We May Be Losing Our Dog, Andromeda...

[Glenda]

Chris, I so know how you feel. My Lady dog, a blue heeler went through a very bad time a couple of months ago. She was diagnosed with Cushings. She was also having terrible nose bleeds and the vets couldn't find out why. I slept many nights with my arms around her all night because I didn't want her to die alone. I spent a lot of dollars for x-rays, tests and medicine. My husband was raised on a farm and wanted to put her down. I just couldn't. There was something in her eyes that told me she just wasn't ready to die. Since then she has rallied. Prayers were answered, and you ask should we pray for our furry friends, you bet! She hasn't had nose bleeds for over a month. She is back to normal. She licks me constantly when I get down in the floor with her. She never was a licker and all of a sudden it's like she is saying "thank you Mom!" I always said that if she acted like she was in any pain at all I would have her put to sleep. So hang in there and love her unconditionaly like she loves you. You'll know when it is time. Hugs & prayers coming your way.

 

[pamela]

If your sweet companion can't return to a good quality of life I hope you find consolation in the thought that you have spared her from the gradual deterioration of health and temperment. Our beloved family pet had inoperable colon cancer that left him full of tumours through his gut. The vet assured us that he wasn't feeling any pain since dogs don't have the same sensory inputs in their abdomen as humans (I am sure he spoke the truth since Dizzy (short for Disaster Dog) had about 10 good months after diagnosis). We were told to wait for him to give us the signs that it was time to bid farewell.

That day came when he snapped at and bit me and then snapped at my then, 12 year old daughter. I could see the contrition when he'd realized what he'd done in his clouding eyes and knew it was time. Dizzy will be on the other side as well, ready to run with your dear friend.

Take Heart, you are providing the ultimate kindness to your beloved companion.
Pamela.

 

[skippermom]

Chris,
It breaks my heart to read this. I hope and pray that you can bring your Andie home and she makes a full recovery.

 

[PairoDocs]

Thank you all so very much for your kind posts and words. Andie is still alive, and all four of us visited her at the vet's tonight. The veterinarian was kind enough to let us in after hours--his house is on the same premises as the clinic, he talked with us as we tried to encourage her to stand. She has normal movement on her front right leg, imperfect movement on her left front, about the same right rear, and spastic almost directionless movement back left. She can still partially wag her tail. She seemed more aware of properly positioning her body, but her bad legs just don't have the strength.

We talked to the vet and he will let me pick her up early tomorrow afternoon and take her home for a few hours. I'll place her outside on a blanket, give her some of her favorite treats, including her chew bones and some molasses rolled grains--she shares this with the goats and actually likes it better than regular dog food. I don't let her have more than a cup of it, though. Of course she'll get some pieces of cheese and other tasty things as they come to mind. Then I will attempt a trick that I've heard of when people and animals have some paralysis and when this person or animal responds without thinking to an emergency, the person or animal suddenly gets up and runs normally to help or whatever. My stimulus will be her favorite walking collar and leash. Then I'll say a silly little set of phrases about "wok"ing the dog. It involved stuff like, "The kids are hungry and--We're fresh out of kitties, fresh out of chickies, fresh out of bunnies, and fresh out of pot-bellied-pigs... so... Guess what? It's time to..." (a beat) "wok the dogs!" At this point she'd be leaping into the air with excitement and joy. Then I'd hook up her special collar with the leash and take her and whatever other dog we had at the time for a walk. Being a Malamute cross, it was more like a hard steady pull rather than loose leash. I hope this works because anything short of direct divine intervention she will otherwise take that last trip to the vet's after her visit home tomorrow.

I don't know how much cremation costs, but we may elect to do that as the ground is frozen solid here and we can't dig a grave for her with just a shovel and pick. I'll try and ask one of our neighbors who has a backhoe if he'd be willing to dig a hole for us. If he's willing, then we'll go that way. We have sufficient land, and have buried most of the cats we've lost over the years, as well as special chickens. If he can't, then cremation.

