What We Do for Our Pets

[Dan Kramer]

Here's one of my boys. We were trying to stay warm last week.

[sgrandjean]

I took my 10 year-old boxer, Boomer, to the vet yesterday, expecting to spend $400 to remove a few lumps I thought were mast cell tumors and to address a coughing/hacking he's had off and on for 2 weeks. I had also noticed that the third eyelid on the right was protruding a bit as well.

The vet said there's some sort of neuropathy going on, as his pupils are not the same size. The eyelid thing is Horner's syndrome, and may go away on it's own, if the neurologist we go to next can't find a cause.

A 3 view chest x-ray showed his lungs and heart to be in good shape, although she's a bit concerned that a portion of his esophagus showed up on the x-ray, and diagnosed him with mega esophagus...there could be some sort of partial paralysis of the esophagus. Good news is that she doesn't see anything stuck in his esophagus.

One of the lumps is indeed a mast cell tumor (his previous vet tested some fluid from the tumor, but never bothered to tell me what the results were...so I'm a bit miffed at him). However, new vet doesn't seem concerned about it right now, as there are bigger things to be concerned about.

$421.90 later , I'm now looking at another $300-400 for the neurologist, and once that's all said and done, we'll address the tumors and get the rest of his shots updated.

Cheers,

[MICK1]

This is my dog Hobie he was a Chessy. Definetely a water dog! He passed away few years a go.

Mick

[dgunnels]

Look at the second pic. That's not a dog, it's a duck!

[Marge]

Way cool pics.

[Bugman]

Great pictures. That second one is amazing.

[jjwq8]

Daft pooch clearly doesn't know the difference between a pond and a po

[Marge]

On Sunday Snowy met her forever family. A couple with a 3 year old daughter...on an acre of land...with grandparents living in a cottage on the property 24/7.

We met through the Anatolian rescue site and they are wonderful people. They adopted an Anatolian a couple years ago that got cancer and passed away within a year (after mucho medical bills). They were hesitant to adopt again but kept going back to her posting.

We have had a family situation requiring us to go to San Diego a bit lately and Snowy's new family lives 20 miles from where we were there. Divine intervention.

They have texted pictures and missives about her adjustment. She is taking 3+ mile walks with her new dad, is gentle and attentive to the 3 year old (we thought she had kids in her history) and has been intuitive with the grandma...who has severe vision issues.

Keep Snowy in your prayers...that she has a truly loving and forever family.

Here are a couple pics of her a bit more healthy than when she first found us in Post #704.

[jjwq8]

Just so you know how badly you are getting ripped off.

The posse just got their annual inoculations. Rabies and Annual Booster $7.00 per shot, including the Vet fees.

Lab testfor worms and general health. $5.50

[HS345]

Incredible story of pooch survival.

The incredible journey: How Baltic the mongrel drifted 20 miles out to sea on river ice and survived

[opiethetileman]

update....on me and T.......been i think 3 to 4 weeks now.....still having issues with an infection they cant seem to get a grasp on.......so i have been told if it stays that way he may loose the leg......

this is why i have been silent here on the forums....dont want my anger to get me expelled.....to say the least i am still furious.....yes the courts are doing thier job.....for once thank god.....and they are trying some physical therapy with T to see if the infection and the leg and can be cured..........

[LadyGodiva]

Dan, I hope it works out.

I have been on the Animal Rescue site today, and my heart just breaks for some of these animals. How could some people abandon, abuse and neglect an animal?

Our Pom is 14, survived mouth cancer, an attack by hunting dogs, but is showing his age, poor guy. He seems to have a hearing problem lately, and I am guessing he can't see well either. Will be taking him in for a checkup soon.

This has led me to thinking about another dog....I can't imagine life without our pooch But everyone says I should think about getting another. I feel like I won't want to have another dog, mainly because I can't imagine anyone taking his place.

For those who lost a pet, did you find it easier to have another before or right after, or did you wait?

Some of my friends have been cautioning me about getting a dog from the shelter. They say it could be a nightmare. Others say that's a better thing to do rather than find one through a breeder.

I happen to favour poms. My sister has two and I just love them.

[bbcamp]

I favor finding a pet from a shelter. 2 of my 3 are shelter rescues, and we couldn't be happier if they had a pedigree going back to the Mayflower. Sure, we were somewhat surprised with how the puppies grew into different dogs than the shelter folks thought they would be, but that's part of the fun.

If you are breed-specific, find a rescue group that specializes in your desired breed. Puppies may not be as available, and you might get a dog with "issues," but you'll be saving a life. That's kinda important, no?

[sgrandjean]

Many of you guys know that my boxer, Boomer is a rescue. He turns 10 in a week. He's owned me since he was 1 1/2 years old.

Cheers,

[dgunnels]

Marge that is fantastic news. I love a happy ending.

Dan, I hope your pup keeps his leg but if not try to remember that they dogs don't mind being 3 legged. We're the ones it bothers. Glad the justice system is working. Try to be patient my friend.

Jeremy, We just took one of ours in for the annual thing. $97.

Eli, this is such a hard one. I can't tell you what to do but I will tell you how it's been for me. I put my spaniel mix down in 2001. About a month before hand we had rescued a dog. We also currently had a beagle mix, Tippy. Losing Pepe broke my heart. I'm still crying while I write this. Yes having the other dogs was helpful but for some reason I harbored some kind of resentment towards Molly. That lasted for about two months. Since then she has been my best little buddy. Obedience, agility, and then therapy. (Pepe was a therapy dog too.) She rarely sleeps or sits anywhere but by my side. To this day I still can't explain it.

As you know we lost our Tippy on Christmas morning. Having the other dogs here was a blessing. You are still going to cry and miss your current baby but distraction and laughter are wonderful tonics. Without them there would have been a black hole of despair in our home.