Bad Diagnosis And Prognosis

As Rowdy has been limping on his hind leg, on and off for months, a previous diagnosis told me he had arthritis. Back then, the Vet gave me some pain meds (Vetprofen) to give him, whenever he was limping to help him cope. The last couple of months, his limping and loss of the use of his right hind leg, has greatly increased, so I took him in yesterday, to see if we could do anything to help the problem.

The x-ray showed that he has bone cancer in that upper leg, and it had swollen to about twice it's size. His normal leg thickness is about 48mm., while his cancer ridden leg is at about 85mm thick. Quite a difference. I'm personally surprised that I didn't notice the swelling, as when he walked or sat, he kept the leg tucked in so it appeared normal.

There is no good treatment for this. The Vet could remove his leg, but at his age, would be extremely hard on him and he possible would not survive the surgery. Plus, the Vet said, doing so could possible cause it to quickly spread to his lungs, though I don't fully understand why. Besides, he does still have some use of it. We decided the best course, is to give him steroids (Prednisone) to help his quality of life, for the remainder of the time he has left.

Though I am uncertain of it's success, I am also trying another type of treatment. It is harmless to him, but it may help. We'll see, as I will closely watch him and his progress. If it is successful, I will share it with everyone. Though I am not confident in it's success, it still gives me a little hope. However, Rowdy has already outlived most dogs at his age, now pushing 17 years by a couple of months, so I do believe his time is near. 

 

I am quite sad and I feel such empathy for him, as I only want him to feel good. He still has his spirit, but he also shows some distress in his facial expressions.

Minor Surgery and Veterinarian Rip Off

 

Back in the beginning of August, I needed to get a growth removed from the side of Rowdy's cheek. From messing with it and Rowdy scratching it, opening it up and making it bleed, I knew it needed to be removed soon. The problem was that I could not get it done with my Vet, until September 18^th. That was a long wait. They said the procedure would probably be around $200 dollars. I went ahead and made the appointment, and if I got it done sooner, I could always cancel it. Besides, with what needed done, in my opinion, it should have only cost around $120 dollars.

So I searched other Vets in the area, but they wanted up front costs just to tell me what they charged, and still I wouldn't know when they could fit him in. I decided to take him to a Vet, who was an hour away. Rowdy had been in this clinic a number of times in the past, and once recently back when I found out that he had vertigo. This is a walk in clinic, and I thought that it was an emergency situation back them, and it would be a week before I could get him into my Vet.

I was shocked when they brought back list of fees for the procedure, totaling $880 dollars. A whole list of things, not really needed for this surgery. They said they could drop half of the items, for a cost of about $480 dollars, but would not perform the surgery, without these other things being done. I argued the point with them, saying that it is only a small growth (about the size of three almonds squished together,) and it was only attached to the skin and not rooted deeper. The procedure would not be that invasive, and could probably be done with a local. They told me no, and lied to me about what they had to do. They also ripped me off for $47 for the visit. I will probably never return to that Vet now.

On September 18^th, Rowdy got the surgery and the growth removed. It worked out great, as I dropped him off in the morning and picked him up that afternoon. And guess what??? It only cost $120 dollars, including pain and antibiotic shots. Exactly what I imagined that it should have cost.

Return Of The Chirping Monster

It has been a number of yeas, since the smoke detector's low battery alarm, had bothered Rowdy. I had a hard wired detector, that had a battery backup, and it started occasionally loosing connection to the battery, when it got cold in the house. I would have to remove and reinstall the battery to get it to stop. The situation progressively got worse, until I finally had to replace the entire detector.

Lately, when the low battery alarm would chirp, it started causing him distress again and he will run to me for comfort. The noise used to bother him in the past, and after he lost some of his hearing, I didn't think he could hear it any more. I thought he became tone deaf to that frequency, but apparently he can still hear it.

 

Vertigo

 

On Saturday, April 14^th, when we went to bed, Rowdy was just fine. Sunday, the next morning, he couldn't hardly walk, without stumbling. He would stumble and fall on his face with his front legs, and had great difficulty walking on his back legs, with them constantly slipping out from under him. When he looked at you, his head seem to be locked in a odd angle and could not hold it level. It's like he tried to focus on you, but then his head and eyes would wander slightly off, with loss of control.

So Monday, I called the Vet, but could not get an appointment until the next week, even though I deemed this to be somewhat of an emergency. This is the second time I have been put off by this Vet, or their office, when I deem it necessary for an immediate visit.