However it turns out tomorrow, I'll let everyone know here. Thanks again for your support, as we thought she'd be around for a very long time to come, it's all the harder. She has absolutely no other health problems, and aside from a small leg tumor removal recently and her spay when she was 6 months old, she has never needed veterinary care--her blood panels were perfect a year ago. She does have mild cataracts, but so far she doesn't act vision impaired. This makes it sadder since she's not even suffering, just confused about why she can't be home with us, and why she can't stand. When we're there she eats with gusto and drinks nicely. She doesn't eat as well when we're not there. She's still continent, though she does have to let go in her kennel on occasion--just never when we're around. I'll visit her in the morning, then in the afternoon get her into the back of the pickup truck--she loves rides, and take her home. It's a 3 mile drive through the country and she'd like that, too.

Chris

 

[njean]

My eyes are brimmed with tears as I read thru your last post.

May tomorrow be a long & beautiful day for you and your best buddy my friend! Cherish your moments with her & tell her that you love her and that you're willing to make the final sacrifice because of the love you feel for her.

Will be thinking of you tomorrow & watching for an update! Good night to you!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

That sounds like a good farewell for Andie.

I'd like to make one other suggestion.
If you have other dogs, and you bring her home for burial,
let the others see and sniff her before you bury her.

I've found that the other dogs seem to understand
and are not confused by he absense of their old friend.

I had one recently adopted pup leave in search of my older dog who had been struck by a speeding pickup truck and had to be put down. Even since that loss, I've made sure that all the other dogs had their chance to bid farewell. It seems to have worked and there was no wandering or searching for the lost friend.

Take a handerchief. YOU will need it.

Best wishes.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Nancy]

I agree with Al. The other animals understand about death, but do not understand when their friend is suddenly missing.

I discovered this over many years and when many pets have died. The ones who passed on peacefully at home where their friends could see, caused much less trauma.

My little dog still opens up the cabinet door with her nose to look inside for Lucky (cat) who used to hide in there. It's been 7 or 8 years. Lucky did not die at home.

 

[escargome]

I am so chocked up right now I can hardly write. Your post has brought back so many memories of my beloved Jazmine. She too was a Lab Mix and just like your Andie she aged and one day she could not walk. We tried and tried and in the end we had to say good-bye. I wish you and your family strength and the Lord's guidance as you spend what seems to be your final hours with your friend.

 

[Tom F.]

We lost a west highland terrier at 17 years at home, in her sleep, very peacefully. The other two came around and seemed to understand. They were not happy, one especially, but her passing was known and understood. It is sad to say goodbye, but I am quite sure they all await me on the rainbow bridge.

 

[geckley]

After seeing Marley & Me 2 weeks ago I came to the realization that our pup is getting old, and that her time with us is winding down. She's a Lab-Akita mix and has been the worst dog ever. By saying that she has been the best dog ever. Some of the crap that made me hate her so much when she did it, makes me adore her more in hindsight. When I was depressed just before surgery in 2005 she would walk up to me and hold me, (wrap her front paw around my arm.). After that I noticed that if anyone in the house was upset she would be by their side consoling them. We got her at the pound for 30 dollars and I swear it's the best investment I have ever made. She is getting white in the face and she doesn't run around as much but she is always there for us. I hope you are blessed with the miracle you seek. My heart goes out to you.

 

[Dina]

I saw this post yesterday and couldn't bear to look - sorry.
I really hope she does improve,I know there may be little hope,but hope
and pray I will for Andie. Malamutes have always been my favorite,and
Labs are of course one of the best companions to have. When my cat
got hyperthyroidism,I waited overlong,hoping the meds would work for
him and he'd get better. He tried so hard for me,not for himself - and
when I saw this I knew.
I pray she will show some/any improvement tomorrow
and that you have a good day together.

 

[kfay]

I haven't had to face this issue in a really long time. We've always had pets, but when we moved to England 13 years ago, we had to give our 2 labs and 2 cats away because at the time they couldn't enter the country (or at least very easily). So, I didn't have to see them get old and die. We currently have a 9 year old springer spaniel who doesn't have any eyes and a 5 year old English Pointer. They are both very healthy at this point, but the Spaniel has so many genetic issues (hence the no eyes) that I don't expect she'll live a long life. I don't envy you these next couple of days. I hope you all enjoy what time you have left with your dog.

