Jasper (12 yr old Mini Schnauzer) is now at peace

Paws up Jasper Boy! You can do it!!!!:p

So sorry you've both been under the weather. :o

Buddy stepped on a bee at the park several years ago. Major allergic reaction!!! Huge swollen paw! You did the right thing by taking Jasper in right away. Way to go mom!

Sending much love and healing energy your way,


Big hugs,
Kathy

Oh I hope you both get a break soon. That bee sting is scary! Bless his heart - I bet it hurt like the dickens, too.

That colitis can be a booger! Knock on wood, Trink hasn't had a major issue in a while. I think all the changes she went thru there at first really threw her for a loop - put in a nasty shelter blind and in horrible pain, both eyes removed, almost dying after the second, the long trip from AZ to AR with a strange dog and very weird strange lady, a new home with lots of dogs, a brand new environment all around, new foods, new water - it was just too much for her and colitis is how she reacted. Now she is settled and she doesn't face many changes in her routine at all so her little system is happier, thankfully. I know how awful that can be for both of you. I'm glad he is over this bout and pray it is a long time before he has another.

I worry so about this dog flu - but I am a major worrier. :rolleyes::o I took Trink to see her lung doc and a dog in the waiting room was coughing - it FREAKED me out! If that pup had the flu and Trink got it, oh my that would be bad bad news. It was too hot to wait outside with no air so I told them to call me when they were ready, Trink and I would be driving around the block in the truck. I just couldn't risk it. Is this flu in your area yet? That is something to consider with the cough still going on. Yes! Allow me to share my paranoia with you! :p

Being Sunday, I hope you have both been able to rest and gather your strength back a bit. Take it easy next week so you can recoup. Let us hear from you when you can.
Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

I hope that Jasper is doing better. Those bee stings can be awful and that sounds very scary.

It sure is the year for respiratory issue, humans for sure. I don't think that it would transfer from humans to dogs though. Just you two are a pair. :) Even sharing illnesses. Now that's Love!

Hope you are both feeling better.

Hi Everyone,
Well, it has been a tough couple of months for my boy, but I think we are back on track again finally. I thought we had broken the September curse, but with the bee sting on 9/11 I guess all bets were off. It took him an entire month to recover from the effects of that. He struggled with colitis, no energy, and generally being unwell for quite a while after the sting. The respiratory/nasal congestion that started around that time continued and actually got worse for a while. Thankfully, his lungs remained clear, it was in his sinuses and nasal passages only, but still caused a lot of difficulty breathing. He was started on Clavamox as both my vet and I felt it was related to an infection rather than allergies since it was so severe. He had never had any type of respiratory or allergy issues before. The Clavamox didn't seem to help at all, and of course, he stopped eating and went off his food, so it was discontinued after 4-5 days. It seemed like we were on a downward spiral and it was scary. It took a month to get him back on his food, and get the colitis consistently under control.

After an antihistamine didn't seem to help with the congestion and made his diarrhea worse, on 9/21 he was started on daily nebulizer breathing treatments with dexamethasone. I was running him in to the vet every night after work for the treatments. Those continued for about 10 days, and seemed to help quite a bit but the congestion didn't completely resolve. My vet felt pretty certain that it was allergies at this point, even though he had never had them before. (She said she has been seeing lots of dogs with allergy symptoms the same as Jasper's that also had never had them before). We tried him off the nebulizer treatments for a couple of days and since things didn't get significantly worse again, my vet decided to send him home with some nose drops that she mixed in the office - saline, an antibiotic and steroid combination.

He also developed an eye infection in his right eye during this time, and was getting drops for that too. I wonder if this was related to the bee sting also. On this same eye, he has had a small growth on the upper eyelid at the lash line for quite a while that we have been watching. Of course it decided to grow and get much larger during this time. For a while, my vet was saying that she felt he was probably going to need surgery to remove it once his breathing was more under control, but with the drops (neomycin with dexamethasone), the growth has shrunk again, so now my vet said we can hold off on the surgery. Thank goodness for that, I am terrified of any surgery due to his Addison's and kidney issues. And now with the breathing issue, I was really scared. I am hoping that we can put that off indefinitely.

Through all of this my job has been horrible, daily overtime and we are in a vacation freeze currently, so I haven't been able to take any time off. :( :mad:

We are way behind with all of his routine bloodwork, chest xray and especially behind with checking his UPC. :eek: It was last checked in March, and was due in June or July. Since then we have had a hard time keeping him well for a 4-6 week period in order to get a valid UPC run. :( I had planned to take a urine sample in the 2nd week of September because he had finally been well for a good period but I was sick myself so delayed bringing it in. Then the bee sting so I didn't get it done. So mad about that. He has been doing better since about the middle of October, so I am hoping he can continue for another week or two and we can get a UPC and chemistry profile done, along with distemper and parvo titers.

We are continuing the eye drops in the hopes that the growth on his eyelid will remain stable or even shrink more. And the nose drops are continuing in the hopes that we will get our first hard freeze soon and will be able to see if that significantly resolves the congestion. It is much better, but not completely gone.

I have been meaning to post so much sooner but have been so down in the dumps with everything, I just didn't. One of my good friends said that she doesn't know how I can even enjoy Jasper because he always has so many things wrong with him. I was so upset with her comment that all I could say is "well, there are lots of things to enjoy about Jasper", and quietly walked away. Later after I thought about it, I realized that it really hurt my feelings and I cried and cried. Now I kind of don't feel the same about her. I later told her that I thought her comment was insensitive and it hurt my feelings. I really have only a few very close friends, and more and more I feel like everyone here on the forum understands things so much better than most of them. Sometimes I feel very alone. I know you all can relate and understand.

