Enjoying some time walking the banks of the River Tweed with the wee boy,

 

I haven't posted for ages but here goes. We lost our beloved best friend, companion and happiest little dog Sebastian to lung cancer in August at the age of approximately 12. It happened all too quickly; he deteriorated and passed away in a couple of weeks. Fortunately the suffering was brief and he passed on the doctor's table, a minute before he would be put to sleep. I cannot comprehend how that happened, but it sure felt like a miracle.

It was devastating and I just felt empty, still do.

 

@sleepyhead so sorry mate and believe me, I know what you are going through. Our beloved cat William was killed by a car in 2010 (on my birthday!). The house was so quiet and empty that we had to adopt another cat within a few weeks, ending up getting two instead of one. Since then, four more have come into our life. We didn't plan that but we love them
all, and I sometimes wonder if one animal left us by design to give a good life to six more. William can never be replaced and we still miss him, but we wouldn't be without the ones we have now. Life certainly has its unexpected twists and turns.

This was our boy.

 

@sleepyhead, @Edward53

We move on, but I don't think we ever really get over the loss of a beloved pet. A month ... a year ... 10 years or even more. These old girls are long gone, but the sadness of losing them is still very close to the surface.

 

So sorry for your loss, we lost our 12 year old bulldog in August as well. Hang in there and try to remember the happy times.

 

Al, how is Remi now? Hopefully surgery went well?

 

Yes, the surgery went quite well thanks. This is what they removed from his stomach:



So not a beach nut after all, but it was a stick, along with a ball of fibers (they pulled it apart to make sure there was nothing else inside it). We think it might be some stuffing from the bed in his cage (we put him in a cage overnight - that's his den and safe place). So we'll have to get a new bed for that. The incision wasn't small, that's for sure:



But he has his Fentanyl patch on, so seems happy and is eating well - he normally eats kibble but we have some wet food that we make into a slurry and are feeding him small amounts every couple of hours:



Unlike our other Whippet Raven, who we lost this summer, Remi has never really gone off his food or been a troublesome eater. He's always hungry so that's a good thing because trying to get Raven to eat was very stressful as she was always losing weight.

My wife pulled out some mattresses and slept on the floor in the living room with him last night:



Not sure she got a lot of sleep though!

So in addition to removing the foreign objects, the vet took biopsies of the liver (he has had slightly elevated liver enzymes recently), the pancreas, and 3 locations of the intestines. It appears he has some sort of inflammatory thing going on in the intestines, so we think this might be the problem underlying all of this. His increased drinking and eating sticks and fabric may be his way of trying to sooth an upset gut. So when those results are back, he may have to go on some meds for that (hopefully it's that simple). He also is showing signs of Cushings disease, with some elevated levels on a test I can't remember the name of right now, plus one adrenal gland was enlarged as noted during the surgery.

For right now the main thing is keeping him comfortable, getting all the antibiotics in him, and making sure he doesn't do anything that might cause the sutures in his intestines to break open - having sewn up the inflamed tissues, that was the vets major short term concern.

Thanks for all the support guys - not sure I could deal with losing another dog so soon after we lost Raven this summer...

Cheers, Al

 

@Archer Dang, that's quite an incision. Here's hoping Remi heals well, along with all the other sick/injured doggos out there. We took our pup into the vet yesterday and they diagnosed damaged cartilage in both rear knees... quite a drag at only 1 year.

 

@Archer

I'm relieved to hear that the surgery went well, and I'm sure Remi will bounce back from the procedure very quickly. It sounds like you have a very attentive vet, so hopefully he/she will sort out the other issues. From seeing that photo of the mattresses on the floor, it's clear how much you and your wife love Remi, so I know you will do whatever it takes to keep him happy and healthy.

BTW, we had a Ridgeback who was a prolific bed-eater and eventually found a company that makes bed covers out of a sturdy ballistic nylon, which held up very well, especially considering that she was so large and powerful. I think they would be pretty much indestructible for a Whippet. Let me know if you want a link to the website.

Dan

 

the hottest chick of Nairobi



et environs.....

W

 

Zelda's smile is equally wonky.

 

Happy Holidays from a not so happy looking Cooper, first Christmas with us, 2010.

 

Remi just got back from his follow-up appointment with the vet. They removed his Fentanyl patch, so hopefully he won't have any pain problems going forward - he's looked very perky the last few days and not very bothered by it all, but that may just be the meds.

His belly is very bruised from the clamps they used during the surgery and just generally so hopefully that will improve over the next week. He's eating well and all functions are working as they should. He has been remarkably resilient through this so far!

 

Great to hear! Best wishes to all.

 

@Archer all the best to Remi and yourselves

 

Daughters taking the old boy for his Christmas present,




Are we there yet ?




You wish sunshine


Yes please,

 

Sounds like good news, hope all will be well for him in the New Year.

 

Very good to hear! Dogs are incredible ... they just seem to be able to put aside their discomfort and enjoy life. Your biggest challenge will probably be keeping him quiet until he heals. He will probably want to run and jump again now that his GI system is feeling better!

 

Little tug of war with Timmy and Mike

 

Festive ( pissed off) Stan.

And general " this is where I am, why should I be anywhere else for the next 8 hours " Stan.