingly, the one who made the call with Poochanne. I think, in their own way, they tell you. Poochanne was sort of rolling around the floor, she even rolled down the hallway to greet me when I came home from work. But when I bent down and looked in her eyes, I told my parents it was time to say to say goodbye.
With Lily, it isn't her time yet. She is fighting way too hard. This little girl is surprising us all, even the doctor. I don't think the vet believed my mom when they spoke on the phone today. Apparently, my parents came home from Sunday breakfast this morning and Lily walked out into the kitchen to greet them. She sort of drags her left side and walks in circles towards the right, but my parents about fainted when they saw she'd gotten up and walked to them. Tonight she walked about three feet toward the steps after her last wee of the night outside. I got her to eat some cheese tonight, she seems to have more control over her tongue when drinking, and things are generally looking alright. She has a lot of fight in her, that little one.
Ma'am: the resiliency takes us aback at times. When we see some of the darkest of times the 'word' comes to mind. Ma'am; again we think of you and the family with a "Lily"
"Cheese" is good:smt023
Lily is spending another night at the hospital. She's scheduled for an MRI and possible spinal tap in the morning. The doctor suspects a stroke is the cause, but they are hoping for an infection of some sort.
Family doesn't appear to be holding together too well right now. There seems to be a major difference in opinion on Lily, but I'm not going to get into that here. And thus far, mom will not accept my help with payments. She was very aggressively against it today, which ended up in something for another thread. But I will still try to break her down and accept my help where I can afford it.
Anyway, we will hopefully bring her home again tomorrow afternoon, and hopefully very soon we'll know what happened and how to treat it if possible. The doctor gave a lot of things it could be and some were scary. Brain tumor is possible. If so, Lily will probably not be coming home.
P.S. Teaching vet schools are scary. They give way too much info. We learned that a lot of fluid in the brain and spine can cause a vaccum which "could suck the brain out of the skull a little." Thanks. Needed that. Like a hole in the head.
I forgot to tell you the results. Sorry! It was confirmed that Lily did indeed have a stroke. She also has a possible thyroid condition which may have lead up to it and would also explain her weight gain and loss which seems to jump up and down like a yo-yo.
She is doing very well. We're very proud of her. She isn't circling as much, but she is still doing it some. And she is still walking into walls and our legs every so often. She isn't very sure footed on non-carpeted areas, either. She can get down the steps, but not back up them, so we're all carrying her around still. But she is starting to get some of her senses back. She can see us from both eyes now and her smell is back. My father peeled a banana this evening in the kitchen and she smelled it two rooms away, which caused her to trot out and skid across the kitchen floor trying to get at the banana. But the best part was that tonight when I tickled her back left foot she kicked me, which meant she can feel it again. He back feet are very ticklish and she hasn't felt me tickling her left foot since the stroke. Tonight she actually kicked me, so we're thrilled.
Thanks for the prayers, all. They seem to be working! :mrgreen:
We had to put down our lab bauer because of lymphoma. The begginning is the worst part of the experience