They have a sister clinic an hour's drive away, that take walk-in's, so I took him there instead. I should also mention, that I had to drive by the first clinic on the way to the other one, and very few cars were out front. Didn't look like they were that busy, unless the Vet was out on call with farm animals. Either way, I'm still not happy with them.

The Vet did an extensive blood test, checking for organ functions and infections. Everything came back normal, so she decided that he probably has vestibular disease, as in dog vertigo. She said, this can come on all the sudden to older dogs and he may, or may not totally come out of it.

He also wouldn't eat his normal food, but would only eat something that tasted real good, like his wet food I treat him with every two weeks, or with his treats.

Over the last month, he has got much better. His head is held much straighter, and he doesn't stumble near as much. His playful attitude is back in full force and he is finally back to eating his normal dry dog food. However, now in the evenings, I still put a half serving of his wet food, on top of it. I guess this will be a permanent thing from now on, as I just don't have the heart, to totally remove it from him. It's sort of my way of providing him some extra comfort and excitement, in his old age.

Not A Squirrel Chaser Anymore

 

With Rowdy's age, even when he notices a squirrel in the back yard, he only lunges at it for a few steps and then quits.

I think the thing that most effects I this is his partial blindness. I don't think he can visually tune it in, or follow where the squirrel moves to. It is like he looses site of it after it moves a little, so if there is not a substantial opposing background, he can't seem to follow it.

Of course there is the thought that he no longer figures it is worth the trouble, to chase them anymore.

I haven't seen him actually chase a squirrel for some time now, so I guess his squirrel chasin' days are over.

Arthritis Attack

 

Poor Rowdy had a terrible night a few months ago. I don't know why, but his right rear leg started bothering him. To my knowledge, he did not have any kind of accident or injury, but his leg was hurting him something awful.

It started in the evening, as he was laying beside me, while I was on the computer. He kept getting up and laying down and could not seem to get comfortable. I watched him as his right rear leg would slowly start shaking and then get worse, until he couldn't stand it any longer and had to get up and lay back down. He just couldn't find a comfortable position where he didn't hurt. When he got up and walked, he couldn't hardly put any weight on it and hopped on his other rear leg.

The only thing I had to give him for pain, was a Tylenol PM, so I gave him half a pill, in hopes that it would help. Human pain relievers are not good for dogs and can cause liver damage, if taken in volume, so I wasn't going to give him any more.

This went on for most of the night, as he was groan breathing, because he couldn't get comfortable. He kept me up for over an hour and a half, till he finally found a sweet spot and went to sleep. However, if he moved, the process would start over and it would take a little time before he found that sweet spot again. This also woke me up off and on, so I was aware of what was happening to him.

By morning, I decided to take him to the vet, but none close to me were open and the one I take him to was also closed, because it was the weekend. The only ones open were an hour drive away, and I was short on cash and my local bank branch was also closed. (I do not use bank cards)

He did however, start showing signs of improvement, as he was putting a little weight on his leg. Monday, I finally got a hold of my vet, and made an appointment, but it was for several days later, on Thursday. By this time Rowdy was progressively better and by appointment time, he was back to using his leg, but favoring it a little.

The vet thoroughly checked his leg and found no evidence of injury. At his age, he thinks that it was just an arthritis flair up and the he could have just stepped wrong and caused a disc or something, to slip or strain, causing the pain. He gave Rowdy a shot for the pain and some pain pills to give him, if he has any more problems.

What he prescribed, was called Vetprofen 75mg and I am to give him one half pill, twice a day, if he has another flair up, or if he seems to be suffering form pain.

After the shot took full effect, he was like a new dog. Though still favoring that leg a little bit for a week or so, he has now come totally out of it and is doing fine at the moment.

Getting In The Car

 

Rowdy had never had any trouble jumping up in the car, whenever we would go places. Now, with his mobility reduced at his age, he has been having a little more difficulty, but I think that part of it is mental and not physical. His inability to jump in the car, at first varied with location. It started when we would leave the house and he would need help getting in the car. I don't know what started it, but all the sudden he wanted help to get in. However, whenever we were out somewhere, he could jump in the car without any problems.

Now, he has started to want help, almost every time we get in the car. The last several times he got in on his own, he would stumble and catch his feet or land face first into the seat. So he has started wanting help all the time now. I just do it, like I do getting him up on the bed and I grab his hind legs and give him a little boost.