Kim

 

[PairoDocs]

Here's the report for the day. I brought Andromeda home about 3:30 today, a delay of a few hours, but she's finally here now. She has shown some slight improvement since my last post. Our vet released her for an overnight stay if we're so inclined. I think we'll give it a try.

Her first action on being loaded into the truck was to sit up as she usually does, but she soon tired of it and lay down for the rest of the trip home. I used an upside down fruit drying tray with a blanket and a couple of towels. When she got on it, the first thing she did was to start munching on snow. She loves even eating snow and I'm so glad that today was sunny, and while the temperature went above freezing today, it didn't do it by much. The snow was still powdery rather than slushy. She's enjoying the relative cool of being outside, of course Malamutes think the ideal temperature is where Fahrenheit and Celsius meet (-40° ). She's only seen about -28° F as the lowest even while in Alaska--Anchorage's cold is moderated by the presence of the Cook Inlet.

I tried the walk trick with her, and she managed to walk about 10 feet with me supporting her rear end. Her back legs tried to move appropriately, and while her left foot turned under, her other paws assumed normal positions. She then sort of collapsed from the effort, and I had to carry her back to her 'bed.' So no running (yet) for miles in celebration of her miraculous recovery, but it's further progress. I'll do a short series of entries with an uploaded picture attached. The first one is of her at the vet's ready to go home, her blankets, IV, and food removed for now.

Chris

 

[PairoDocs]

This picture is of her just after getting home. She's on the tray with the blankets and towels, enjoying the outside. Panda, one of our cats is investigating, and the goat visible through the fence in what is usually called the dog yard, is the intact buck named Pockets.

 

[PairoDocs]

This one is of Oggie on his leash near Andie just before I was going to try the "wok"ing the dogs trick. Her special collar with the blue leash is visible on the tailgate of our pickup truck on the left side of the picture. Both Pockets and Remington (a wether--neutered goat) the goats are in the picture. While Andie is near the yard, the goats can't get to her and bother her, but can still interact fairly closely through the fence. The buck snorts and sticks his tongue out a lot, but he does that to us as well. With some support, she managed the 10 foot semi-walk, and when KC got home from school we attempted it again, this time getting her a little further, and back again to her bed.

Just looking out the window, I saw that she intentionally got off her bed and is sitting up in the snow with a happy look on her face--the snow is only an inch deep so it shouldn't stress her much.

Please continue to pray for her. She may just make it...

Laura mentioned somebody using DMSO for treating a horse with a similar spinal cord problem and paralyzed hindquarters. He recovered and is doing fine. I don't know if this method would work with dogs. The horse had it IV diluted in saline I believe. Any thoughts here? We have some food grade DMSO at home. Laura also cried on and off all morning about Andromeda while at work--please pray for us, too.

Chris

 

[njean]

Sending lots of prayers your way my friend! Miracles happen all the time, so who knows, your Andie may just pull thru this one!

Great pictures too; so sweet!

 

[Dina]

So if it was some type of stroke,and she is showing improvement,she
could get to the point of atleast walking normally,right? I am still praying.
She is a very pretty girl,and she doesnt seem to be in pain,though I have
been told it is hard to tell since they hide it so well at times.
My best-Dina

 

[skippermom]

You and Andie have my prayers. She looks happy to be home.

 

[Superbob]

Continuing to send prayers for Andie. Hope and pray she can continue to live a happy life.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

I thought about you and Andie tonight while I was walking my Jo Boxer. Since it's cool outside, we went a little farther than usual, but still not nearly as far as we used to go. When I turned to make the trip back home, she stopped and stood her ground, refusing to come. She still thinks she's young and can make it all the way around the block (about a mile), but I don't want to end up carrying a 60 lb dog home.

It sounds like Andie is happy and doing okay for now. Our next door neighbor's dachshund had back surgery several years ago and ended up paralyzed waist down. He's still around and able to work his legs well enough to get around, although his tail still drags. So, they can get better. Wishing and hoping for Andie and her entire family - furry and not so furry.