So that is where we are at with my boy. He has once again been a trooper and forged through another rough time. I'm so grateful, and so proud of him. :) ;) Thanks for reading everyone. I hope you and your pups are all doing well.

Big hugs,
Tina, Jasper and Shelby xo

Oh, we understand all so well Tina. I would still be fighting for a few more precious moments with Buddy, if only I could have kept him comfortable. :o

It seems, most don't truly understand the depth of feeling we have for our precious babies. I don't think they're trying to be insensitive. It's probably more cluelessness. ;) I feel sorry for those who have not been loved or loved to that degree.

Yes, I often felt/feel alone when it comes to dog issues or my daily responsibilities. We muddle through the best we can, but it does take a toll on us.

You are a wonderful mom To Jasper and Shelby. I am so glad to hear that Jasper is fighting hard and getting stronger. He's not giving up!!

PAWS UP JASPER BOY!!!!

Big hugs,
Kathy

Oh my gosh Tina what an awful lot Jasper has had going on.
Of course we understand. Been there, done that, continue on. :)

Jasper is not always like this, this is a bad episode and I'm with you, it seems like that bee sting did trigger a very severe allergic reaction which might still be affecting him and in turn triggered other things to occur. I'm thinking of the histamine that was produced at the time of the bee sting. Having a sever reaction would have increased that and could definitely, I would think, be causing the other issues. It rather makes sense to me.

I think when others haven't gone through something with a beloved pet and family member that is so life threatening, have never had to hold that life in their hands with ever decision on their behalf being a life affecting one, they just don't understand. I don't think they Can understand. Empathy is fine, but they just don't Really get that done deep emotion that we live with every day.

I don't know that it is their fault really and perhaps it is just a link that is missing in their lives to have that sort of bond. Think what they are missing out on, all the joys that we and you know so well. Doesn't make it easier of course and I wouldn't want to hear something like that either. It too would hurt my feelings.

I didn't even like it when the ophthalmologist, being very frank and practical said I wouldn't probably have to worry about molly having a glaucoma side effect from her eyes as her other problems would probably make the issue moot. I was like, hello, say what. pfftt

You hang in there girl and when you are down, when you are worried, you know you have a bunch of people right here to lean on!

hugs

Oh Tina, what a spiral of issues from that bee sting. I am sorry you and Jasper have had so much to deal with. I will say many prayers that the worst is over now and the allergies will be behind Jasper.

My neighbor made a cruel remark about Zoe once, it hurt me so. Hubby said she probably didn't mean it the way I took it:( I think people don't realize just how cruel statements can be sometimes. So I totally get your feelings. It took me a long time to forgive my neighbor but I never forgot it nor felt the same toward her.

I wish so much for you to have a few days off for a snuggle with Jasper. I know you would both feel better.

I think you have done and continue to do a remarkable job of managing everything with work, coordinating care for Jasper, I think you deserve a huge hug.

We love you both

Oh Tina, I am so sorry for all the troubles you guys have had! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and talk to us, though, because you are both so loved here and we are always so anxious to know what is happening. For me, myself, I know I only seem to post on my own girls' threads when something bad is happening. When I go back later on and read what I've written, I think "Gosh, I sounded so needy when I wrote that"...:o :o :o But the truth is, I really AM totally needy when I'm upset and worried about my dogs!! That's the way I am. So thank goodness for all our family members here who understand and support us when we're going through hard times. Now I've just re-read what I wrote here, and I don't in any way mean that YOU sound needy at all -- I just want you to know that no matter how much time passes or what is going on with you and Jasper and Shelby, we want to know exactly what you're dealing with! ;)

ANYWAY, I'm so glad the worst of this episode seems to be behind you. And I have to agree with the others that I'm betting your friend has never had a deep relationship with a pet. For folks who don't know what that feels like, I think they're looking at a pet more as a toy or entertainment or something. If you're not having "fun" with it, then what good is it? They would probably never be so thoughtless as to say something remotely similar about an ailing spouse or parent or child ("How can you enjoy your mom when she is so old and sick?" :rolleyes:). So I am very proud of you for telling your friend how hurtful her comment felt to you. None of us are perfect, that's for sure, and we all say things that we'd give anything to take back. So I do hope your friendship will not be permanently damaged, and that this may have ended up being a teachable moment for this woman. If she is a true friend, she will learn from what has happened and she'll be a better person for it.

OK, love you guys and hope that you can enjoy some smooth sailing now!
Marianne

I pray the worst is behind you both and the road to recovery and strength is smooth ahead. That friend and those like her are missing something that we here have - I am sure someone could work on it and determine what we have in common like perhaps some personality trait or belief structure but I don't think that's it at all. I think we have something extra, some added gift from the gods, that allows us to love so deeply, that allows us to see the Souls of these small creatures and understand that they are just like us in the ways that matter. Something extra that gives us the gift of a true unconditional love. I can't help but pity those who will never know what you and I know, who will never understand a love so pure and so true. We truly are the blessed ones, Tina.

Hugs,
Leslie and the gang

Dear God, September curse strikes again!! Just like you to methodically tackle it all though... so pleased we get the end of the story when everything has nearly come right. Sorry I hadn't seen this earlier... like you have not been in here nearly so much anymore... then look what I miss!! We are way way way overdue for a catchup, so hopefully we manage to be on here at the same time soon. Big hugs for you and pretty pleased it is winter coming on there for you all now, SO NO MORE BEES!! I had a cat once that got stung on his eyelid, man it swelled but luckily trip to the vet for antihistamine had him right pretty fast... Flynn snaps at them sometimes especially if it is a big fat low flying bumble bee!

Now Jasper you behave yourself... you should be right now for another 10 months Tina!! xxxxx